The VCC is looking for land that
needs stream restoration,
re-vegetation or native plantings...

 

 
 

All Veterans are eligible. Veterans who choose to participate will be added to the Veterans Conservation Corps list and in return, veterans will have an opportunity to help the environment, contribute to the community and earn valuable job skills in the environmental field.

This would be a great opportunity for veterans returning to school or work as an internship, an apprenticeship, VA work-study participant, or as a volunteer. Participants will earn valuable work experience that would enhance a resume, provide excellent work references and in some cases college credits.

What Type of Work Does the Veterans Conservation Corps Do?

Veterans will work on habitat restoration or protection projects across Washington State.

Activities could include:

Who Can I Call for More Information?

For more information, contact Mark Fischer at
1-800-562-2308 / 360-725-2224 / or markf@dva.wa.gov.

Or mail in an Interest Form to:
WDVA Attn:Mark Fischer
PO Box 41155
Olympia, Wa.98504-1155.

You may also contact your local WDVA Post Traumatic Stress Disorder contract counselor or other WDVA office personnel.

VCC Field Coordinators:

Returning veterans seeking vocational training in environmental restoration:

The Veterans Conservation Academy is in operation at Green River Community College, with the support of Renton Technical College.  It has room for 30 returning veterans from OIF/OEF/ONE, and is filled for the 2007 school year.  We will be taking applications now for the 2008 school year.  The program is placed within the Natural Resources Department at Green River Community College and there are four choices within that department: natural resources; GIS/GPS; water and waste-water management, and fire science.  In addition to the program at Green River CC we hope to be able to help fund veterans in different environmental and natural resource programs around the state of Washington in the future. 

The VCC also has an interest in assisting veterans who would like to find “green collar” careers.  Examples can be industries and occupations such as: alternative energy, fish hatchery work, forestry, recycling, aquaculture, agriculture, low impact development, green building, heavy equipment operation around environmentally sensitive areas, erosion control specialist, etc.  We are also looking into the possibility of specialty craft careers and small businesses in the field of historic building restoration and preservation.  The green “win” with these skills are that the carbon saving on restoring rather than tearing down a building is immense.    

Other Natural Resource Training Opportunities

The Veterans Conservation Corps is enrolling returning veterans from OIF, OEF, and ONE in the Natural Resources programs. Green River Community College A grant is provided through the Veterans Conservation Corps to assist students with their living costs.  The college is very dedicated to helping returning veterans through their financial aid packages as well.  Green River’s Natural Resource program Jeremy Grisham hm2grish@yahoo.com. Renton Technical College is partnering with the VCC and GRCC by providing some course work and certification programs as well as being available to veterans for small business development.  Their web site is: www.rtc.edu Olympic College in Bremerton will have 12 slots open for the 2008 school year for returning veterans in an environmental training program.  Please contact Mark Fischer (usual contact info.) or Jeff Reyes at jeff_r_vcc@msn.com. A living stipend is available to help those veterans with school and additionally the veteran may be eligible for worker retraining funds to help with tuition and books. Spokane Community College will also have 12 slots open for the 2008 school year for returning veterans in a Natural Resources program.  Please contact Mark Fischer or Seth Maier at sethmaier@hotmail.com. Lake Washington Technical College has 12 slots for the Fall 2008 school year.  The program is similar to the other Veterans Academies, except that the course work targeted is alternative energy, horticulture, and sustainability.   Contact Gordy Graham, dgordongraham@comcast.net A living stipend is available to help those veterans with school and additionally the veteran may be eligible for worker retraining funds to help with tuition and books. For more information, contact Mark Fischer at 1-800-562-2308 or 360-725-2224 markf@dva.wa.gov.