San Jose Conservation Corps Naturalist Program
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School
About the Project
With support from the Open Space Authority, San Jose Conservation Corps (SJCC)’s Naturalist Program aims to train and certify 75 Corpsmembers as California Naturalists, in collaboration with the UC California Naturalist Program. As SJCC becomes a UC California Naturalist partner, the organization will have the capacity to provide the certification in-house. Grant funds are utilized for Corpsmember wages, guest speaker stipends and training materials/supplies.
“Corpsmembers at SJCC generally come from under-resourced communities... If taken through another organization, the California Naturalist course can be cost prohibitive. By offering it at SJCC we provide an opportunity for our corpsmembers to receive this certification to advance their careers, explore parks and other spaces that they might not have had access to previously and to build a sense of environmental stewardship."
