Rhode Island Youth Conservation League Crew Member Application

Crew in Your Community 2025

Youth Conservation League Stewardship & Service Day
Request for Proposals

The application period has ended. Thank you for your interest!

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 or August 2025. The 2025 crew will consist of six to eight 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 1, 2025
Applicants will be notified by June 13, 2025.
Work Day will be scheduled Monday - Thursday from July 7 to August 14, 2025. (No Fridays)

If you have any questions you may contact YCL program organizer Laura Carberry at LCarberry@asri.org. More information on this opportunity along with 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 is funded by grants from the Conservation Stewardship Collaborative Endowment at the RI Foundation.