Anchorage park gets a makeover [Video]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Every summer, a group called “Youth Employment in Parks” — known as YEP — hires high school students ages 16-19 to work on various projects across Anchorage.

This summer, they have about seven projects to complete.

Beginning in 2007, Brad Muir, the natural resource manager for Anchorage Parks and Recreation, said they have hired over 500 teens to work over the years. This is his ninth summer with the program.

He says it’s rewarding to see how much the teens change from the beginning of the program to the end.

About 25 young people get the opportunity each summer to be part of the 10-week program that fits within the Anchorage School District calendar and make a difference in the community. The teens complete projects such as building and maintaining trails, stream bank restorations, planting trees and other plants, just to name a few.

The YEP program is a first-time job experience. They require no …