NORTH LAWNDALE COLLEGE PREP STUDENTS JOIN MYC PROGRAM
NORTH LAWNDALE COLLEGE PREP STUDENTS JOIN MYC PROGRAM
By Christopher Shuttlesworth
Since 2012, North Lawndale College Prep students have had the opportunity to work with the National Forest Foundation to help restore
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie preserve in Will County through Exelon’s Midewin Youth Corps (MYC) program.
During the six-week program, two crews of MYC student interns work 30 hours a week and earn a living wage as they participate in ongoing
restoration projects.
Steve Solomon, who is the president of the Exelon Foundation, said the foundation decided to fund the MYC program because they wanted to give North Lawndale students the opportunity to spend the summer at the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie preserve.
“The [intern] students learn a lot of great things about nature and about the Prairie,” Solomon said. “Monday through Thursday they learn how to track population, measure the growth of plants, maintain trails and remove
invasive species.”
He continued to explain on Friday the interns learn about the ecosystem, health and management, types of flora and fauna and much
more.
“What we often hear from students is that Monday through Thursday is a lot of tough work with being out in the sun and working on the prairie,” Solomon said. “But it’s great to be somewhere where it’s calming, peaceful and completely different from where they live.”
He said at the end of the program, the students leave with great pride and have a greater appreciation for the environment.
“It was a very good experience working with the Prairie,” Student Intern, Clarence Harris said.
“I would encourage more students to join the program because it will help them see the big difference from where they come from compared to living on a Prairie.”
Over the six years of the MYC program, interns have planted over 25,000 plants, removed 1,000 garbage bags of invasive vegetation and cleaned out unwanted plants all while moderating over 50 miles of grasslands’ bird habitats and accomplishing over 15 miles of trail work.
Solomon said future students can begin registering for the program during the Spring of 2018.
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