What do we do?

The Islands Conservation Corps offers the accredited Ecological Restoration Certificate in the San Juan Islands in partnership with the Western Washington University College of the Environment. The program combines academic coursework and hands-on implementation in the fundamentals of ecological restoration. The program is delivered via a series of quarterly online courses plus paid, field-based practicums in the San Juan Islands, integrating hands-on restoration activities, online activities, and in-person learning. 

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First-year members are eligible to apply to be second-year crew leaders in the program and receive a tuition waiver for their enrollment in the Western Washington University M.A. in Environmental Studies. Up to 10 credits of applicable coursework from the Ecological Restoration Certificate may be approved towards the graduate degree pending approval by WWU Graduate Faculty.  Admission to the M.A. in Environmental Studies program is conducted by Western Washington University faculty, separate from the ICC program, and students are accepted on a competitive basis. 

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Program Mission

The Islands Conservation Corps combines academic coursework and hands-on ecological restoration to cultivate the next generation of land stewardship professionals that understand the history and modernity of conservation from the ground up. The program connects students to real-world challenges in conservation where research and inquiry can shape restoration planning and practices on public and private lands. The ICC recognizes the displacement of Coast Salish people from their ancestral homeland and fosters education in Tribal treaties and Co-Management to help members advocate for Tribal rights and indigenous land management in the conservation field. 

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What restoration activities is the ICC involved in? 

The ICC conducts an average of 24 hours per week of field-based restoration in forestry, woodland, riparian, and nearshore ecosystems. Activities include chainsaw thinning for forest health, landscape fire management, riparian forest buffer planting, noxious weed removal, trail building, fence building for herbivory, and ecological management planning. Activities are performed on public lands in San Juan County in concert with our land agency partners including:​

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• SJC Conservation Land Bank

• SJ Preservation Trust

• National Parks

• BLM

• San Juan County Environmental Stewardship

• Friends of the San Juans

• OPALCO

• WA DNR

• WA State Parks​

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Crew activities center on forest restoration, with a focus on Garry Oak release and rehabilitating pre-European contact savannah structure and species composition. Members receive on-going chainsaw education and evaluations from certified trainers through the US Forest Service. Additional activities include carbon-sequestering burning practices, riparian zone restoration, near-shore ecology restoration, and the establishment of native shrubs and pollinators in treated ecosystems.

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What is the certificate? 

The certificate pairs weekly coursework through Western Washington University's College of the Environment with a paid 21-hour per week AmeriCorps position hosted by the San Juan Islands Conservation District’s Islands Conservation Corps (ICC). In addition, ICC enrollees receive a $3,697 education award. Upon completion, students receive an accredited professional certificate and are in a position to continue work towards future college degrees, post-graduate certificates, or graduate degrees.​