The Superior Watershed Partnership is hiring employees for the summer season for the Great Lakes Conservation Corps and the Climate Conservation Corps. Working on a Noquemanon Trail Network bridge over the Dead River constructed in 2016 by the GLCC are from left: Emily Goodman, James Padden, Kate Dohnal, Camila Dul and Jeff Koch. (Photo courtesy of the SWP)

MARQUETTE — The Superior Watershed Partnership will hire over 25 young adults ages 18-25 for the Great Lakes Conservation Corps and the Climate Conservation Corps for the summer field season. The SWP also will hire experienced crew leaders.

The SWP Great Lakes Conservation Corps has been steadily growing over the years and now has summer crews working throughout the Upper Peninsula implementing projects that benefit communities, tourism and Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron.

GLCC crews work on a wide variety of conservation, restoration and recreation projects while the CCC is specifically dedicated to projects that help coastal communities adapt to climate change.

GLCC and CCC projects include but are not limited to community projects, coastal dune restoration, trail building, coastal wetland restoration, green infrastructure, stormwater management projects, buffer restoration, habitat restoration, tree planting, erosion control, coastal clean-ups, public access projects and more.

“Much of the real work of Great Lakes protection and restoration involves hand labor,” said Emily Goodman, SWP Corps coordinator. “It takes people, not just heavy equipment, to build a trail, or restore a riverbank, dune or wetland. The GLCC provides training and real-world experience on a wide variety of conservation projects.”

Recent GLCC projects include building new trails and footbridges for the Noquemanon Trail Network and the North Country Trail, Lake Superior dune restoration, habitat restoration projects with the Hiawatha National Forest and Ottawa National Forest and the Partnership for Watershed Restoration, assisting with installing the first handicapped beach access in Marquette, improving habitat for the threatened piping plover and restoring habitat for important pollinator species like the rusty-patched bumblebee and the monarch butterfly.

The SWP works with local units of government, community organizations, businesses and state, federal and tribal partners to identify GLCC project sites.

GLCC crews are trained and supervised by experienced crew leaders and are equipped with trucks, tools, safety equipment and camping gear for overnight stays at remote sites if needed. All crew members wear uniforms and receive first-aid training along with other project-specific training prior to each field season.

For more information, contact emily@superiorwatersheds.org or 906-228-6095.