MCC – A Skill-based Summer Experience for Youth

SEELEY LAKE – When 14-year-old Kya Smith's mother Lauren Callahan signed her up for the Montana Conservation Corps Middle School Expedition as "her summer experience" she was less than thrilled. With her usual summer camp experience no longer financially feasible, Smith joined five other youth and two MCC leaders for a five days backpacking adventure documenting trail conditions outside of Missoula. Callahan said the self confidence, self worth and pride in the work accomplished that her daughter brought home was unmatched with any other summer experience.

Smith grew up in Kalispell. While she has always been interested in the outdoors, she never really did anything outdoors.

Callahan heard about a similar program and then found MCC. MCC is free to participate and offers a Middle School and High School Expedition. Even though participants must provide their own gear, she knew it could be reused.

Callahan signed Smith up not knowing if she was going to hate the entire experience or love it.

After arriving in Missoula for the gear check, Smith quickly made a new friend from Helena. She still keeps in touch with her.

"Nobody really knew each other. We worked really well as a team," said Smith who has never considered herself a social person. "Whenever we had a problem we would just stop and talk about it and try to work things out. We all motivated each other. When someone was going through a hard time everyone would be there for that person."

Smith learned the first night that asking for help wasn't a sign of weakness. When she was struggling putting her tent together, she asked her new friend from Helena to help her. The whole group started helping each other put up tents two at a time.

"It builds even more of a bond with the team when you ask for help," said Smith.

Every night her group camped out. They gathered data on the trails by taking photos of the signs and campsites, documenting noxious weeds and recording conditions of campsites. The six youth on the team and two leaders changed roles every couple of days to learn something new.

Smith said she discovered new sides of herself as a person and developed new skills. She also learned a lot of team skills and helped her see that if she has problems in a group situation to open up to others.

"You never know if you are the only one that is having issues. Talking it out can help a lot and make it better for everybody," said Smith.

When Callahan returned to pick up her daughter she was not sure if she was going to be mad at her for subjecting her to this or really happy.

"She wasn't happy to see me but it wasn't because she was mad at me, it was because she didn't want it to be over," said Callahan.

Callahan said Smith had more self confidence and self worth. Smith was proud of herself and felt very productive and accomplished with the work they completed.

"They had to take care of themselves and carry their stuff and help others and work in a team," said Callahan. "They learned so much from it. I think it really helps them learn about themselves. They come away with more independence and feeling more confident. It really gives them some self worth that I don't think they can find in other just fun activities."

"I'm very, very glad that I was signed up for it last summer," said Smith. "It was definitely one of my favorite things that I have done for a summer thing. I'm glad that I get to do it even longer this summer."

Smith continued, "When you are in middle school and early high school you don't really know what you want to do so it is hard to figure out what [interests you]. There are so many different things you can be involved in when you are older that have to do with being outdoors, plants, trail work, the Forest Service and it can help you figure out what you want to do."

The Middle School Expedition is a one week volunteer service experience for Montana youth ages 12 to 14. As a Middle School Expedition member, participants work on trails and habitat projects while learning about teamwork, leadership and environmental stewardship. Crew-based service provides the perfect vehicle for giving young people a tangible experience of addressing real-world challenges as well as developing and experiencing civic agency-the impact that they can have on their own life, their crew, their community and their world.

Middle School Expedition is offered out of Bozeman and Missoula. There are five sessions available in June, July and August.

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Oliver Chinn first learned about MCC through a presentation at Sentinel High School in Missoula. He participated in the High School Expedition, a four-week volunteer service experience for Montana teens ages 14 to 17.

"I was inspired to join MCC because I wanted get outdoors, do conservation work and to challenge myself, especially with the hard physical work," wrote Chinn in an email.

Chinn hoped to learn more about the work that goes into protecting public lands and conservation in general while being given the opportunity to explore the nature and outdoors of Montana.

"From my experience with MCC, I learned that a lot of work goes into maintaining public lands for the enjoyment of the people," wrote Chinn. "I also learned how to conduct land surveying and how to use tools such as Pulaskis and McLeods to fix and maintain trails. Furthermore, I learned that I could push myself beyond my physical limits with the work that I did with MCC."

Chinn's group met up with another group during the second and third weeks of his expedition. One of the highlights for him was members on the other crew brought a ukulele and fiddle. They spent the night singing, dancing and making music together.

Similar to Smith's experience, Chinn learned teamwork, perseverance and leadership.

"I have also learned the value of public lands and conservation," wrote Chinn. "I would definitely recommend MCC to other high school students because it is a unique and fun experience to get outdoors, work hard and learn more about our beautiful environment."

High School Expedition members spend the majority of their time outdoors, camping, working and exploring. Projects are a mix of backpacking into a site to camp and work remotely and car camping near the project site. Project work includes: fencing, trail work, wildlife surveys, invasive weed removal, planting native plants, historic preservation, campground maintenance and more!

Throughout the program, participants are exposed to challenging physical work as well as the rigors of camp life. The weekends give crews a chance to explore, recreate and relax. Expedition Members will receive on-the-job training, including technical and outdoor skills, Leave No Trace principles and safety standards.

Each teen receives marketable know-how and resume experience by completing 160 hours of community service. Participants receive a $400 Service Award upon completion of the program.

High School opportunities are available out of each of our regional offices (Helena, Kalispell, Bozeman and Missoula). The first session is June 10 - July 6. The second session runs July 15 – Aug. 10.

Middle School and High School Expeditions are open until filled. Visit http://mtcorps.org/join/youth-programs/high-school-expedition/ to learn more and apply.