Conservation Corps Camping Checklist
You don’t have to be an experienced camper or outdoorist to create a successful outdoor career. Everyone starts somewhere - in fact, many professionals start with Conservation Corps work! Conservation Corps positions exist throughout the United States and are an amazing way to start your outdoor career. Many crew member positions are entry level outdoor jobs and lead to jobs in outdoor recreation, environmental science, advocacy, and environmental education.
There is a huge variety of skills and experiences that you may have during a season of Corps work. Crews may focus on backcountry trail maintenance, invasive species removal, historical preservation, or a number of other things that benefit the community. One constant among Corps is that they focus on community service and include front and backcountry camping for multiple days (or weeks!) at a time.
My camping experience pre-Conservation Corps consisted of traveling in an RV or tent camping at an established campground with running water, bathroom facilities, and a camp host. After 5 months of camping through my Corps job, my camping checklist changed drastically!
If you’re interested in joining a conservation crew or have already snagged a job (congrats!), here are my top 10, game-changing pieces of camping gear that you probably haven’t thought about.
Camping Gear Checklist
Gallon Ziploc bags - It’s important to keep your living space (aka tent) and backpack organized when living outdoors. Although they aren’t ecofriendly, Ziploc bags double as waterproof containers and packing cubes. Storing your belonging in plastic bags will keep them dry and save you time when rummaging through your backpack for your gloves. My conservation crew was caught in a flash flood during one of our camping assignments and having dry clothes was the only thing that kept our morale up after 48 hours of thunderstorms.
Dryer lint - Lint is the best way to start a fire. It is free, ignites immediately, and can be packed down very small! I still stockpile this stuff all year long for my summer camping adventures.
Garbage bags - I forget trash bags on camping trips more often that I’d like to admit. An extra garbage bag can even double as a poncho for your friend who misplaced their rain gear.
A small towel or cloth - Set aside one small towel specifically for bathing, washing your face, or handling hot cookware. This one small luxury was my secret morale boost every evening. It helped me feel clean, even when I hadn’t shower for weeks at a time.
A headlamp - Bring a headlamp with fresh batteries! For whatever reason, you will always have to pee in the middle of the night when camping and tripping over a cacti will ruin your night.
A handsaw - Someone in your group should always bring a handsaw and multitool.
Camp shoes - Do not take for granted happy, warm, dry feet every night. In the wise words of an 80’s glam band, “You don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone.”
A lighter (with plenty of juice) - Nightly campfires are one of my favorite parts of camping. The best conservations and teambuilding opportunities happen around the campfire.
Wet wipes - A nightly wet wipe bath will help you feel clean-ish even when you haven’t showered in days. Treat yo self!
Rain gear - In some parts of the country, this is an obvious checklist item. But, even if you are in a notoriously dry climate with a 0% chance of rain in the forecast…I still recommend bringing a rain jacket and rain pants. You simply never know! These items are light and can be packed down quite small so there’s really no reason to leave them behind.
I have led conservation crews in both Utah’s desert and Colorado’s front range. Of course, a tent, sleeping bag, backpack, and sleeping pad are the basics - but these small items will help you go from surviving to thriving.
To find open Conservation Corps positions, check out Corps Network. If you’d like to expand your career resources, you can snag the Ultimate List of Outdoor Job Boards for lifetime access to a curated list of over 60 outdoor and environmental industry specific job boards, color-coded and categorized by sector!
