This program provides youth 15 to 30 years of age in Ontario, Canada with training and meaningful employment in environmental and cultural heritage conservation. The Green Team program is aimed at empowering youth with leadership skills, team spirit and employment skills.
Youth should not be seen as passive recipients of external influences. They do have a voice and deserve to be actively involved in making a positive impact in their communities and the world at large.
Working in groups and interacting with people, learning new skills, shapes their development and opens up doors of opportunities for career progression.
Youth benefit immensely from the Green Team program by acquiring skills, knowledge and feel even more connected to the environment.
The Green Team program supports organizations, corporations and municipalities in areas of environmental management and conservation.
The Green Team will work with communities, organizations and the government to improve and enhance the environment in a sustainable manner.
How the Green Team Program works
1. Organizations partner with Ontario Conservation Corps
Ontario Conservation Corps believes in true partnership to ensure youths enrolled in the corps program benefit immensely. Projects youth would be working on are well laid out to ensure that partners’ requirements and standards are met. Organizations, corporations and municipalities in areas of environmental management and conservation are encouraged to partner with us to make this a meaningful experience for our youth.
2. Youth work in teams
Youth enrolled will work in teams known as ‘green teams’ and each team will have a team leader. Although most teams work in groups of 4 during the summer months for 8 weeks, the length of employment and team size may vary for some teams depending on the nature of their project(s).
3. Environmental and conservation projects
The projects our teams work on has to be beneficial to the communities in which they occur. These projects focus on Environmental/Waste Management and Conservation – Restoration of Cultural Heritage of partner company or organization.
4. Training
Youth accepted into the program will attend a five day orientation in their first week of employment. Sometimes, orientation may spill into the second week. This training will equip them with different skills and opportunities they require in order to work on their projects in a safe and proficient manner.