EarthCorps is a non-profit organization founded in 1993. It is dedicated to building global community through local environmental restoration service. As an AmeriCorps affiliate, EarthCorps provides one-year intensive programs for young adults (18-25) to learn best practices in conservation techniques and develop skills in leading volunteers (ages 8-80).
Global leadership
EarthCorps is based in Seattle, Washington. Work consists of volunteer-based and contracted restoration projects on public lands in the Puget Sound and Cascade mountains. EarthCorps alumni volunteer on environmental restoration projects around the world, for example building and maintaining the Great Baikal Trail in Siberia. Two-thirds of EarthCorps’ program participants come from the United States, one-third come from partner organizations from six different continents.
Community-based expertise in environmental restoration
Environmental service is a uniquely effective way to build community. When people put their hands into the dirt together and see their efforts transform a threatened area into a more vibrant landscape, they forge a special bond. Schoolteachers have noted that young children, who may not have known the difference between a tulip and a maple, quickly learn to appreciate the natural gardens they create. Each year, EarthCorps brings 10,000 community volunteers and hundreds of school-age children into direct contact with their environment and each other.