The Coast Corp
A new conservation corps for Coastal Virginia — pairing hands-on restoration of wetlands, shorelines, and public lands with paid workforce training for the region’s young adults. A partnership of the Virginia Tech Coastal Collaborator and The Corps Network.
Ages 18–30 (veterans to 35)
Based in Hampton Roads, Virginia
Build a resilient coastline and a skilled regional workforce through AmeriCorps service.
What is a conservation corps?
Conservation corps engage young adults in paid service focused on conservation, disaster response, and community projects, while they build job skills and career pathways. The model has run in the United States for decades — The Coast Corp brings it to Coastal Virginia for the first time, matching AmeriCorps members with local organizations that need extra hands and members who need a place to start.
Why Coastal Virginia needs this corps
Three converging regional needs shape the program’s design.
Ecological Resilience
Restoring fragile marshes, dunes, and blackwater ecosystems that buffer storm surge, sea-level rise, and flooding.
Recreation & Access
Building and maintaining trails, docks, and natural areas across 220,000+ acres of public and conserved land.
Workforce Pathways
Connecting young adults to skills, credentials, and family-sustaining careers in a region that needs both.
Source: Virginia Outdoors Plan 2024; Hampton Roads Recreational Planning Region Report; Opportunity Index
Southeastern Virginia, by the numbers
That gap signals a regional brain-drain this Corps aims to reverse — giving young adults a paid reason to build their future close to home. Source: U.S. Census Bureau / Harvard, 2022.
The individual placement model
AmeriCorps members serve directly at nonprofit, state, and local agency host sites — completing priority conservation work those partners can’t cover with current staff capacity. Each member is matched to a host site aligned with their skills and career interests.
What the first year targets
Focus area: Environmental Stewardship · Objective: at-risk coastal ecosystems.
Outputs this year
Outcomes we’re working toward
Performance measures align to the AmeriCorps National Performance Measure library and the program’s Theory of Change.
Support built around every member
A dual-layer structure protects both member growth and daily accountability — program staff invest in each member’s development while host-site supervisors guide the day-to-day work.
From first outreach to a confirmed placement
Outreach
Tabling at career fairs, campus partnerships with Virginia Tech & Virginia State University, and community referrals.
Application
Prospective members submit interests, availability, and desired term of service.
Interview & Screening
Program staff interview finalists and complete National Service Criminal History Checks.
Selection & Offer
Selected applicants are matched to a host site aligned with their skills and career interests.
Onboarding
Confirmed members move into orientation and begin the structured member experience.
A regional symposium shaped this program
Fort Monroe, VA
The Virginia Tech Coastal Collaborator and The Corps Network convened regional leaders in conservation, resilience, and workforce development for a symposium on The Coast Corp’s design. Attendees learned about the proposed program, explored partnership opportunities, and helped shape its direction through direct stakeholder input — work that now informs the placements, host-site model, and impact goals described on this page.
Two ways to take part
Become a host site
Partner with The Coast Corp to expand your organization’s conservation capacity with a placed AmeriCorps member.
Host-site fees fund member living allowances, training, and program administration for the full term of service.
Serve as a member
Open to young adults ages 18–30 (veterans up to 35) interested in conservation, environmental stewardship, outdoor work, public service, or workforce development.
Recruitment runs through Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, and community partners across Hampton Roads, with national reach for interested applicants.
The web application opens September 1 at vtcoastal.org.
Built on three organizations’ strengths
A Sea-Grant and land-grant program with deep roots in Coastal Virginia’s military, economic, and environmental landscape. Supported by Fralin Life Sciences, the Coastal Collaborator works across every Virginia Tech college to convert research into action on the coast — connecting research, Extension, data systems, and workforce development.
- Based in Hampton, VA — 13 offices, lab/training space, and meeting space
- Operates under Virginia Cooperative Extension, with offices in nearly every coastal locality
The national association representing more than 130 conservation corps across the United States. The Corps Network brings decades of AmeriCorps program design, member support systems, and host-site partnership experience to The Coast Corp — helping Coastal Virginia stand up a corps built on a model already proven nationwide.
Serve Virginia is a statewide initiative connecting Virginias to volunteer opportunities, providing resources, and celebrating community service across the Commonwealth.