Education
The VYCC program incorporates learning into every aspect of the Corps Member experience. Educational experiences are integral to the work that crews perform. Every aspect of a Corps Member's daily routine contributes to his or her growth, education, and overall experience. There is no need to invent opportunities, stresses, or challenges; these arise naturally when young people work together in diverse groups to complete challenging conservation projects. The setting of a VYCC crew provides a unique opportunity for a tremendous amount of meaningful interactions between peers and Crew Leaders in which modeling, mentoring, teaching, learning, and growth is integral.
WoRD
The WoRD (Writing, Reading, and Discussion) program is a nationally-recognized educational tool that encourages Corps Members and Leaders to engage in thoughtful discussions about meaningful, relevant topics.
The goal of WoRD is not necessarily to teach new concepts about the environment or conservation but to help participants learn to listen to other points of view and articulate their thoughts and opinions in a safe environment. WoRD is about developing our future leaders and helping them to enrich their communication skills.
To achieve this goal, Crew Leaders facilitate the WoRD program daily. Using a compilation of current articles and essays, all crews read aloud about important environmental and social issues that are relevant both locally and nationally each day.
After the reading, the crews discuss what they have read and take some time to write in their journals about the topic and discussion. Leaders are responsible for facilitating in-depth discussions, creating a safe environment for youth with varied reading levels, and inspiring Corps Members to form and articulate their opinions to their peers. .
Daily Conservation Practices
Daily practices help Corps Members learn how to incorporate conservation practices into their daily lives, as well as to understand how the activities impact the environment. By taking part in these activities as a regular part of their day, Corps Members often take home new practices to share with their family and community. Some of these include: recycling, composting, gardening, and camping using leave-no-trace principles.
Exposure to New Conservation Ideas
Crew Leaders strive to expose Corps Members to new conservation ideas throughout their experience. By providing Corps Members with a variety of perspectives and approaches, some of these ideas may resonate with each Corps Member and help them choose a course of study in school or a career path. Activities include WoRD readings, guest speakers, naturalist trainings, field trips, and interpretive materials.
Conservation Leadership Projects
Each crew selects a conservation theme and each Corps Member participates by choosing an individual conservation project or activity relating to that theme. Throughout the session, the crew develops their projects and decides on a presentation technique.
The culmination of the learning that takes place in each session is evident in these projects. These final presentations are informative and creative and can run the gamut from a formal speaking event and poster session to a play about wetland ecology written and performed by Corps Members.
Corps Members invite parents, friends, project sponsors, local residents, and VYCC supporters to attend presentations in an effort to expand their public speaking skills as well as to share their message about conservation with a wider audience.