Submitted by the Islands Conservation District.

The Islands Conservation Corps (ICC), a workforce training program of the San Juan Islands Conservation District is seeking housing options for first-year and graduate-level student crew members for the season of September through June of 2023-24.

The ICC conducts ecological restoration work in forest, woodland, riparian, and near-shore ecosystems throughout the San Juans archipelago, helping our region maintain its ecological integrity in the face of climate change in increasing human pressures. We need your housing assistance! Student housing is the greatest challenge for this program’s ability to exist in the San Juans. If you or someone you know has access to housing on Orcas or San Juan Island and would be interested in renting to a student at a fair market rate, please contact the ICC Manager Kai Hoffman-Krull at kai@sjicd.org. The program is looking for up to five housing locations for next year’s students.

In partnership with Western Washington University (WWU), ICC participants can earn a Certificate in Ecological Restoration and an M.A. in Environmental Studies while living and working in the San Juans. In addition to cultivating the ecological leaders of tomorrow, this program continues to provide our community with access to higher education while promoting stewardship and conservation across the landscape. To date, ICC crews have restored over 44 acres of Garry oak and legacy Douglas fir Habitat, planted over 4,000 trees and shrubs in riparian management zones, and reduced invasive weeds on more than 70 acres? The program will begin its 4 th cohort in the fall of 2023, has graduated 20 students, and plans to welcome nine new members to the crew this Fall.

To learn more about the program, please visit www.sanjuanislandscd.org/icc.