Crew in Your Community 2023
Youth Conservation League Stewardship & Service Day
Request for Proposals
Download and Print the RFP & Application - or view/submit below!
Overview: The Audubon Society of Rhode Island (Audubon) seeks proposals from groups across the state for “Crew in your Community: Youth Conservation League Land Stewardship.” We have assisted landowners since 2010. Qualifying land organizations (e.g. towns, land trusts, watershed organizations, etc.) will be selected for one to four days of Youth Conservation League (YCL) labor during July and August 2023. The 2023 crew will consist of five or six Rhode Island high school or early college students, directly supervised by an adult crew leader. Crew members are competitively selected and they work hard for the partner organizations.
Examples of past crew projects include:
- Invasive plant removal to create river access
- Trail boardwalk construction to minimize wetland disturbance
- Invasive plant removal and trail clearing
- Fence installation and boardwalk construction
Requirements:
- Completed application (see below)
- Match: Applying organization must agree to commit:
- At least 6 volunteer hours working with the YCL crew during the service day (e.g. 3 volunteers each working 2 hours, etc.) to share conservation values
- $600 cost share will be invoiced by Audubon (actual cost of crew is $1,500/day)
- Confidential financial assistance is available for qualifying applicants. Please indicate if desired.
- Pitch a story to your local press (e.g. a newspaper article about the project)
- Land trusts, towns, watershed groups, etc. are eligible to apply for multiple days and projects
- Sites should have a clear public resource (e.g. trail-way, vista, etc.) and/or ecological resource (e.g. rare species, natural community, etc.) with a stewardship concern. Sites with invasive plant-related or wildlife habitat-related stewardship concerns are especially encouraged.
- The YCL is equipped with basic hand tools (loppers, hammers, shears, rakes, shovels, etc.) along with safety equipment. Partner organizations are expected to contribute any additional material, power tools, or heavy equipment necessary for the proposed project.
- You must be able to accommodate an available workday: the crew works M-Th 8 am to 3:30 pm and is not available on Fridays.
Timeline:
- Application Deadline — June 23, 2022
- Applicants will be notified by July 3, 2023.
- Work Day will be scheduled Mon-Thurs from July 5 to August 24, 2023. (No Fridays)
If you have any questions you may contact YCL program organizer Scott Ruhren at sruhren@asri.org. More information on this opportunity along printable applications to be placed in the mail can be accessed here.
RI Youth Conservation League is a project of the Audubon Society of RI, and The Nature Conservancy. It is funded by grants from the Conservation Stewardship Collaborative Endowment at the RI Foundation.
