Martha Corrozi Narvaez of UD's Water Resources Agency.

Green jobs for teens

UD's Water Resources Agency involved with summer program

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12:35 p.m., July 1, 2011--The city of Wilmington is partnering with seven environmental organizations to launch a Green Jobs Program employing eight teenagers this summer. Starting Tuesday, July 5, each intern will work 25 hours per week earning minimum wage for six weeks.  Their first assignment will be landscaping and removing invasive plants at the DuPont Environmental Education Center.

Thereafter they will improve trails, maintain trees, pick up litter, plant gardens, and spruce up parks.  But according to Martha Corrozi Narvaez, associate policy scientist at the University of Delaware’s Water Resources Agency, a program unit of the Institute for Public Administration in the School of Public Policy Administration, that is just the beginning of a summer of professional tasks they will perform.

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“We are going to train the interns to reduce water pollution using tactics we use as professionals,” said Narvaez.  “By the end of the summer, among other things, they will learn how to label storm drains and build rain gardens, both of which prevent runoff from polluting local waterways.”

According to the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, “stormwater runoff” is one of the leading causes of water pollution in Wilmington.  This occurs whenever rain or snowmelt washes pollutants into sewers or waterways.

Each participant in the Green Jobs Program is being paired with a mentor.  These and other experts will provide guidance, training, and insight into a variety of environmental careers.

The Green Jobs Program will culminate on Aug. 12 with a barbeque at the Challenge Program’s new LEED Gold headquarters on the Christina Riverfront.  With stormwater runoff being such a critical component of the program, the location of its closing event is no accident.  The Challenge Program’s headquarters has an innovative stormwater-management system, including planters filled with native plants and a rain garden. Stormwater collects in the sawtooth roof and then filters through the planters, after which it is stored in a cistern to be reused for irrigation and flushing the toilets.  During the event, participants and interns will speak about their experiences for relatives, friends, and honored guests.

In addition to the city’s Public Works and Parks and Recreation departments, those involved in the program include:

  • Delaware Center for Horticulture
  • Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
  • Delaware Nature Society
  • Partnership for the Delaware Estuary
  • The Challenge Program
  • UD's Water Resources Agency
  • Urban Environmental Center

Each organization will be providing the interns with hands-on work experience and environmental education that introduces them to environmental issues and careers.

Recruiting for next summer’s Green Jobs Program will begin in February 2012.  Applications are available at the city of Wilmington Department of Parks and Recreation.

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