Kupu, a conservation and youth education nonprofit, is accepting applications for its Kupu Aina Corps Wildfire Recovery Initiative, a one-year program “dedicated to wildfire recovery and resilience work on Maui and Hawaii Island.”

Established through state legislation for a Green Jobs Youth Corps, the Kupu Aina Corps program provides work experience to people interested in Hawaii’s environmental sector through partnerships with community organizations.

The program’s newest initiative will focus on wildfire recovery and will invite participants to restore land and communities affected by the August wildfires by removing fire-prone invasive plants from the area to mitigate the risk of future fires; assisting with cultural and historic preservation efforts; helping ranchers, farmers and businesses affected by the wildfires; and participating in fire-response training.

“This initiative, having successfully provided on-the-job experience to hundreds of young adults, is now gearing up to address the immediate and long-term challenges posed by wildfires in Maui and Hawaii Island,” Kawika Riley, Kupu’s vice president of external affairs, said Wednesday in a news release. “This initiative will contribute to the safety and resilience of communities impacted by wildfires as well as play an important role in future preparedness and prevention.”

Participants in the program will be paid $20 per hour, receive paid time off and health insurance, and be eligible for a retention bonus. The three cohorts in the program start on a rolling basis and will begin in April.

The deadline to apply for the program is March 1. Applications to participate can be found on Kupu’s website at kupuhawaii.tfaforms.net/312.

The Kupu Aina Corps program is also accepting applications from organizations based on Maui and Hawaii island to be host sites.

The host site application is due Feb. 23 and is available online at kupuhawaii.tfaforms.net/311. For more information, email kac@ kupuhawaii.org.