![\"\"](\"https:\/\/loudounsoilandwater.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/YCLI-LOGO-768x215-1.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/p>\n
Youth Conservation Leadership Institute (YCLI)<\/b><\/span> is a recognition program for students in 9th- 12th grade that focuses on volunteer service and environmental stewardship. YCLI began as an expansion of Youth Conservation Camp to keep students engaged in the environmental topics introduced at camp.<\/span> YCLI offers self-motivated and enthusiastic high school students interested in environmental conservation and stewardship an opportunity to build leadership skills and connect with local mentors involved with environmental issues. <\/strong><\/h5>\nStudents in 9th-12th grade <\/span>may apply <\/a>to be a part of this program. Program participants are required to complete a minimum of 20 hours of community service with a conservation focus as well as participate in a book discussion and submit required progress reports throughout the year. The hours may be done as part of a single project or a series of projects but all projects must be approved by the YCLI Program Coordinator. YCLI participants work with the YCLI Program Coordinator to come up with a project that the YCLI Participant wants to focus on. Participants must be self-driven individuals able to set their own goals, evaluate their set milestones, and be motivated to move their projects forward. The YCLI Participants are paired with a mentor to help them with their project. Mentors can be Soil & Water Conservation Staff, Natural Resource professionals, 4-H agents, etc<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\nTO APPLY: submit this application<\/a> to <\/span>byron.minson@vaswcd.org<\/a> by October 8th, 2026. Applicants will be notified in mid-late October, with the first Kick-Off meeting to be held in late October 2026. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nPast projects have included:<\/b><\/p>\n\n- Building birdhouses for Warblers<\/span><\/li>\n
- Teaching elementary students about watersheds<\/span><\/li>\n
- Developing and Installing Trail Signage<\/span><\/li>\n
- Litter Clean Ups<\/span><\/li>\n
- Clothing Drive<\/span><\/li>\n
- Education Outreach about being an Intern with the Elizabeth River Project<\/span><\/li>\n
- Conservation Education Outreach to Elementary Students<\/span><\/li>\n
- Stormwater Education Outreach<\/span><\/li>\n
- Pollinator Gardens<\/span><\/li>\n
- Soil Compaction Education & Outreach to Homeowners<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
![\"Youth](\"https:\/\/loudounsoilandwater.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/YCLI-Flyer-2026-2027.jpg\" "\\"YCLI")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1492","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudounsoilandwater.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudounsoilandwater.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudounsoilandwater.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudounsoilandwater.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudounsoilandwater.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1492"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/loudounsoilandwater.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1638,"href":"https:\/\/loudounsoilandwater.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1492\/revisions\/1638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudounsoilandwater.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
TO APPLY: submit this application<\/a> to <\/span>byron.minson@vaswcd.org<\/a> by October 8th, 2026. Applicants will be notified in mid-late October, with the first Kick-Off meeting to be held in late October 2026. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Past projects have included:<\/b><\/p>\n\n
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1492","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudounsoilandwater.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudounsoilandwater.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudounsoilandwater.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudounsoilandwater.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudounsoilandwater.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1492"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/loudounsoilandwater.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1638,"href":"https:\/\/loudounsoilandwater.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1492\/revisions\/1638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudounsoilandwater.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}