Starting this month, the Emporia Community Foundation will help young men and women help the tallgrass prairie.
The foundation is managing a new project called the Kansas Youth Conservation Corps, a part of the Kansas Park Trust. Under the program, at-risk 18- to 22-year-olds who need mentoring and job skills will get the chance to work on conservation projects at the 11,000 acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Chase County.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius announced the program last week. She called it a “win-win” situation for Kansas, with the youth gaining skills and confidence while the Flint Hills gains their work in preservation.
“The work of these youth will help ensure these resources are preserved to be enjoyed by future generations,” Sebelius said in the announcement.
In a press release, Bobbie Agler, chairman of the foundation’s board of trustees, wrote that the foundation had been looking for ways to promote the Flint Hills and Emporia’s presence as the “front porch” to the region.
“Our role in the Kansas Park Trust is an absolutely perfect match for the emphasis on the Flint Hills tallgrass prairie being one of the top natural God-given sites in the United States,” Agler wrote. “What an opportunity for the youth!”
Other participants in the project are the National Park Service, the Kansas Nature Conservancy, the Kansas Department of Commerce and the Kansas Juvenile Justice Authority.
Principal funding is through the federal Workforce Investment Act, with ongoing support from a donation by Joseph Hollowell of Lawrence to the Kansas Park Trust. The Hollowell donation is being managed by the Emporia Community Foundation.
The prairie preserve recently drew the spotlight in April’s edition of “National Geographic,” which featured a 22-page photo spread on the region. The article was titled “Splendor of the Grass.”
As of late April, the Emporia Community Foundation has reported assets of nearly $4.7 million, an increase of more than $250,000 since the same time last year. The foundation received 29 grant applications from area charities totaling over $225,000. Grants are paid from the foundation’s Fund for the Future, which currently lacks the money to fund all 29 applications, according to board president Ken Buchele.