Youth Conservation Corps 2026
Youth Conservation Corps Fall 2026
Dates: August 24 (crew leads) or August 31 (crew members) - December 11, 2026
Location: Bernalillo County, NM
Age Range: 18-25
Pay: $15/hour (crew members) or $18/hour (crew leads)
Perks: Wilderness First Aid certification, life & career skills
Approximate Schedule: Monday - Friday, 6-8 hr/day
Focus: Developing leadership through hands-on conservation work, building community, and learning outdoor skills.
Overview of Youth Conservation Corps
What is the Youth Conservation Corps?
Our fall YCC empowers and inspires New Mexican young adults ages 18-25 to become leaders, conservationists, and educators over the course of 15 weeks. We seek impassioned young people who want to grow together as a cohort, spend time outdoors, engage in hands-on conservation work with community partners, learn how to engage students in environmental stewardship, and develop skills for their careers and their lives.
- Crew Lead Training: 8/24 - 8/28 @ CGE Office
- All Crew Training: 8/31 - 9/4 @ Bachechi Open Space
- Camping Trip: 9/28 - 10/1 (10/2 off) @ TBD!
- Culminating Week: 12/7 - 12/11 @ Bachechi Open Space
Training topics
- Risk management, with a certification in Wilderness First Aid via Red Cross
- Conservation principles; land ethics; natural resource management
- Collaborating with peers and community partners; group development
- Conflict resolution; decision-making; giving and receiving feedback
- Project planning and implementation; project leadership and delegation
- Native habitat and watershed restoration; trail construction; agricultural systems
- Financial literacy; resume and cover letter writing; searching for and applying to jobs
- Environmental education principles; lesson planning; facilitating educational programs
- Career paths in the outdoors
Available Positions
Crew Lead:
- This is a seasonal, full-time position from August 24, 2026 to December 11, 2026
- $18/hour, 40 hours per week
- Wilderness First Aid certification and professional development opportunities
- For a more complete job description, see here
Crew Member:
- This is a seasonal, full-time position from August 31, 2026 to December 11, 2026
- $15/hour, 30-40 hours per week
- Wilderness First Aid certification and professional development opportunities
- For a more complete job description, see here
Who is Eligible?
Our YCC program is specifically designed for impassioned young people who are interested in learning more about southwest ecosystems, doing hard work to apply conservation principles to the land, and educating and engaging young people in the outdoors.
Eligibility:
- At least 18 and up to 25 years of age at point of hire
- New Mexico residents, see list of accepted documents to verify residency below
- Have a valid U.S. Social Security number or have applied for a valid Social Security number
- Available to work up to 40 hours per week from August 24 (crew lead) or August 31 (crew member) to December 11, 2026
- Have reliable transportation to CGE office (crew leads), Bachechi Open Space (crew members), or project sites within 15 minutes of Bachechi Open Space; CGE will provide van transport for further projects
- Able to lift up to 50 pounds and walk at least 5 consecutive miles
- Able to fulfill the essential functions of the assigned work with or without reasonable accommodations
New Mexico Proof of Residency Documents - From EMNRD
Please note passports, birth certificates, and baptism certificates are not proof of New Mexico residency.
- A valid New Mexico driver's license
- A valid New Mexico ID card or
- A current real property rental agreement or purchase agreement
- A utility bill dated within 60 days, such as water, gas, electric, waste, telephone, cable, or satellite bill, but not a bill for a cell phone
- An insurance bill, card, or binder, dated within the past 6 months
- A bank or credit card statement dated within 60 days that contains the corps member's name and address
- An employment pay stub, dated within 60 days that contains the corps member's name and address
- A current, local property tax statement or mortgage documents
- A document from an education institution, such as a transcript, report card or enrollment confirmation, that contains the corps member's name and address and is dated within 60 days
- Original documents from a city, county, state, tribal or federal government organization attesting to the fact that the corps member is a New Mexico resident
- A New Mexico medical assistance card with address on card, letter from issuing agency that came with card showing name and address, or profile printout from issuing agency
- A New Mexico public assistance card with address on card, letter from issuing agency that came with card showing name and address, or profile printout from issuing agency
- A New Mexico medical or public assistance card, profile printout or a letter from the issuing agency
- A document evidencing eligibility and proof that the corps member's parent or guardian is currently receiving services from a non-profit organization qualified pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986 provided the document displays the corps member's address.
