Innovation
Mid-Maryland Youth Go Green
“I want to work outside, anything at all outside.” That was probably one of the most common request from applicants for the Mid-Maryland Workforce Investment Area’s summer youth employment program. As a result, some of the best job placements emphasized environmental stewardship.
“We tried to match students with worksites based on their interests,” Ramona Andrews explained. “We were looking for green jobs, because there’s been such a great push for going green.” As Youth Coordinator in Howard County’s Office of Workforce Development, Andrews had lead responsibility for organizing the Howard County’s summer youth program and Max Bair took the lead in Carroll. The summer program was supported by $109,272 in federal stimulus funds. Those federal funds enabled the two-county area to run its first summer jobs program in many years. In Mid-Maryland 41 young people were placed in government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private companies, where they earned $8 an hour, working 25 hours a week for six weeks.
One 16-year-old youth had learned about “going green” in school and wanted to find out more. When he expressed a preference for working outside, Andrews placed him at the Howard County Parks and Recreation department, where he worked with County employees on beautification efforts such as historical preservation projects at the B&O Railroad Museum in Ellicott City, and building a new porch at Waverly Historic Mansion in Marriottsville. He learned green construction techniques such as recycling building materials, as well as how to keep the environment green.
Another student spent his summer at Columbia’s Centennial Park. The 18-year-old, who had never had a job before, not only helped keep the park clean, but also learned the complexities of park maintenance, working with a park ranger on landscaping, gardening, painting, and other aspects of park care. He found the work so fulfilling that Andrews is continuing to work with him to find a full-time outdoor position.
The Green Building Institute (GBI) in Jessup hired two students for the summer. They worked on educational pamphlets and information dissemination projects, and “. . .ended up going green in their homes, teaching their families and friends how to save energy,”
All 41 of the young workers participated in a pre- and post-evaluation of academic and workplace skills, based on the SCANS skills framework, and nearly all the youth and supervisors rated the program impact as very good or excellent. One of the most poignant indicators, however, came from a mother, who wrote about how meaningful it was that her daughter had earned money to pay for school clothes and help put food on the table; she and her husband had both lost their jobs.
Contact:
Ramona Andrews
Youth Coordinator
Howard County Office of Workforce Development
randrews@howardcountymd.gov
410-290-2621
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