Putting our young people back to work

As we prepare to rebuild from the devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, we will need solutions that match the magnitude of the moment.

One challenge we will have to address is the youth unemployment crisis. In Connecticut, there have been more than 100,000 claims for unemployment over the last few months by residents under 30. Nationally, Americans under 30 are out of work at a level not seen since the Great Depression. This crisis touches all demographics but disproportionately affects youth of color, indigenous youth and rural youth. The good news is that we already have a strong foundation upon which to build.

Shortly after his inauguration in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps to “conserve our natural resources, create future national wealth and prove of moral and spiritual value not only to those of you who are taking part, but to the rest of the country, as well.”

Roosevelt’s “Tree Army” ultimately employed 3.4 million young men who planted 3 billion trees, created more than 700 state and local parks and constructed trails across the country. The 20 CCC camps in Connecticut fought fires, cleared roads and contributed to structures such as the Ellie Mitchell pavilion in Rocky Neck State Park.

Investments in restoration, recreation and resilience create good-paying jobs more quickly than many other alternatives — 15 to 33 jobs per million invested — because most of the funds go towards labor, rather than materials. They will also give these young workers a meaningful employment experience in service to the country.

Here in Connecticut, these young workers could restore sections of the Appalachian Trail and the New England National Scenic Trail, and they could tackle long-overdue projects in Connecticut’s state parks and forests and restore more than 3,000 miles of trails.

We all remember the devastation that Superstorm Sandy brought to Connecticut’s shoreline in 2012. A new CCC could help protect us from future storms by restoring and rebuilding coastal habitats like dunes, oyster reefs and marshes. These workers could also prevent floods upstream by restoring wetlands and floodplains — saving lives and money in the long run.

As the climate warms, the importance of trees in urban areas becomes even more important. Imagine if there were a new Tree Army amplifying the work of Knox, Inc. in Hartford, Urban Resources Initiative in New Haven, Groundwork Bridgeport and others dedicated to making communities greener and healthier while breaking down historic inequity barriers at the neighborhood level.

To scale up quickly, we could build on an existing AmeriCorps program, and we could have these young workers implement shovel-ready state, local and federal plans. And there are many nonprofit, municipal and state partners ready and able to help.

A new youth corps could also help the more than 600 species of concern Connecticut identified in its 2015 wildlife action plan. Take the monarch butterfly. This amazing pollinator has declined by 99 percent in the western states and is faring little better here in the east. A new CCC could create butterfly-friendly “pollinator pathways” in Connecticut and beyond to pull this charismatic critter back from the brink — particularly if there were funding to implement the 2015 plan from the bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act.

Time is of the essence. We need to lay the groundwork now, so we can swiftly put young people to work restoring America’s natural treasures as soon as it is safe. A new CCC will not just restart the economy — it will increase our strength and resilience as a nation.