Summer job puts local teens to work outdoors

Tools

By Erica Rush, KCBY News

Story Published: Aug 5, 2010 at 7:05 AM PST

CHARLESTON, Ore. -Local youth take on the trails at Sunset Bay State Park for their summer job, but wind up earning much more than just a paycheck. There's also a lot of personal pride that comes with their four-week long, intensive labor program.

An extension of the Northwest Youth Corps., Outdoor Oregon is a new project, putting close to a dozen 16 to 19 year olds to work for a portion of the Summer. And just three days into the maintenance of this brand new trail leading into Sunset Bay Campground, Crew Boss Mary Jane Feetham says they're learning all about teamwork and trails.

"It's a program that teaches them about the environment, about conservation techniques, trail buildings. And trail skills are one of the many things we work with them on," said Feetham.

What's unique about Outdoor Oregon is that instead of bringing in students from around the Northwest to work, they specifically selected youth living in or around Coos Bay. Not only does that make it more convenient for working conditions but it also helps bring more gratification to the work site, knowing this is where their friends and family will come, including the mother of 16 year old, Tomas Edwards.

"She says she's going to came run this as an original spot, she can say her son built," said Edwards. And I'm going to bring my kids here when I get older and they're going to see it and I can say I helped this and they're going to say wow, that's cool. And I'll walk them all the way through it, all the way to the campsite and it's going to be something cool to say that I did."

Feetham adds that this mile long trail could be the first of many to branch off behind the Sunset Bay Campgrounds.

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