San Juan Islands Youth Conservation Corps Celebrates a Landmark Summer Season

YCC Crew Member building a new trail during the Summer 2026 Program.

2026 was a landmark year for the San Juan Islands Youth Conservation Corps, marking our tenth year as a program of the San Juan Islands Conservation District and our nineteenth year connecting local youth to hands-on, real-world outdoor experience. Over the course of our 8-week season, our 39 crew members got outside, got their hands dirty, and did the work of protecting and restoring the natural beauty of these islands.

YCC is a summer program that empowers local youth through hands-on conservation work, environmental education, and community engagement. Each season, we bring together teens from across the islands to restore vital habitats, support local land managers, and develop the next generation of environmental stewards. Through meaningful partnerships with conservation organizations, government agencies, and dedicated mentors, YCC crew members gain real-world skills, deepen their connection to the natural world, and contribute to the long-term health of the San Juan Islands. At its core, YCC is about more than just conservation—it’s about building confidence, fostering leadership, and inspiring a lifelong ethic of stewardship in our island youth.

We are grateful for the collaboration and support of our community. This was a season of full crews and familiar faces — several 4-year returners, and many new members, including younger siblings of past YCC alumni. Sunburns, storms, bee stings, stranded boats, and thistle thorns tested our crews along the way, but they met every challenge with determination, adaptability, and heart, learning the value of work that extends beyond our own community to the plants, animals, and ecosystems of the Salish Sea.

This year saw the continuation of important work from past seasons, including gorse removal in Olga, riparian restoration at Zylstra Lake, trail construction at Moran State Park, beach cleanups at Otis Perkins, and food waste management at the San Juan County Fair. We also took on several new projects: constructing kiosks for Bureau of Land Management sites, building tent platforms on Patos Island, conducting a fuel load inventory at Iceberg Point, and restoring eelgrass at Odlin and Shaw County Parks and Fourth of July Beach.

We are proud of our 39 crew members, whose commitment, hard work, and growth as conservation leaders will benefit the ecosystems of the San Juan Islands for years to come. Their efforts reflect the power of youth engagement in stewardship and the importance of continued investment in conservation education.

To our partners, donors, board members, and families: thank you. Your support continues to inspire and enable this vital work.

We are excited to offer a YCC year-round program for the fall/winter 2026/2027 school year beginning Saturday, September 26. We are currently recruiting crew members and accepting applications until September 15, find out more at www.sanjuanislandscd.org/ycc.