Applications for Fall 2026 are Open!
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and interviews will be scheduled as soon as possible. Deadline to apply is August 1. Email ycc@cottonwoodgulch.org with questions.
YCC FAQs
YCC crew members are New Mexican young adults, ages 18-25, who are excited to be in a tight-knit team, work outdoors, and develop their personal and professional skills in an educational environment. There is no experience required for YCC crew members. YCC crew leads bring conservation and/or environmental education experience and an excitement to support the crew in meeting their goals. YCC crew leads must be 21-25 with a valid driver’s license and be able to safely utilize CGE passenger vehicles to transport crew members and work trucks to transport tools.
The fall YCC crew works Monday through Friday from August 31 to December 11, 2026. The first week of training will run 9am-3pm at Bachechi Open Space. After the initial week, Mondays will be classroom days at Bachechi Open Space for ongoing training, 9am-3pm. Tuesdays through Thursdays will be project work days at partner sites, 8am-4pm. Fridays will be field trip days to public lands and other community partners, 8am-2pm. CGE will provide van transit from Bachechi Open Space for any sites more than 15 minutes driving from Bachechi; YCC crew members will need reliable transportation to/from Bachechi Open Space.
Crew Lead(s) will generally work outside of crew member hours to provide safe transportation of passengers and tools to/from project sites in CGE vehicles, not to exceed 40 hours per week. YCC crew leads will need reliable transportation to/from the CGE office.
Training, classroom days, and the final week of the program will be at Bachechi Open Space (on the corner of Rio Grande and Alameda). From there, the YCC crew will travel to other Bernalillo County Open Space sites for project work, including but not limited to: Sabino Canyon, Carlito Springs, Sandia Knolls, Tijeras Creek, and the Gutierrez-Hubbell House.
Once per season, the fall YCC will get to experience an expedition-style camping trip similar to
those that CGE facilitates for youth and families. CGE will provide all food, shelter, and transportation for the duration of the 3-night, 4-day campout. Crew members will be compensated for 40 hours of work that week, for 10 hours/day. The fall 2026 campout will be September 28 to October 1, 2026, with Friday October 2 off for the crew to rest.
The YCC crew engages in many hands-on conservation projects, which could include but is not limited to: removing invasive plant species, planting native species, repairing and clearing trails, digging drainage structures, replacing interpretive signage, harvesting produce, mulching, closing social trails, and removing litter from parks.
On classroom days, in addition to training modules from guest speakers, YCC crew members will lesson plan for an environmental education class that they will teach to their peers by the end of the season. After they receive feedback from the crew, crew members will teach an improved version of their class during the final week of the program and can invite guests to attend if they so choose. CGE will provide all classroom and research materials. In the final week of the program, YCC crew members will also take a Wilderness First Aid certification course in the Bachechi classroom space.
The YCC cohort will visit public land managers in the greater Albuquerque area, including sites managed by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, the US Forest Service, the National Park Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. In addition, they will meet community partners at environmental non-profits, urban farms, and get to participate in outdoor recreation opportunities as a team.
When CGE school treks visit fall YCC project sites, CGE field educators collaborate with the YCC crew to engage school students in the conservation projects they are working on. All YCC crew members and leads must pass a background check given CGE’s work with youth. YCC crew members and leads are not expected to lead field trips, but are encouraged to practice their environmental education and instructional skills to articulate the importance and essential safety components of projects.
