Over 80 New Chesapeake Conservation and Climate Corps Members Inducted

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Last week, DSCI Secretary Jonny Dorsey and Maryland Corps/Service Year Option Director Erin Dahlin joined The Chesapeake Bay Trust (Bay Trust) at the Golden Shovel ceremony to welcome 83 new Members to the 2026-2027 cohort of the Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., Chesapeake Conservation and Climate Corps Program. These new Members will work on natural resources issues across Maryland. The Corps, administered by the Bay Trust in collaboration with DSCI, empowers young people to serve their communities and gain real-world professional skills. Corps Members are matched with host organizations and receive firsthand training on a wide variety of topics in the realms of climate, energy, watershed restoration, agriculture, forestry, and education. The Corps is further supported by the State of Maryland, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, BGE, and Constellation.  

“The strength of the Chesapeake Conservation and Climate Corps is written in its results: a cleaner bay, a healthy state, and dozens of young people heading into meaningful careers – 40% of our Members are hired by the organizations they serve, and 90% of graduates go on to full-time employment,” said Jonny Dorsey, Maryland Secretary of Service and Civic Innovation. “By investing in young people today, we’re building the next generation of environmental leaders and a stronger Maryland for generations to come.”

During their terms of service, Corps Members collaborate directly with their host organizations to gain valuable on-the-job experience as they work to advance environmental conservation, K-12 education, sustainable agriculture practices, clean and renewable energy technologies, energy efficiency programs and other climate resiliency goals, climate adaptation activities specifically in communities disproportionally affected by climate impacts, and much more. In addition to this real-world experience, Corps Members receive professional development and service-learning opportunities including grant writing and project management.

Alumna Erin Hamner said of her service experience, “I’ve written a lot of grants to help put in stormwater projects and help get watershed assessments on private and community owned land. I've also helped with water quality monitoring. I've learned how to drive a boat, and I'm still learning how to drive a boat. And, within the next few weeks, I will have to be able to do that by myself, which is not something I could have done a year ago.”