Conservation Corps has open spaces available
BY CHRIS MURINO Staff Writer

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - The Middlesex County Youth Conservation Corps is now accepting applications to be a part of their efforts to protect natural areas in New Jersey.

"The corps does work in all open spaces throughout the county that are preserved through the open space trust fund," said Rick Lear of the Middlesex County Department of Parks and Recreation. "We work on land that doesn't have a park in it. No one else is working on behalf of that land."

Overall, Lear said the corps is responsible for 6,000 acres of land in the county.

"The goal is to maximize the recreational and ecological opportunities of these projects," he said.

Lear said the corps does a lot of different work, but half of their work is simply cleaning up.

"A lot of these properties are in bad shape from before the county bought it," he said.

Lear said they also do trail building and are interested in getting people out there to do things such as bird walking. They also do trail maintenance on ones they've already built and recon on other sites, which is exploring the properties to see what's out there.

Lear believes both the county and the students gain a lot from the situation.

"We benefit by having someone work these places," he said. "The students benefit because it's a paying job. It also introduces kids to conservation work."

Students will work the spring 2008 season every Saturday from March 29 through June 14 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

They receive $8.50 an hour. Students must be 16 years old and there are 10 spaces available each season.

The program started in September of 2006.