Colorado Youth Corps members gain career insights and learn about LM’s mission
June 6, 2024
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The Mile High Youth Corps is more than just a job. It connects young adults, ages 18-24, with opportunities to learn while they develop skills in career pathways. This May, the Youth Corps connected eight members from its Energy and Water Conservation Program with environmental professionals at Legacy Management’s Rocky Flats Site near Denver.
This is the third year the group has visited the site, along with LM staff, LM Support Partners, and a staff member from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), one of the site’s regulatory agencies.
“We enjoyed hosting the Mile High Youth Corps at the Rocky Flats Site and having conversations about the industry, education, and career opportunities as the corps members explore future endeavors,” said LM site manager Andy Keim. Young people in the Mile High Youth Corps Energy and Water Conservation Program provide energy and water efficiency measures to homes and nonprofit facilities and receive technical training for careers in green industries.
Over lunch, corps members had the opportunity to talk with staff and ask questions, discuss education and on-the-job experience, and learn about career paths. LM Deputy Site Manager Michelle Franke and CDPHE Environmental Protection Specialist Brian Walker joined Keim and the corps members in talking about long-term stewardship. LM Support Partners were also on hand to share their deep knowledge of working at the Rocky Flats Site. Support partners included Site Operations Lead Alan Smith, Senior Hydrogeologist John Boylan, Site Lead Dana Santi, and Principal Environmental Engineer George Squibb.
On the tour, corps members saw firsthand the important roles each staff person has in providing long-term surveillance and maintenance at the Rocky Flats Site. They learned about the site’s history, cleanup efforts, institutional controls, and required remedy activities to support long-term surveillance and maintenance.
Boylan explained the flow of groundwater and surface water and showed corps members the Solar Ponds Plume Treatment System, which treats nitrates and uranium at the site. Santi showed the group the upgraded solar battery facility, which will eventually run a new uranium treatment system. Santi and Boylan also explained how the Rocky Flats Site is off the grid and relies on solar power.
Squibb took the group to a surface water monitoring location and discussed the flow measurement and sampling process. Flow can be calculated by measuring the water level of the stream as it flows through a structure of a specific geometry with a known mathematical relationship between water level and flow rate. He highlighted how water-quality data shows the remedy is working and helps guide decisions.
Corps members also got to see firsthand how long-term stewardship can help restore and protect habitat, when some of the site’s resident elk herd made an appearance. The Rocky Flats Site contains unique prairie ecosystems that provide a home for a wide range of wildlife and plant life.