OFS Trains Young People in the Skills Needed for Green Collar Jobs:
Operation Fresh Start engages young people in job training and service projects that help protect our environment at the same time they prepare youth for jobs in the emerging Green Economy. All renovated or newly-built OFS homes are certified "Green Built," and all newly-built homes are also Energy Star certified. Operation Fresh Start partners with local government and non-profit agencies to complete projects that protect and improve the natural environment.OFS staff members provide career guidance to young people, exposing them to job opportunities in demand in the region, including career-track green-collar jobs.

All renovated or newly-built OFS homes are certified "Green Built," and all newly-built homes are also Energy Star certified.
Wisconsin Energy Star certification assures that the homes meet high standards of energy efficiency. The Green Built Home certification is more comprehensive, assuring that homes meet a set of basic requirements regarding energy efficiency, water conservation, stormwater management, selection of sustainable materials, indoor air quality, and waste reduction and recycling practices. OFS crew members are carefully trained in the principles and practices of green building. Since 2002, OFS has constructed 35 new Energy Star homes. We have also certified 29 homes as Green Built - 15 new homes, and 14 renovations. To find out more about the Energy Star and Green Built specifications of our houses, click on the link above.

Conservation and Stewardship
Operation Fresh Start partners with local government and non-profit agencies to complete projects that protect and improve the natural environment. OFS crews construct and maintain trails and boardwalks; remove non-native plants; conduct controlled burns to restore natural areas; and, plant and protect native wetland and upland plants. In the past, our conservation crews have primarily worked during the summer months. However, beginning in 2010, Fresh Start hopes to field 2 year-round crews. Examples of the crews' work from 2008 include:

• 500 5-gallon plant patches planted in Madison's Owen Park ponds.
• 1,725 long leaf pond plants planted in Owen and Kettle ponds in Madison.
• 500 lotus planting structures constructed, seeded, and placed in Cherokee Marsh.
• Owen ponds inoculated with aquatic insects and amphibians dipped from Kettle Pond.
• Black oak and other invasives removed within the oak savannah at Riverland Conservancy in Merrimac
• Board walk repaired and stabilized along the Ice Age Trail in the Riverland Conservancy

Career and Educational Guidance
Operation Fresh Start provides classroom instruction to help young people gain the practical skills and credentials needed to succeed in the modern workplace. OFS staff members provide career guidance to young people, exposing them to job opportunities in demand in the region, including career-track green-collar jobs.