Veterans program opens in Thurston County

Full-time paid internships for military veterans are available in Thurston and Lewis counties.

The internships are coordinated through a program by the Veterans Conservation Corps in partnership with WSU Extension, the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) and EcoStudies Institute.

The program offers $3,200 per month for habitat restoration and food system work, as announced by the Washington State University Extension on Tuesday, July 8. 

Participants will be assigned to the Early Blue conservation site near Tenino and Southwest Washington Food Hub in Centralia.  

Interns will work 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The program will run for six to eight months. 

According to the DVA, duties include mowing, vegetation management, seeding and planting, seed or plant material collection, fencing, water system development and soil testing. 

Interns will also perform indoor warehouse tasks to help with the distribution of Prairie-Safe beef, including “packing boxes, cleaning and organizing, recycling, and learning about local food distribution logistics," a job description states. 

The Early Blue site, owned by Thurston County, is managed under contract with WSU Extension as a demonstration and research area focused on prairie conservation through rotational grazing.

The internship supports additional projects involving silvopasture installation, soil health and outreach to farmers participating in habitat-compatible grazing systems. 

WSU Extension said Southwest Washington Food Hub includes 35 farms and value-added businesses. The hub partners with WSU Extension and a regional tribe to develop markets for prairie-safe livestock products, and to provide technical assistance to local and tribal producers. 

Eligible applicants must be veterans of the United States military and pass a background check. On-the-job training will be provided. Interns may also receive additional instruction in native plant identification, chainsaw use, grazing systems and peer support. 

Optional certification courses in suicide prevention, Post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury awareness may also be available. 

To apply, veterans must submit a copy of a DD214 or service discharge certificate, a copy of driver license, a resume and a cover letter explaining interest in an internship to Kim Pham, Veterans Conservation Corps Program Manager, at kim@dva.wa.gov. 

The Veterans Conservation Corps (VCC) is administered by the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs. In a bulletin dated July 1, the department confirmed, "The VCC program had a reduction of 8 internships and is actively working to replace state funding with other grant opportunities.” 

Details about the position and current openings are available here.