Dirt Corps focuses on creating green career pathways for people facing barriers within the existing routes to environmental work. Our organization promotes a safe and supportive culture of learning, rooted in equity and led by staff committed to being anti-racist. We compensate our participants for their time spent in the adult training program by offering stipends that exceed Seattle’s minimum wage. We believe in place-keeping and promote inclusion of localized, skilled workforces employed through green projects.
Our program combines classroom instruction and hands-on, site-based training. Subjects include Green Infrastructure, Ecological Restoration and Urban Forestry. Dirt Corps implements a training model where people with all types and levels of expertise work alongside each other to complete various environmental projects. Through this evolving curriculum and development, our trainees contribute to improved community health and strengthening, while also gaining employable skills in the following fields: arboriculture, horticulture, vegetation management, salmon recovery, storm water management, climate resilience, green infrastructure, general contracting design/build, GSI Operations and Management, landscaping, community engagement, advocacy, and education.