Active Conservation

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Earth Conservation Corps is a nonprofit, environmental action program powered by unemployed community youth in a transformative year of Anacostia River restoration.

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For twenty-nine years neighborhood youth with few resources have doggedly fought to reclaim the river in their backyard. When they began, the Anacostia River was one of the most polluted rivers in America but they have galvanized a massive reclamation effort and the river is recovering. Unfortunately, their neighborhoods have not seen the same level of investment and remain some of the most violent in America. Today almost half of their time is spent on watershed restoration efforts to connect those mean streets to the river and the larger community.

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A small but highly trained staff and the dedication of an array of remarkable partners including the Metropolitan Police Department, the Environmental Protection Agency, the District Department of the Environment, DYRS and many other organizations and individuals provide these year round volunteers with the leadership skills and environmental education to set them on a path to a career in nature or science.