NEWBURY PARK : Youths Graduate From Park Jobs

After nearly eight weeks in the hot sun, the young park workers said Wednesday’s overcast skies were a nice going-away gift from nature. Today, the 11 Youth Conservation Corps workers at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area graduate from their two-month jobs.

“This is the first cool day we’ve had since we got here,” said 17-year-old Melynda Coble of Newbury Park.

She and the rest of her team were realigning a one-mile trail close to the Circle X Ranch, in the Ventura County section of the park.

The workers, age 15 to 18, have learned to construct and clear hiking trails while working on more than 40 miles of paths in the 16,000-acre park. They used shovels, picks, saws and other tools to refurbish buildings and build campgrounds.

The teen-agers woke up at 6 a.m. to get to the minimum-wage job on time. Some have been attacked by wasps; others tangled with poison oak.

Most of the students enjoyed their stint.

“At the end of my job last year I thought I’d never come back,” said Chris Cavallo, 17, of Thousand Oaks. Cavallo plans to come back next year.

“The work is hard, and by the end of last summer I thought I never wanted to see another trail in my life,” Cavallo said.

“But actually, I like what I’m doing. I like being outdoors. I like finishing a job. . . .”

The teen-agers said they would like to return to the park one day and

show point out their work to their children.