Larimer County Conservation Corps – Wild & Scenic Film Festival

Join the Larimer County Conservation Corps for their Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour Event on Friday, October 3 at the Lory Student Center Theater in Fort Collins, Colorado. The films offer a journey into some of the most beautiful places on earth, complemented by stories of inspiration, activism and finding solutions to restore our planet. This event pulls community members together to mingle, enjoy food and drink and watch amazing conservation-focused films! This year features special guest speaker Mikah Meyer from the film Canyon Chorus, as well as the premiere of Generations of Dirt: Stories from the Larimer County Conservation Corps. 

WHO IS THE LARIMER COUNTY CONSERVATION CORPS? 

In 1986 the Larimer County Economic and Workforce Development created a summer youth employment program called Operation Brightside with support from the local Anheuser-Busch brewery. Within this program youth participants made repairs and home improvements for elderly and disabled residents of Larimer County, Colorado. 

In 1993, Operation Brightside was re-conceived as the Larimer County Conservation Corps (LCCC) to address two key issues: the persistent challenges youth and young adults face in securing employment and gaining work experience; and to maintain local parks, open spaces, and natural lands for the enjoyment of the community. 

LCCC has been an accredited conservation corps with the Colorado Youth Corps Association since 2000 and accredited with The Corps Network since 2016. 

The Larimer County Conservation Corps promotes individual development through conservation based service for the benefit of the community. LCCC is housed within and administered by the Larimer County Economic and Workforce Development. 

Programs empower crew members to develop personal and professional skills, gain environmental awareness, and actively engage in the community, while developing self-sufficiency to help them become active members of the community. 

WHAT DOES THE LARIMER COUNTY CONSERVATION CORPS DO? 

LCCC operates summer and fall crews for young adults, ages 18 – 30. Crews are typically made up of 1 crew leader, 1 assistant crew leader, and 6 to 8 crew members. These crews often camp near their project site Monday -Thursday, working 10 hour days. LCCC crews enhance and restore public lands and open spaces through projects such as trail building and maintenance, habitat restoration, fire mitigation, invasive species removal and more.  

Their Forestry Crews of 18 – 30 years old members become S-212 and Wilderness First Aid certified before operating chainsaws to complete fire mitigation, tree removal, and fire restoration projects throughout Larimer County. One ongoing project this crew has contributed to involves fire mitigation work on the Ben Delatour Scout Ranch in an effort to reduce wildfire severity and post-fire impacts on the watershed in the event of a wildfire. Unique education opportunities for this crew include impacts of wildfires on habitats and watersheds, career development and lessons on forest management. 

The RMNP Trail Crew, for individuals 18 – 30 years old, serves and camps in Rocky Mountain National Park. This crew completes trail construction/repair and maintenance projects that are needed to accommodate the approx. 3.5 million visitors every year. Unique education opportunities with this crew include meetings with park staff to learn about the wide variety of career opportunities with NPS, federal resume workshops, and lessons on the natural history and ecology of RMNP. 

The US Forest Service Trail Crew 18 – 30 years old crew serves and camps in Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forest lands while performing trail construction/repair and maintenance projects within the 208,913 acres of forest that were damaged in the 2020 Cameron Peak Fire. This crew works in partnership with US Forest Service staff to reopen trails for public use and to prevent erosion in sensitive post-fire areas. Unique education opportunities with this crew include wildfire and post-fire impacts, purpose of recreational areas and personal and professional development. 

The Larimer County Conservation Corps 18 – 30 year old Land Crew completes the largest variety of projects out of all of their crews including trail construction and maintenance, invasive species management, fisheries maintenance and ecological restoration. With projects on local, state and federal lands throughout Northern Colorado, their Land crew has the potential to camp for portions of the summer. Unique education opportunities with this crew include resume building, natural history and ecology, and professional skill building. 

HOW THE WILD & SCENIC FILM FESTIVAL HELPS 

All proceeds support programming for the Larimer County Conservation Corps.

Kathryn Guy, Program Specialist at Larimer County Conservation Corps, says the On Tour Event “gives us a space to raise awareness and funds for our organization.” Kathryn goes on to say that her favorite part of the event is “getting to see past LCCC participants and sharing the message of conservation with the community.”