The Millbrook Marsh Nature Center will continue to receive state-funded improvements through the next fiscal year, Sen. Jake Corman, R-Bellefonte, said.

An $85,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Conservation Corps (PCC) will fund projects to extend a boardwalk trail, reconstruct a log house, build an information kiosk, improve playgrounds and trails, control erosion, and stabilize a historic lime kiln.

The grant, which goes to the Centre Regional Recreation Authority (CRRA), will also cover work at the Centre County Historical Society and six local parks.

PCC is a state-funded organization that gives wages and work experience to unemployed individuals ages 18 to 25. The PCC employs up to 200 people and works on up to 50 projects at a given time across Pennsylvania, spokesman Ken Wolgemuth said.

"The PCC has been around for a long time and young people from all over are attracted to it because it gives them wages and gets them working outside," Donald Houser, spokesman for Corman, said.

The grant program is a competitive process open to school districts and municipalities, Wolgemuth said.

Molly Hetrick, CRRA recreation supervisor, said the grant letter from PCC stated this was the first time a municipal authority received a grant.

Houser said some of the youths in the program come from troubled backgrounds and the PCC gives them an opportunity to get on a "straight and narrow path."

The work is always well received and beneficial, not only to the workers, but also to the community, Houser said.

From the $85,000 grant, $20,000 will be for materials and building costs, and $65,000 will cover PCC wages, Wolgemuth said. Hetrick said the grant covers the whole project cost.

Last year's work included the first phase of the boardwalk project, renovating a garage building and barn basement, and repairing silos.

The PCC began in 1984, reaching more than 13,000 young people, Wolgemuth said. Corps members serve a one-year term, which can be extended for a second year, he said.

The members earn minimum wage, and can receive a 10 percent raise after six months, as well as a $1,000 cash bonus at the end of a work year. Some of those involved in PCC are students, Wolgemuth said, adding members can receive money for classes and Americorps grants up to $4,700.

"Since we began offering the Americorps grants, we've attracted more prospective and active college students," he said.

The teams working at Millbrook Marsh consist of six corps members, including one crew supervisor.