From a Mount Washington trail corps to a regional stewardship and employment resource.

In just a few years, Landforce evolved and grew from a community development project into a regional stewardship and employment training resource.

10 Year Anniversary
Two crew members in blue shirts and yellow hard hats buck a fallen tree trunk on a forest trail
2011

Mount Washington’s Emerald Trail Corps

In 2011 the Mount Washington Community Development Corporation (MWCDC) created the Emerald Trail Corps (ETC) with help from a host of partners including the A. Philip Randolph Institute, GTECH Strategies and the Student Conservation Association. The goal of the ETC was to develop Emerald View Park and its trail network by training and employing a local workforce from historically disenfranchised community members.

After five successful seasons training and employing over 40 corps members who built, maintained and restored over 10 miles of trails and greenway, a demand arose to expand and scale the ETC beyond Mount Washington. Across Allegheny County there is a need to restore and maintain land trusts, park space, vacant land, gardens, riparian zones and green infrastructure.

Researching for expansion

In late 2014, MWCDC, GTECH Strategies, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, UrbanKind and the Allegheny Land Trust used support from the Hillman Foundation to research national models that could inform the scaling and growth of the Emerald Trail Corps. After examining over 25 programs in 15 cities, the team found that other cities were also using an abundance of green space as a platform for changing lives and creating jobs.

Four programs were selected for site visits: the Seattle Conservation Corps, the San Francisco Conservation Corps, The Greening of Detroit and Oakland Civicorps. After two years of research, data analysis, stakeholder engagement and collaborative planning, the team felt the need for expansion was validated and an exciting, dynamic model had been developed.

Launching Landforce

In 2015 the ETC began restructuring for expansion and launch, adopting the working name Pittsburgh Conservation Corps until the organization settled on its permanent name, Landforce, in early 2016. Landforce incorporated on November 30, 2015 and remains registered as a 501(c)(3) under the name Pittsburgh Conservation Corps.

Seven members of the original team, most in matching light-blue trail corps T-shirts, pose on a hillside with the Pittsburgh skyline behind
The original team.
  1. 2011

    Emerald Trail Corps

    MWCDC’s trail corps begins on Mount Washington. By 2014, 75% of corps members walk into jobs.

  2. 2014–2015

    National research

    25 programs in 15 cities examined; four site visits; a model for expansion.

  3. Nov 30, 2015

    Incorporated

    Pittsburgh Conservation Corps is founded by a consortium of Pittsburgh nonprofits.

  4. 2016

    Landforce

    The permanent name is adopted and the first crews are hired in the spring.

  5. 2018

    Google.org Impact Challenge

    A $50,000 award, decided by public vote.

  6. 2021

    EPA Brownfields job-training grant

    A $200,000 award supports environmental training for Crew Members.

  7. Nov 2022

    50,000 hours

    Crews surpass 50,000 hours of environmental stewardship across the region.

  8. 2024

    Two cohorts, a lease and a sawmill

    Nearly twice as many Crew Members; the lease for The Mill is signed and a Wood-Mizer sawmill acquired.

  9. Oct 2025

    The Mill opens

    A 10,000-square-foot Responsible Wood Production facility opens in the East End as Landforce marks ten years.

  10. 2026

    Second decade

    Landforce joins the Levine Impact Lab Operational Support cohort and begins a brand and website refresh.

The Landforce staff team gathered on a rocky outcrop in a wooded Pittsburgh park
10 Year Anniversary

Celebrating 10 years of impact

Thank you for being here and celebrating our 10 year anniversary with us. Your time and support have made this moment possible.

Because of you, Landforce has trained and hired 207 Crew Members and completed 193 community projects, delivering more than 75,000 hours of environmental service across our region. Beyond jobs, we create pathways to financial stability, pride and belonging. With an 83 percent training completion rate and 91 percent job placement rate, the impact is real and lasting.

As we celebrate this milestone, we are growing through The Mill: A Responsible Wood Production Facility, to deepen our environmental and workforce impact. Thank you for being part of our story. The next chapter is brighter because of you.

Figures as published on the 10 Year Anniversary page (November 2025); the September 2026 totals on the Impact page are higher.

Event page and photos2025 Impact Report
From the 10 Year Anniversary page

Ten years of crews

A crew member swings a pick-mattock to break ground in a meadow while crew members in bright green shirts and hard hats look on
Breaking ground on a restoration site.
Two crew members in high-visibility jackets and hard hats tend a young street tree on a snowy city block
Street-tree care in winter.
A crew member in a green Landforce shirt and a staff member with a clipboard talk one-on-one in camp chairs
A one-on-one conversation with staff.
Crew members, several in bright green shirts, stack their hands together in a circle
Hands in.
Crew members in hard hats walk and work along a narrow trail through dense summer woods
On the trail.
The Emerald Trail Corps in blue shirts and yellow hard hats on a Mount Washington overlook, downtown Pittsburgh behind them
The Emerald Trail Corps on Mount Washington.
10 Year Anniversary

Landforce’s Anniversary Celebration Sponsors

This event would not have been possible without the incredible support of:

The Workforce Warrior
The Skilled Sawyer
Employee of the Month
The Rain Gardener

Transcribed from the sponsor board on Landforce’s 10 Year Anniversary page, so the names are readable and searchable.