For Immediate Release:
Landforce reaches its 8th anniversary and surpasses 50,000 hours of environmental stewardship in the Pittsburgh region.
Pittsburgh, PA 11/30/2022 — Landforce, a non-profit employment social enterprise incorporated 8 years ago today (November 30, 2015), combines workforce development and environmental stewardship. Landforce crews are made up of people who are typically excluded from family sustaining jobs, but who are still eager to share their skills, competence and commitment to our region. During their 9 months with Landforce, crew members are paid for intensive skills training, work on environmental restoration projects, and time spent in career coaching sessions. Ultimately, crew members leave Landforce for other employment, with more than 90% retaining jobs for at least the following 12 months.
Since its very first project in 2016, crews have contributed a total of 57,775 hours towards stewarding and restoring the environment in Allegheny County. Across this time, crew members have worked on 172 projects with nearly 50 nonprofit, municipal, and for profit partners. Projects have included trail construction & upkeep, green infrastructure installation & maintenance, vacant lot improvements, tree planting & care, riparian restoration and erosion control near streams and rivers, garden bed installation, and basic infrastructure work.
Rickey Hebron, a 2020 crew member who now supervises one of Landforce’s crews, reflected that, “It’s not simply about doing this important work, but when you’re facing a big project, figuring out how to get it done in an efficient, high quality way.” One of Rickey’s favorites was a 2020 project where the crew installed a deer exclusion fence and they figured out their strategic approach together as a team.
Landforce will begin recruiting for its 2023 crew in early January. www.landforcepgh.org
Contact: Ilyssa Manspeizer
412 727 6936 x3#