American Climate Corps

Hopi Ancestral Lands Crew protecting riparian areas by sercuring a livestock fence. — *Hopi Ancestral Lands Crew protecting riparian areas by securing a livestock fence. USDA Forest Service photo by Andrew Hostad.*

Build Resilient Climate and Grow Your Career

American Climate Corps mobilizes a new, diverse generation of Americans to work conserving and restoring our lands and waters, bolstering community resilience, deploying clean energy, implementing energy efficient technologies, and advancing environmental justice, all while creating pathways to high-quality jobs in public and private sectors. The American Climate Corps (ACC) gives young people the tools to fight the impacts of climate change today while gaining the skills to be part of the clean energy and climate-resilience workforce of tomorrow.

Eligibility

Be between 15 and 35 years old.
Be a U.S. citizen, national or permanent resident.
A member of most Forest Service Workforce Development Programs and Job Corps Centers.

Eight men and women start in yelloe shirts and yellow hard hats. — *AmeriCorps members in the Forest Service Corps program.*

Benefits

During service, participants receive:

Living stipend, allowance, or wage.
Gain direct experience and training in a variety of natural and cultural resource management career fields.
Develop technical, interpersonal, and applicable job skills.

After service, participants receive:

Some positions offer 2-year non-competitive Federal hiring authority or an AmeriCorps Education Award upon successful term completion.

Project Types

Crews, teams, and interns work across all Forest Service units on a variety of ACC partner led projects, such as:

Natural and cultural resource and ecosystem restoration and conservation
Reforestation
Protection and restoration of waterways
Greenhouse gas reducing projects
Coastal and climate resilience
Heat island cooling
Disaster preparedness and recovery
Equitable outdoor access and resilient recreation infrastructure
Environmental education, research, and outreach

Program Length

The Forest Service meets cooperators and participants where they are. Projects vary in length from two months to year-round and terms including part-time and full-time, seasonal and summer.

How to Apply or Learn More

Join Forest Service signature ACC programs AmeriCorps Forest Corps or SCA Wildland Fire Academy Crews.
Visit ACC.gov to browse all job openings.
Visit Programs & Initiatives – The Corps Network to learn more about Corps and their climate resilience project opportunities.
Use the Find a Forest tool to find a Forest Service location that you are interested in working for.

Visit USDA.gov to learn more about USDA American Climate Corps initiatives.