Kent Montgomery, University of Minnesota Extension Service, (888) 241-0720

Why does our lake get murky during the fall? Has curly leaf pondweed made it into our lake? How do we get more young people involved in our lake association? If you have asked yourself any of these questions, you may find the answer in the Outdoor Corps program.

Through the outdoor Corps, local students provide important sampling services for lake associations.

The Outdoor Corps, a University of Minnesota Extension Service program, assists high school students in providing environmental stewardship services for their communities. Students participating in the program are trained in limnology and water sampling protocol and armed with industry-standard equipment. These students then contract with lake associations to monitor water quality within their lake. Typical services include sampling a variety of water quality parameters throughout the summer, such as lake profiles and measures of total phosphorus and chlorophyll-a concentrations, which are processed at a certified laboratory. Sampling results are shared with lake associations through oral presentations, written reports, and a program Web site.

Outdoor Corps students also manage the program budget and make financial decisions throughout the summer. Their budget typically includes salary (students are paid for their participation), mileage, and laboratory analysis fees. Through their participation in the program, students are able to explore careers in natural resources, apply their math and science to real-world settings, learn the basics of operating a small business, work with a variety of community members, and become more-informed consumers of natural resources.

This is an example of the kind of lake information gathered by Outdoor Corps students.

This program not only addresses youth development issues (safe and healthy opportunities to explore careers and experience personal growth), but also provides invaluable services to shoreline property owners in Minnesota. Sampling results, interpretation, and recommendations provided to area lake associations by the students lead lake members to a better understanding of how their lake functions and its overall health, and presumably greater stewardship of their common resource.

The Outdoor Corps is currently operating in Benton, Cass, Crow Wing, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Morrison, and Stearns County. For more information about the Outdoor Corps program contact, Kent Montgomery at (888) 241-0720.

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