SAIPAN — The University of Guam’s Guam Green Growth (G3) and the CNMI Green Growth Initiative (CNMI GG) have launched the CNMI Green Growth Kupu Conservation Corps on Saipan, bringing a proven environmental workforce pipeline to the Commonwealth and training the next generation of leaders for the Pacific’s green economy. The program is facilitated by the UOG Center for Island Sustainability & Sea Grant (UOG CIS & Sea Grant) and modeled after Guam’s successful G3 Conservation Corps, which has already trained more than a hundred participants across sustainability sectors.
“This is one small way that our people, even though we’re separated by land, we’re connected by water,” said UOG CIS & Sea Grant Director Austin Shelton, Ph.D. “A rising tide floats all boats. The more of us doing this work together, the better it is for all of us.”
Northern Marianas College, the CNMI’s leading workforce development institution, serves as facilitator for CNMI GG. NMC President and CNMI GG Co-Chair Galvin De Leon Guerrero, Ed.D., welcomed the inaugural cohort and underscored the program’s purpose. “What I love about this program… is that it really gets at the core of what we do in education,” he said. “As members of this inaugural cohort, I hope you take this to heart, because to me, the point of education is to improve lives.”
The CNMI GG Kupu Conservation Corps is supported by Kupu Hawai‘i’s Conservation Leadership Development Program (CLDP), a paid early-career pathway that prepares participants for conservation jobs across Hawai‘i, Guam, the CNMI, and the broader Pacific. Cohort member Gabriel Arkoh said his motivation is rooted in service to home: “Being born and raised here, you see our islands need us. Being able to be part of creating a better future for everyone, and for those coming up, inspires me.”
Members are placed at two Saipan host sites; American Memorial Park and the Department of Lands and Natural Resources – CNMI Forestry. Joan Tomokane, John Paul Castro, Isaiah Joel Torre, David Quitugua, Gabriel Arkoh, and Myles Techur are posted at American Memorial Park , while Kazuki Aguon and John Kintol serve with DLNR.
Participants receive a stipend during the program and, upon completion, can access an AmeriCorps educational grant, providing financial and academic support as they transition into full-time environmental work.
Organizations interested in hosting a Kupu Conservation Corps member may contact program coordinator Annania Nauta-Kemp at annania.kemp@kupuhawaii.org
