WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
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Develop a local workforce of young adults with the technical and leadership skills to maintain and manage high-value tidal wetlands and nature-based restoration projects
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Use wetlands, one of the world’s most productive ecosystems, to foster critical, ecological thinking that informs adaptive management techniques for nature-based solutions
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Integrate local stakeholder knowledge and community values to form a holistic understanding of conservation and restoration needs and potential solutions
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Invest in communities most impacted by climate change, increasing their resilience through equitable opportunities for education and employment
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Demonstrate the value of wetlands maintenance for long-term project success to drive additional investments and policy that creates and sustains these vital nature-based jobs
Jamaica Bay Wetlands Fellowship
The Jamaica Bay Wetlands Fellowship trains the next generation of wetland managers, building skills and defining a career path for young people within the diverse communities surrounding Jamaica Bay.
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The Jamaica Bay Wetlands Fellowship is a paid 6-month workforce development and job training program for young adults (ages 18–25) focused on skills related to wetlands maintenance, monitoring, and restoration. The curriculum will underscore the value of both technical and stakeholder experience in building comprehensive knowledge and approaches toward nature-based solutions while building local leadership for the future.
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Jamaica Bay is New York City’s largest open space – an unparalleled oasis of nature comprising 44 square miles of tidal wetlands, marsh islands, and coastal habitats that protect people and wildlife, offer unique recreation and education opportunities, and provide vital waterfront and open space access for all New Yorkers.
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The Jamaica Bay Wetlands Fellowship is a collaborative, stakeholder driven response to an immediate need: a local workforce with sufficient skills and capacity to maintain, monitor, and manage wetland restoration projects. Designed to complement other programs focused on science and research or stewardship, the Wetlands Fellowship is specifically built to meet the demand for a “diverse, equitable workforce skilled in building nature-based solutions,” one of five strategic areas for action in the Biden-Harris Administration’s Nature-Based Solutions Roadmap.
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While routine maintenance, including removing debris or trash, can be performed by community volunteers or an unskilled workforce, significant value maintenance activities such as project area monitoring, replanting, removing accumulated sediment and wrack, plant viability assessment, natural recruitment studies, and wildlife monitoring requires skilled labor and expertise. Qualified technicians with experience in planning, installing, maintaining, and monitoring wetland projects are necessary to ensure the long-term success of critical nature-based interventions.
“The JBRPC Wetlands Fellowship has been an eye opening and transformative experience. Instilled within me now is a deep reverence for urban green spaces and newfound respect to the people who work to maintain them. Because of this program, I have higher hopes concerning the harmony we seek to achieve with our city and its surrounding environment”
“What drew me to the Wetlands Fellowship is my love for outdoors and nature. Mother Nature has given me so much joy and love, that my goal this year was to share it back. This fellowship was the perfect opportunity for me to do exactly that. Not only am I helping the environment but also creating a safe clean space for surrounding communities to enjoy their community parks and beaches.”
2025 Impact
3.75 tons
of trash removed
15 acres
or nearly 68,000 sq ft of invasive species cleared
10K plants
installed to strengthen native vegetation
Past Programs
September 2021–March 2022
City Cleanup Corps worked at city, state and federal parks around Jamaica Bay and Rockaway for six months. The Fellows worked to beautify and restore park sites for the benefit of the community and park visitors. The program provided a collaborative, mentorship structure that focused on skill development for long-term career advancement and job placement.
City Cleanup Corps
2020-2021
Partnership program developed during the covid pandemic crisis to meet the needs of parks and public-private partnerships experiencing great need due to severe reductions in resources and staff. Conservancy Corps provided paid fellowships at Park Alliance groups at all five boroughs in NYC. The Conservancy Corps assisted with park maintenance, restoration, and public programming. The program included a professional development program with a focus on launching high need careers in parks’ conservation and preservation.
Conservancy Corps
Wild Year: Urban Park Adventures Through Stewardship and Recreation
2020–2021
Collaborative program with St. John’s Residence for Boys connects youth in the foster care or detention system to the outdoors by engaging them in activities that focus on stewardship, education, and recreation. The program leverages the natural environment to serve as a buffer for stress and increase resiliency. Wild Year challenges participants to work hard, learn and escape in nature.
2016–Current
The Jamaica Bay R-Corps is a green jobs training program for local youth to restore the natural environment through shoreline and habitat restoration. R-Corps integrates restoration work with education programs in wetland ecology, marine science, and and water quality monitoring. Partnership program with the American Littoral Society (ALS).
Restoration Corps
