For the past decade, Glacier Peak Institute (GPI) has worked to create more opportunity for rural youth, offering a summer forestry crew program that transforms summer jobs into life-changing experiences. What began as a modest initiative supporting around 4-5 high schoolers from Darrington and Concrete each summer, has grown into a comprehensive workforce development program that hopes to reshape how teens and young adults living in rural communities connect with the environment and future careers.

A Breakthrough Year of Expansion

Summer 2024 marked a significant milestone, powered by funding from Snohomish County through the American Rescue Plan Act, with the program expanding to include a six-month, paid job training opportunity for young adults aged 18 and up to learn the critical job skills needed to pursue careers in forestry and environmental stewardship. The response from the community was overwhelming. GPI had funding to employ thirteen youth through the program over the course of the year, in addition to six high schoolers who joined the summer high school crew. A waitlist formed for both programs and future sessions that will depend upon our ability to secure funding. The high demand for these programs further demonstrates the critical need for such opportunities in rural communities like Darrington and Concrete.

A Network of Collaborative Learning

What makes GPI's workforce development program unique is the robust network of community partnerships we’ve developed over the past decade with organizations like the US Forest Service, Snohomish County Conservations District, Skagit Land Trust, Pacific Rim Tonewoods, the Darrington School District, Skagit River System Cooperative, and the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe. Through this network, GPI is able to give our work crews a broad range of hands-on learning experiences in ecological restoration, forestry, facilities maintenance, and community service projects as professional mentors from these organizations worked side-by-side with our crews to teach and share their lived experiences. Projects this season have included:

US Forest Service

Trail and ground Maintenance.
Historic building renovation and facilities maintenance.
Culvert surveys and timber pre-sales work.
Wildlife monitoring.

Snohomish County Conservation District: Free Firewise property assesments and community wood chipping services to create defensible space for fire prevention.

Skagit Land Trust: performed invasive species control and trail improvements.

Pacific Rim Tonewoods: assisted in maintenance of conservation areas.

Darrington School District: provided school garden improvements, fencing, and native special planting on school grounds.

Skagit River System Cooperative: provided restoration site thinning.

Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe: provided garden improvements and campground maintenance.

Concrete Bike Park: provided trail construction.

Concrete School District: collected tree specimens for science lessons.

Roots Forestry Consulting, LLC, and The City of Everett: Assisted with timber cruises (measured the average size, volume, and quality of a stand) and silviculture surveys as they learned about forest management practices relating to the protection of municipal water sources.

The program's training goes far beyond basic job skills as participants receive extensive, hands-on education in restoration techniques, trail maintenance, tool and equipment use and care, rigging techniques, CPR and First Aid certification, team building, leadership development, as well as important conservation and ecological principles.

Finding Yourself Outdoors: Participant Reflections

One of the key aspects of all of GPI’s programs is to use outdoor recreation and education as a transformational space where youth discover their passions, connect with community, and grow in their understanding of how to create sustainable ecosystems. Here are a few reflections recently shared by three of our crew when asked what were some of their favorite moments and takeaways this season:

Lilli's Wildlife Discovery

For Lilli, one such moment came while working alongside a local biologist to collect trail camera images used to identify bear species in remote areas and being amazed at the variety of life encountered. "I've grown to become a lot more mindful of our impact on earth. We live here but we share it with nature. I’ve become a lot more conscious of the traces I leave, whether it's a recreational trail, backpacking, or camping."

Bayley's Trail Transformation

For Baylee, the joy in doing restoration work on a variety of projects, including work on a trail to replace an aging puncheon bridge with an environmentally appropriate turnpike became a powerful learning experience. "Going through and finding all the rocks and assembling them all together was very fun and satisfying work from start to end."

Rune’s Connection to Community

Rune found profound meaning in restoration work as well, particularly at the Suiattle Guard Station. "It was good to be in a place that had that kind of significance to the community itself, and help bring it back for the people who want to visit it," underscoring the program's deeper mission of connecting young people to community and ecological heritage.

Addressing Rural Workforce Challenges

GPI's workforce program tackles a persistent challenge in rural communities of finding ways to employ local workers and invest in local economies through important environmental and restoration work. For the past 30 - 40 years, contracts and opportunities like these have been increasingly awarded to businesses based along the I-5 corridor, leaving rural communities like Darrington and Concrete further economically marginalized. By developing a well-trained local workforce, GPI is doing more than providing seasonal jobs. We’re building economic resilience, creating career pathways, and ensuring that economic resources flow back upstream to communities like Darrington as they manage and preserve the lands and environmental resources we call home.

Looking to the Future

As the team at GPI reflects on this remarkable summer, we see more than just a successful workforce program. We see a model of youth development that intertwines skill-building, natural resource stewardship, and community engagement that empowers youth as key participants in creating sustainable investment in local communities and economies. We wish to thank Snohomish County for their generous grant funding made possible through the American Rescue Plan Act, the many community partners who gave generously of their time and talents to mentor, and the individual donors who give to support the important work GPI is doing to revitalize rural communities.

Members of our 2024 Workforce Crew pose after loading pine cones collected for seed bank preservation and forest restoration efforts around the world.

We invite you to support programs like this with an affordable monthly or generous 1x gift to our Season of Giving Campaign. Your gifts ensure programs like this remain available to teens and young adults living in rural communities.

Give before December 31st and your gift could be doubled through matching funds. Learn more by clicking here.

Cultivating Futures: GPI’s Workforce Development Program