MARQUETTE — The Superior Watershed Partnership and the Land Conservancy has announced the launch of its Great Lakes Climate Corps and Great Lakes Tribal Conservation Corps field season.

These programs provide trained, boots-on-the-ground crew members whose work spans the entire Upper Peninsula and contributes in meaningful ways to environmental projects that improve communities. This year, they’re planting 100,000 trees in Marquette County.

Any local unit of government, community organization or private land owner can request to have free trees planted on their property by filling out the following form: https://forms.gle/Nny8JN6jLoRUfEMx5.

In addition to planting trees, the 16 crew members will work with local and Tribal communities on projects including coastal resiliency with the city of Marquette, wildfire risk reduction throughout the Upper Peninsula, pollinator habitat restoration in Hiawatha National Forest, invasive species removal and native plant restoration with Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, trail maintenance and erosion control on the North Country Trail and Ottawa National Forest and electronic waste recycling collection events with Hannahville Indian Community, Gladstone, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Iron River, Newberry and Houghton.

“When our crews can go from cleaning litter from beaches to reforesting critical tracts of land, all while taking in our beautiful surroundings and inspiring environmental stewardship, they leave a positive mark on our communities,” said Tyler Penrod, SWP’s GLCC Program Manager. “Beyond that, their work makes a measurable difference in addressing local impacts of climate change.”

The programs run for 12-24 weeks over summer and fall, and this year’s cohort includes 16 members across both programs.

Partnerships including tribal, federal, state and local governments are critical for the success of these programs, whose impact spans the Upper Peninsula. Crews serve all three U.P. Great Lakes watersheds including Superior, Michigan and Huron.

Volunteer opportunities to join the crews at work this summer and fall will be shared on the SWP Facebook page and include beach grass planting, tree planting, water quality monitoring and more.

Annie Lippert can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. Her email address is alippert@miningjournal.net.