Heart of Oregon Corps is excited to announce a transformative expansion of its year-round, young adult High Desert Conservation Corps program, fueled by new funding from The Corps Network. Heart of Oregon is one of eight Service and Conservation Corps across the nation selected to receive a portion of $5.7 million in Urban and Community Forestry funds, sub-awarded by The Corps Network from the U.S. Forest Service. Heart of Oregon received $890,000 for the three-year initiative.

“Receiving this grant funding is a game-changer for Heart of Oregon Corps and the communities we support,” said Patrick Orr, Conservation Program Director at Heart of Oregon Corps. “This initiative will not only address pressing environmental challenges but also create meaningful career opportunities for our local youth. We’re thrilled to help them develop skills that will contribute to both their personal growth and the health of their communities.”

This funding, part of a $1 billion investment from the Inflation Reduction Act, is allocated through the Urban Community Forestry Program, which focuses on tree planting and maintenance, workforce development, and projects to combat extreme heat, wildfire, and flooding. The Corps Network aims to promote urban forest health and workforce development in underserved communities, ensuring that this significant investment benefits those most in need, including Madras and Redmond.

Heart of Oregon’s High Desert Conservation Corps program provides job skills training as young adult crews engage in year-round conservation projects on Central Oregon public lands. Over the next three years, Heart of Oregon will partner with the City of Redmond, City of Madras, and Jefferson County on community forestry, tree canopy, arborist, and climate resiliency projects. Through the High Desert Conservation Corps initiative, local youth and young adults ages 17-24 will be engaged as climate corps AmeriCorps service members, trained for careers in urban forestry, green infrastructure, and climate resilience, and connected to the resource management workforce. AmeriCorps members earn a weekly living allowance and education scholarship that together are about a $20/hour equivalent.

Heart of Oregon’s efforts will significantly impact Madras and Redmond, communities facing extreme wildfire risk, prolonged heat waves, smoke seasons, and unpredictable weather events that threaten tree canopy health and increase flood risks. Heart of Oregon will pilot new arborist curriculum and also collaborate with the state apprenticeship office and local workforce investment board, East Cascade Works, to explore establishing a state-recognized arborist pre-apprenticeship training program. Employer partners will include Central Oregon municipal public works and parks departments, local arborist companies such as Central Oregon TreeXperts, and regional power companies such as PGE.

Youth career development is a cornerstone of this initiative, offering classes, activities, and partner-supported tours to connect participants with the natural resources career field. Heart of Oregon will provide career exploration and assessment, resume, interview, and USAJobs.gov workshops. Additionally, project partners, including city arborists, will frequently interact with the crews, teaching technical skills and sharing their career journeys.

“At the City of Redmond, we recognize that our Urban Forest cleans our air, purifies our water, reduces flooding, cools our streets, and provides habitat for wildlife, all while beautifying the aesthetic of our community. 

The system of trees, green spaces and natural areas that make up our Urban Forest provide these “Ecosystem Services” for free on a daily basis, and can be seen as a public utility. We recognize that when the people of our community have access to green space and trees they will benefit from reduced stress, lower blood pressure, and an improved sense of wellbeing.

We are thrilled to have the opportunity help train and educate the young people at Heart of Oregon Corps in the stewardship of these necessary resources for our community and for Central Oregon.”

The three-year initiative supports at least 16,000 hours of young adult project and workforce training for at least 27 local corpsmembers, backed by significant field and program staff support. The funding will help expand existing Redmond, Bend and Prineville-based crews’ work in Redmond and Madras, and create a new seasonal crew based in Madras.

At the heart of this initiative are the Opportunity Youth of Madras and Redmond—young individuals ready to step up, connect with their peers, and lead their communities towards a more sustainable future. This funding allows Heart of Oregon to expand seasonal and year-round crews, providing these youth with accessible opportunities to engage in vital urban forestry projects right in their hometowns.

The High Desert Conservation Corps is accepting applications for this fall, winter and spring crews based in Redmond, Prineville, Madras, and Bend now! Young people can view video content about the program and apply online at www.heartoforegon.org/apply or call 541-633-7834 for more information.