Meet Jared Lyeki

Meet Jared Lyeki- Outdoor Leadership Corps Success Story! The Outdoor Leadership Corps (OLC) is a paid, green education workforce development initiative in partnership with Great Rivers Greenway and the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Earthways Center. The goal is to provide hands-on experience for people interested in green careers while restoring natural areas and habitat along greenways. After completing OLC in April, he joined Great Rivers Greenway summer seasonal staff. In September, he returned to OLC as the Assistant Crew Leader. Now, he’s taken everything he learned along the way and has just accepted a full-time job with a local municipality as a park maintenance worker. Go Jared!

“Being a part of OLC and then Great Rivers Greenway seasonal staff was great because it was not just conservation work—there was also a public-facing side to it that I really enjoy. We trained and worked alongside people at a variety of volunteer events and also answered a lot of questions when we were out and about on the greenways. I learned so much and did so many things; from invasive species removal to weeding and watering, to sealing cracks on the greenways and installing signs. A highlight for me was planning and installing a new pollinator garden in North Riverfront Park. I will be watching it grow over time!  I would encourage anyone interested in a green career to learn more about OLC as well as seasonal opportunities at GRG.”