Houston, TX -- To increase environmental awareness in the Houston area while providing local youth with paid summer employment, leadership opportunities and team-building skills to promote conservation and the enhancement of the city's natural resources, June 12th launches year two of the 'Green Team,' a six-week high school summer conservation program managed by the Student Conservation Association and funded by the ExxonMobil Foundation.

Comprised of twenty high school students from Houston Area High Schools, Green Team members receive a small payment for their work on conservation crews in local parks and trails for environmental education, community service, job skills and career development. To participate in the Green Team, students were recommended by school teachers and counselors, while many express a strong interest in the environment and community service. "I want to give back to my city and help improve its parks and other places that might have been damaged by [Hurricane] Rita,” says 2006 Green Team member Felipe Guevara, a 16 year-old rising Junior at Chinquapin High School. “I love the outdoors, improving nature, and meeting new people and I believe that SCA can bring all of these things together for me. In the future I believe this experience will benefit me because it will teach me how to work with others, and show me how to appreciate Houston and its environment."

The Green Team will be in action within and around the Houston Area, with intensive projects at the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center and Memorial Park, among others. The six-week program also includes an educational component in which students study ecosystems, conservation principles and environmental awareness, with education days scheduled at Sims Bayou Urban Nature Center, Sheldon Lake State Park, the Arrow Retreat Center, Buchanan’s Native Plants Nursery, and touring Houston-area environmentally-friendly “green buildings.” The Green Team high school summer conservation program runs from June 12th through July 21st.

2006 marks the 11th year of ExxonMobil’s national partnership with SCA and second year of the Green Team in Houston. ExxonMobil has a long tradition of supporting environmental initiatives to improve the quality of life in the Houston area, all with a goal toward conservation, preservation, and enhancement of the area’s natural resources. Under its mantra, “Conservation in Action,” SCA has been the nation’s largest provider of year-round environmental conservation service opportunities, outdoor education and leadership training for youth and young adults of all ages for nearly 50 years. SCA volunteers annually commit nearly 2 million combined hours of service in national parks, forests, refuges and urban green spaces throughout all 50 states.