On March 10th and 11th, the Bluegrass Greensource Green Jobs Program was at Kentucky State University for Franklin County Operation Preparation.  Operation Preparation is a joint effort of the Kentucky Department of Education and the Department of Workforce Development and provides a powerful opportunity for schools, students, parents and communities to collaborate and focus attention to the importance of planning for college and/or career (education.ky.gov).  This program is the perfect opportunity for students to learn about green career opportunities in their community.

 Ben Lyle from the Division of Forestry answers questions about being a forester as part of the Bluegrass Greensource Green Jobs Information Session

Green Jobs Coordinator Ashley Bryant Cheney participated in the advising sessions for interested 8th graders and offered the first ever Green Jobs Information Session for all 10th grade students from Western Hills High School and Franklin County High School.  Through these programs, Bluegrass Greensource provided green jobs information to over 400 students.    Kenvirons and the Division of Forestry partnered with Bluegrass Greensource for the information session.  Aaron Morgan (Kenvirons), Chris Jones (Kenvirons), and Ben Lyle (Division of Forestry) all talked about their green jobs and used real-life examples to engage students. It was clear, through the presentations and the questions that students asked, this session opened students’ eyes to green career options.

Franklin County Operation Preparation was a huge success!  Bluegrass Greensource would like to thank Aaron Morgan and Chris Jones of Kenvirons and Ben Lyle from the Division of Forestry for talking to the 10th grade students about their green jobs.  Bluegrass Greensource would also like to thank the Franklin County schools for featuring the Green Jobs Program as one of their workshop sessions.

If you are interested in learning more about the Green Jobs Program, please contact Ashley at 859-266-1572 or vista@bggreensource.org.