Onondaga Earth Corps

Onondaga Earth Corps is a youth conservation nonprofit on West Onondaga Street in Syracuse. Youth crews plant and care for city trees, remove invasive plants from parks, and install and maintain rain gardens that hold back stormwater, and the group brings in community volunteers for tree plantings and park cleanups. The group describes its mission as youth empowerment through environmental stewardship.

What to know

• The group began in 2003 as the Eli MacDonald Green Team on Syracuse’s South Side.
• In 2005 the green team partnered with Cornell Cooperative Extension and took the Onondaga Earth Corps name.
• Community volunteer days are posted on VolunteerCNY, and groups can ask to set up a project of their own.
• Fundraisers listed on the group’s website include Encore and the Bottle Bonanza.