Every year, the PCTA works to actively engage youth in conservation and restoration efforts. Our goal is to connect young people to nature, develop future volunteers, and help them build professional skills. Beyond trail maintenance, our youth learn about conserving America’s great outdoors, leadership, team work, job safety and other fundamental skills.
Want to become involved? Email us at [email protected]!
| Alternative Spring Break
PCTA actively works with universities across the country to offer alternative spring break programs. College groups head to the PCT for a week of camping and trail maintenance in the beautiful mountains of Southern California. On the last day, students are encouraged to spend time enjoying the area. The Southern California beaches are a popular destination and past groups have camped on the beach and learned to surf. |
| American Conservation Experience
American Conservation Experience (ACE) is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing rewarding environmental service opportunities that harness the idealism and energy of a volunteer labor force to help restore America’s public lands. ACE is grounded in the philosophy that cooperative labor on meaningful conservation projects fosters cross-cultural understanding and operates on the belief that challenging volunteer service unites people of all backgrounds in common cause. |
| Antelope Valley College
Members of Antelope Valley College’s Marauder Fire Crew have joined PCTA volunteers in numerous projects and participated in PCTA sponsored training programs to build their job skills. |
| Boy Scouts of America
The PCTA works with numerous Boy Scout troops throughout the trail to teach them trail maintenance and outdoor skills. |
| California Conservation Corps
The California Conservation Corps is a state agency hiring young men and women, 18 to 25, for a year of natural resource work and emergency response. The young women and men of the Corps work hard protecting and restoring California’s environment, responding to disasters, becoming stronger workers, citizens and individuals through their service. |
| EarthCorps
EarthCorps is a non-profit organization founded in 1993 with a mission to build a global community of leaders through local environmental service. EarthCorps provides a year-long intensive program for young adults from the US and 80 other countries to learn best practices in community-based environmental restoration and develop their leadership skills as they supervise more than 10,000 volunteers each year. |
| Environmental Charter High School and Middle School
At the Environmental Charter High School of Lawndale, California, each of their more than 300 students must provide community service every semester. PCTA provides the opportunity for interested students to work on special trail maintenance projects and camp in Southern California. This popular program has introduced numerous students to the outdoors and helps to build job skills. |
| Los Angeles Conservation Corps
The Los Angeles Conservation Corps provides at-risk young adults and school-aged youth with opportunities for success by providing them with job skills training, education and work experience with an emphasis on conservation and service projects that benefit the community. |
| NAACP Urban Youth Rites of Passage
Since 2010, the PCTA has worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Urban Youth program of Vancouver, Washington to build land management and leadership skills. |
| William S. Hart Unified School District
The Trailblazing Program at the William S. Hart Union High School in Santa Clarita, California provides a unique work opportunity for its student population. The program gives them experience in forestry and trail maintenance, as well as workforce preparation. |