
Head on over to Krush for a new interview with pro surfer and SCA spokeswoman Lakey Peterson. Topics include her US Open win, her new documentary “Zero to 100 – The Lakey Peterson Story”, and of course her work in philanthropy!

Photo via Aaron Lieber
Winter is on and so is Round 4 of the Conservation Caption Competition. Who's going to win a prize pack of choice SCA goods? Whoever comments with the cleverest caption (as judged by caption quality evaluator, and Follow Me blogger, Danielle Thompson).
Entries are due, either here or on Facebook, by Thursday at 5 PM EST.

Special thanks to SCA national partner Dr. Pepper Snapple Group for making the Conservation Caption Competition, WINTER 2012 Edition possible.
Click here for the rules.
We posed a question and it was this: Got Dirt?
The winner of this year's Got Dirt? Photo Contest chose to answer that question literally, and with a resounding "Yes!"
Put on a smock and some goggles and acquaint yourself with "The Sandman," this year's grand prize-winning photograph. It was snapped by none other than Lia Heifetz, who will soon be zipping off to the destination of her choice courtesy of SCA and our official air travel partner, Southwest Airlines. Congratulations, Lia!

Here at SCA, a photo like this inspires us to pull on our boots and head out into the woods (Though honestly, most things inspire us to do that, like a cool breeze, or a cloudless day, or the sound of our alarm clocks for example.).
In any case, there were piles and piles of excellent photos submitted this year, which made choosing a winner a joyfully difficult task. Thanks so much to everyone who participated!
Second prizes (it was a tie!) go to Chad Trexler and Micah Berman for "Alpine Start" and "A Nice Water Break," respectively. Nice work fellas. Kudos!



Editor's note: Ashley Alvarez an intern with the Student Conservation Association, spent her summer working in Glacier National Park in Montana. Through the SCA, high school and college students get to work in national parks and on other public lands in various roles. For Ms. Alvarez, her assignment at Glacier was interpretation. Here's her story.
My heart nearly stopped when I received the internship offer from the lead interpretive ranger at Glacier National Park. My first question, of course, was “Where’s that?”
As a Floridian, I had never heard of this Glacier and could not believe I would be heading to Montana. Beyond that, I had no idea what an interpretive ranger was. I had never taken any related courses beyond public speaking and I wasn’t exactly fond of talking to large groups of people. However, there was no way that I was going to turn down the offer of a lifetime, so I packed up my bags and headed north to the “Backbone of the Continent” to begin my internship with the Student Conservation Association. ... Continue Reading on National Parks Traveler

On the third weekend of October of this year, the Outdoor Nation San Francisco Summit brought together young outdoorsmen from all over the US to encourage them to lead their peers off of the couch and into the foliage. SCA's Alumni Council gathered at the event to play a special role: Highlighting the fact that an active outdoor lifestyle is the perfect precursor to a career in conservation. As leading exemplars of SCA's commitment to fostering lifelong dedication to environmental stewardship, the Alumni Council was well suited for the part.
Among the highlights of the two day event was AC member Jeff Chen's spirited account of how discovering litter in a national park during his stint on an SCA crew inspired him to cofound Pick Up America, and lead a coast to coast march to clean up trash along America's scenic byways. Another highlight came on Sunday, when AC member Jaci Saunders participated in the Outdoor Nation jobs panel. She used the opportunity to share how her SCA experience helped her find the path to a career in oceanography.

Head here for a Storified account of the weekend's events, including a bayside service project in Oakland, and an aerially photographed "human painting" of the Tree of Life.
Here are some highlights:
.@the_sca alum & @pickupamerica founder Jeff Chen prepares today's Art for the Sky piece. #servetheplanet @ebrpd twitter.com/mrjoethurston/…
— joe thurston (@mrjoethurston) October 19, 2012
Feast your eyes! Here's the Art for the Sky "human painting" from Fri's SCA & @pickupamerica service event in Oakland. twitter.com/the_sca/status…
— SCA (@the_sca) October 21, 2012
.@the_sca alum Jeff Chen speaks about his nonprofit @pickupamerica at the SF @outdoornation Summit. twitter.com/mrjoethurston/…
— joe thurston (@mrjoethurston) October 20, 2012
@pickupamerica's Jeff Chen: It's not a ? of whether we'll change the world. Everything we do changes the world. @the_sca @outdoornation
— joe thurston (@mrjoethurston) October 20, 2012
Hiking in the #Headlands w/ the SCA Alumni Council. #SanFrancisco #Highlights instagr.am/p/RQabI2OPoT/
— SCA (@the_sca) October 26, 2012
SCA Alumni Council member jamey_anderson monkeys around in the #Headlands. #SanFrancisco #Highlights instagr.am/p/RQWcoCuPkv/
— SCA (@the_sca) October 26, 2012
.@the_sca Alumni Council member Jaci Saunders gets some laughs at the @outdoornation SF jobs panel. cc: @netopacnw twitter.com/mrjoethurston/…
— joe thurston (@mrjoethurston) October 21, 2012
Jaci Saunders at the @outdoornation panel: My @the_sca work got me an internship w/ @smithsonian, which led me to a career in oceanography.
— joe thurston (@mrjoethurston) October 21, 2012