Already underway through a cooperative partnership with Lyon County High School, officials with Land Between the Lakes are seeking two Trigg County High School students to be the next additions of their National Recreation Area Work-Based Learning Program.
Shane Brady, LBL partnership coordinator, confirmed to Cadiz Rotary Club officials Tuesday afternoon that federal funding is well in place for a pilot effort in the community, where prospective students could experience one of three opportunities:
+ A non-paid internship, good for a one-semester or summer-like experience;
+ A full co-op, which are paid work experiences equal to 300 hours at $10 an hour;
+ And/or job-shadowing, which allows for students to connect with U.S. Forest Service agents in a career field of interest.
Brady noted that applying students could be placed in one of six career paths: communications and public affairs, business operations, recreation & trails, engineering, the Woodlands Nature Station or as a joint resource assistant learning about trails, fire and heritage.
He’s had some discussions with Trigg County Public Schools officials, and now with local Rotarians, after two students in Eddyville took internships looking for engaging engineering and Woodlands Nature Station experiences.
Home to more than 170,000 acres of timber, freshwater tributaries and untouched shorelines, Brady also noted participants at any of these levels within LBL’s landscape could accrue hours for the Public Land Corp Program, which after fulfilling 640 hours leads to a two-year granting of the non-competitive hiring status on merit positions.
With non-profit Friends of LBL as a passthrough, Brady said there are other career development programs that are being backed through federal allocations.
This, he said, includes post-secondary internships through the summer months, valued at $250 per week with housing provided, while apprenticeships require four years of completed college, but do offer $300 per week and housing. Program areas involved are wildlife, public affairs, business operations, safety, heritage and archaeology, environment education, engineering, history, fire management and so much more.
Just last year, Brady said the Southern U.S. Forest Service region — comprised of 13 states and 12 national forests — had the most workforce development participation of anywhere in the country, employing more than 1,300 for nearly 300,000 hours of work.
Questions and concerns can be directed to Brady by phone at 270-978-4085, or by email at shane.brady@usda.gov.
In other Cadiz Rotary news:
— Members celebrated Sharon Butts, who after 15 years has retired as the club’s long-time secretary. She will remain onboard, with former club president Alana Baker-Dunn stepping in as the group’s organizer.
Outgoing club president Rick Clements offered the praise.
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