An abbreviated 2020 Youth Employment in Parks program improves Tour of Anchorage trail

Two Youth Employment in Parks crews worked on improving a section of the Tour of Anchorage trail on Wednesday in Far North Bicentennial Park. The section of trail was notorious for being rutted and muddy, and over 200 tons of gravel was brought in to fix it.

YEP is normally a 10-week summer program for Anchorage teens, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s program was shortened to five weeks and the group was divided into three smaller cohorts to limit potential exposure to the novel coronavirus.

The YEP work is part of the Municipality of Anchorage’s local match for a $2 million Federal Lands Access Program grant that will include replacement of three bridges in 2021, according to Parks and Recreation natural resources manager Brad Muir.

Amya Crain, a rising senior at West High, is spending her second summer working with YEP. “I love being outside, it’s my favorite thing to do,” she said. “I like this work because it’s not your average job, you’re not working fast food or retail or in an office.”

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