August 2017 - Parks & Recreation - 35

Breaking the Mold
Branches is not a typical work-skills
job program. The youth who intern
with Branches obtain work experience
that is catered to the unique needs of
a high school student. When they aren't maintaining parks or green spaces,
they spend time learning about college
degrees, job training programs and the
basics of personal finance. They are exposed to environmental science - phenology, ecology, hydrology - and learn
how the green spaces they are maintaining benefit the city and the people who
live around them.

Photo by Parks & People Foundation

mental science - and job skills training and life skills training. What does
it mean to be a professional employee?
For some of the interns, this is their first
job experience. "
Everyone needs a first job or internship with early work experiences shaping
viewpoints on employment and responsibility. Khyja McCray, a 2016-2017 graduate of Branches and rising freshman at
Hood College, says that she is one of the
few among her peers to have a job. She is
not alone in that fact.
The Rockefeller Foundation reports
that " the unemployment rate for younger workers remains more than double
the national average. " Yet research consistently shows that young people who
work in high school are more likely to be
stable in careers and earn more as they
age. This fact is incredibly important for
young people in Baltimore, a city where
the median family income is less than
half that of the state.
There is a saying that a person cannot be what they cannot see. And, when
youth in Baltimore see decayed schools,
peers involved with crime and a lack of
investment in their communities, youth
reflect that environment and have a harder time overcoming barriers than their
socioeconomically advantaged peers.

Branches interns and team leaders (2016-2017 school year) gather at the Parks & People
Foundation's headquarters in Druid Hill Park in Baltimore, Maryland.

" Branches was impactful because it
opened up my mind between the relationship with our environment and
health. Branches has allowed me to take
the initiative and start that change to
make a better environment for Baltimore
City, " says Zion Smith, a high school
sophomore and returning intern for the
2017-2018 program.
" At first, I wasn't a fan of getting
muddy, " says McCray, " but when we
were planting seedlings and flowers, I
began to enjoy getting my hands dirty.
The feeling of being outside is serene.
It's just beautiful. "
These testimonies speak to exactly
the impact the program aims to achieve:
providing high school students with opportunities to break out of the norm, and
showing youth that they are an active
part of the community and their local
parks, and, that through their actions,
they can help neighbors like the caretakers of Small Street Garden.
Caring for Baltimore
This summer, when Branches goes back
to Small Street Garden, more interns
will lift shovels and plant vegetables for
the community. It is hot work and most
high school students would shy away

from anything laborious, but in part because of Branches' help, that space will
be maintained and remain as an asset
for a community. If not for Branches,
interns would be spending their evenings at a routine job or watching TV at
home, rather than learning how to break
out of the cycle of poverty. Instead, they
are experiencing the chance to progress
productively and seamlessly from high
school to the next opportunity.
" We are nurturing the next generation of homegrown urban gardeners
and passionate stewards of beautiful and
splendid city parks, " says Sam Little,
environmental education manager and
supervisor of all Branches staff. " Our
team members are roses growing up in
a concrete place with a lot of negativity, but here, they are investing in themselves and the places they inhabit on a
daily basis, making both the better as a
result. They chose not to let the bad and
sad overwhelm them. Instead, they are
earning a paycheck, gaining valuable life
skills and learning the importance of being civically engaged Baltimoreans. "
Mark Talbert is the Grant Manager and Writer for
the Parks & People Foundation (mark.talbert@
parksandpeople.org).

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