The brainchild of state Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., the Chesapeake Conservation Corps offers a $19,000 stipend to young adults who agree to spend a year in jobs helping the Chesapeake Bay.

At a ceremony at the Severna Park Community Center, Miller said the Chesapeake Conservation Corps is a "win-win for everybody."

The young adults get valuable job experience in environmental fields, and the air, land and water benefit from their work, he said.

The Conservation Corps is run by the Chesapeake Bay Trust, a nonprofit organization that distributes the proceeds of Treasure the Chesapeake license plates, tax-return checkoffs and other donations to on-the-ground environmental projects.

This year's corps is funded with $250,000 in tax money, $250,000 from the Chesapeake Bay Trust and $25,000 from Constellation Energy.

The corps members will work across the state, including several who will be stationed in Anne Arundel County.

Kosoko Jackson, originally from St. Mary's County, will spend the next 12 months at Arlington Echo, the county school system's outdoor education center. He's majoring in public health at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and is looking forward to helping children understand how their actions affect the environment.

"I'm excited to work with kids," he said.

At the West/Rhode Riverkeeper organization, Joseph Ports of Harford County will help the small staff expand its reach in environmental restoration.

"The challenge with a small organization is we want to do everything," said riverkeeper Chris Trumbauer, who called Ports' involvement with the group "a real spark."

Ports recently graduated from Towson University with majors in biology and environmental science. He said the year with the riverkeeper may help him land a job in a tight employment market.

"I applied for a couple of jobs and they all needed one year of experience," Ports said.

Other local corps members include Lea Rubin of Montgomery County, who will help the Chesapeake Bay Foundation with farming and oyster gardening; Stephanie Fischer of Annapolis, who will help the state Department of Natural Resources with education and GIS work; and Carol Wong of Laurel, who will be doing water testing with the South River Federation.

The South River Federation hired one of last year's corps members, Jennifer Carr, to a full-time job. Carr was one of four members of the last year's class who secured full-time employment with a sponsor organization.

Copyright © Capital Gazette Communications LLC, 2011.