The Green Team Program has operated since 1993 employing over 1600 young people, on some 300 projects, in over 100 communities across Newfoundland and Labrador. The Green Team Program supports the efforts to improve the natural and cultural environment of our province. It also provides meaningful training and work experience to young people. To learn more about the Conservation Corps visit their website that can be found in the “links” section of this site.
The CBEA has partnered with the Conservation Corps on numerous Green Team Projects. From 1996 through 2008, 12 such projects have been undertaken at Corduroy Brook, all under the umbrella of conservation, environmental awareness, and community improvement. Below are some highlights.
Trail Building
During the early years of trail development three (3) Green Teams were involved in the construction and development of specific trail areas.
The extra labor resources that the Green Team provided allowed the trail to be built much faster, as it allowed the association to run concurrent building projects. The trail building projects were always tied in with other activities such as interpretive sign development, stream enhancement, and of course the public environmental awareness days.
Project Clean Water
In a project that ran in two phases, over two successive years, “Project Clean Water” was a successful effort to mobilize the business community and create some positives changes to their work practices as they related to the environment. The project also resulted in greater support for the Corduroy Brook Project from local businesses, as well as a significant increase in public awareness.
The Green Team developed a BMP (Better Management Practices) Brochure that was distributed to local businesses. The brochure outlined typical activities that negatively affect the environment and suggestions at how businesses can improve. The Green Team adopted a very positive tone in the approaches, and the result was very encouraging. In no way were businesses made to feel obligated or coerced into becoming involved.
Many businesses that came on board actually made changes to their operations and properties to ensure that they were being good environmental stewards. One such example is Mr. Bruce Hunt, the Owner of Hunt’s Concrete in Grand Falls-Windsor and long-time supporter of the CBEA. Mr. Hunt’s business borders a free-flowing section of the Corduroy Brook, and he made significant changes to his operations, completely at his own expense, to ensure minimal impact on the Corduroy Brook, and the local ecosystem as a whole. Mr. Hunt is pictured here with Green Team Members as he is presented with his “Project Clean Water Stream Stewardship Certificate”.
Since the project received such a good response from the business community, the idea of asking businesses to enter into a “good-will” stewardship agreement with the Corduroy Brook was put into action. As of 2008, there are 28 businesses that have signed on as “Project Clean Water” partners.
As always, raising awareness in the community was a priority for the Green Team Project and they were very successful and received plenty of media coverage. They also painted small blue fish near storm drains throughout town with the words “down the drain then where” printed next to the fish.
Pilot Nature Camp Program
If you have not already learned about our Children’s Nature Camp Program please take time to visit the link. The camp is a valuable initiative of the CBEA, providing an avenue for outdoor education to children aged 4-7 year olds and 8-13 year olds, and it all began with a Conservation Corps Green Team Project.
In 2002, the Corduroy Brook Green Team was challenged with the task of creating and testing a nature camp program for children that would use the Corduroy Brook Nature Trail as the classroom.
Ideas were born, research carried out, and a plan produced that would become a guide for the program for years to come. In the latter stages of the project, the Green Team ran two separate pilot camps, which received a huge amount of positive feedback, both from participants as well as their parents. The camp has continued to gain in popularity and has evolved over the years, but the Green Team’s original plan continues to be the guide.
