Youth Employment Summer Students Clean Up Coral Bay

Students in the YES Program were busy last week directing traffic and cleaning up the roadway in Coral Bay, above.

Coral Bay and other areas of St. John are looking cleaner than usual thanks to summer employees with the V.I. Waste Management Authority.

The Youth Employment Summer Program (YES) was founded 15 years ago by the Anti-Litter and Beautification Commission and has been carried on by VIWMA.

Students between the ages of 15 and 21 are hired for a five-week period and are trained prior to being assigned various landscaping and clean up projects during that time. A total of 72 students were hired through the YES program this summer, which wrapped up on Friday, July 29.

The students were separated into teams and assigned various projects weekly. YES employees also enjoy a week of environmental education and hands-on training, explained Stella Saunders, VIWMA communications manager.

“The students are given a week of environmental education and hands-on  field training on preserving and protecting the environment and on entrepreneurship skills,” said Saunders. “On St. John, there is a collaboration for work determined with community and environmental leaders for areas needing attention.”

The students also participated in a Reef Bay Trail hike and visited Maho Bay’s glass recycling facility and VIERS facilities, Saunders added.