Professional-level construction, restoration and maintenance.
A Landforce Crew provides professional-level construction, restoration and maintenance services for trails, vacant lots, invasive plants, trees, garden plots, and other habitat and restoration services as needed.
What a season of work looks like
There are four kinds of projects that Landforce crews work on. For each of these areas, a lot of the training and preparation is very similar. Depending on which projects your crew completes, you could be trained in the skill sets below.
- Managing vacant land
- Constructing trails
- Restoring habitats
- Managing stormwater and green infrastructure
Some projects involve more than one kind of work: constructing trails plus restoring habitats, for example. Some Crew Members also work at The Mill, recovering, milling and drying urban lumber.
What you could be trained in
Vacant land skill set
- Removing dumped items and vegetated overgrowth
- Planting grass, trees or flowers
- Installing simple structures such as fences or benches
- Cutting grass
- Maintaining vegetation
- Watering and weeding plants
Habitat restoration skill set
- Planting trees
- Identifying and removing invasive plants
- Watering, pruning and caring for trees and other plants
- Building deer protection fences
- Removing illegal dumping such as tires, rusted cars and shopping carts
- Stopping polluted mine and stormwater runoff from entering streams and rivers
Trail skill set
- Brushing away excess vegetation
- Removing debris such as leaves, tree branches and trash
- Sculpting ground to match natural land contours
- Preparing paths to withstand year-round use and drainage from rainwater or overflowing streams
- Rerouting trails to new paths
Stormwater & green infrastructure skill set
- Planting rain gardens or bioswales
- Watering and weeding rain gardens or bioswales
- Maintaining free-flowing water by remedying obstructions
- Installing permeable pavements
- Making green roofs
- Creating containers to collect and slowly drain excess stormwater into the soil
- Planting trees and building tree boxes
- Establishing systems to collect and use rainwater
- Preserving natural landscapes such as forests, floodplains and wetlands
Workforce development skill set
- Time management
- Teamwork
- Safe tool use
- First aid
- Conflict resolution
- Goal-setting skills
- Budget and banking skills
- Résumé writing
- Job search and interview skills
A crew behind you
A Landforce Crew is six Crew Members and one crew leader. Crews are fun and productive, and they work hard to complete each project. When you are part of a crew you have a lot to be proud of, and your work has a lasting impact as you give back to Pittsburgh and neighboring communities.
Benefits of being a Crew Member