Elderberry Wisdom Farm Partners with Community Forestry Corps to Serve Salem’s Youth
- By Soul Long, Experiential Service Learning Coordinator
Elderberry Wisdom Farm’s workforce development initiative is currently expanding its workforce to include youth, ages 14-17. We are recruiting students who live in Salem and attend Salem public schools. These are not volunteer opportunities. The students who apply will have opportunities for paid part-time employment from November 2026 through January 2027.
A special opportunity has been made possible by a new partnership with Urban Sustainability Director Network and their Community Forestry Corps, https://www.usdn.org/index.html#/. This Cleveland based program is on a mission to provide meaningful climate action work for youth and address urban forestry challenges in underserved communities.
As a result, Elderberry Wisdom Farm (EWF) is hiring a younger generation of urban forestry conservation workers to plant native trees and forbs in Salem’s low-tree-canopy neighborhoods and schoolyards. Our TEK Workforce Development initiative is expanding so we can train and mentor these high school students who are interested in environmental careers. Expanding the age range of those who can take advantage of the benefits of this program allows more opportunity to educate, inspiring the next generation to actively participate in the rehabilitation of our earth and communities.
This team will be trained in both classroom education and outdoor experiential service learning that integrates Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) principles and practices with our partner’s Western science practices. We also add group mentoring and health and wellness resilience classes to support their personal growth. As a result, they will learn how to provide services that our communities and ecosystems need to thrive.
Youth Crew Members will build skills in fields involving arboriculture, tree care, landscape architecture, heat data measurement, public speaking, event coordination, and natural infrastructure management to name just a few experiences to gain professional development in living systems/natural resources management career pathways.
To ensure all available Youth Crew Member positions can be filled, EWF will be expanding the hiring window until Mid November for any youth ages 14-17. Check the Jobs/Internships tab at our website for more details. www.elderberrywisdom.org
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