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Hurricane Sandy has caused enormous amounts of damage all over the North East and Mid West. Below are a few volunteer opportunities for anyone who's willing and able to lend a hand to those in need in the NYC area.

The Hudson River Park staff are calling for volunteers to help get the park ready for re-opening. If you’d like to join them and get your hands dirty, the Hudson River Park will be hosting a volunteer day tomorrow (11/2) from 10am to 1pm for immediate garbage and debris pickup. Those interested can sign up to become a volunteer or contact us by email at volunteer@fohrp.org, or by phone 917-661-8751. And if you are able to provide your financial support, become a member and give what you can.

Where: Entrance to Pier 25 at N. Moore St.                          When: 11/2 @10AM-1PM

More volunteer opportunities for NYC Parks can be found on the NYC Government Parks website. Volunteering events are happening November 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. In order to sign up please follow the appropriate link below as each area has it’s own parks that all need help. Volunteer in the Bronx, Volunteer in Brooklyn, Volunteer in Manhattan, Volunteer in Queens

Our hearts go out to the hundreds of thousands of other families who were not as fortunate. As recovery begins, please see the following links for more:

Getting Help

• The Red Cross "Find Help" page
• After Sandy: Resources to get back on track

How to Help

• Donate to Red Cross
• Give Blood
• The White House - How to Help the Survivors of Hurricane Sandy
• Seven way to help online

Source: The WashCycle, October 31, 2012

The Student Conservation Association, in conjunction with DDOT and NPS, performed hundreds of hours of service maintaining trails, removing trash and removing invasive species.

SCA also partnered with the District Department of Transportation for the second year which helped fund 4 crews and 22 students in District parks and green spaces this summer. SCA was able to establish two new wonderful relationships this summer. There were 10 students working with the District Department of Environment in their Cooperative Weed Management Areas

In Fort DuPont Park, they built 385 feet of new Mountain Biking Trail and maintained over 2000 feet of trail (some of which may have been hiking trail) including removing fallen trees.

Crew members working along the Metropolitan Branch Trail maintained 1,840ft of trail.Students removed invasive plant species along 1,640ft of the trail and built 40ft of new trail.Students also removed nearly 200 sq. ft. of trash from along the trail and installed 4 large log steps

And of course there's an education component to the whole program as well. This is a well-run program and it's funded - in part - by DC's Recreational Trails funding.

Please check out the WashCycle for more!

Hey conservation-minded people who are terrible at photography, stop fretting over the fact that you'll never win SCA's Got Dirt? Photo Contest and start writing captions. It's time for Round 3 of the Conservation Caption Competition, Fall 2012 Edition.

Comment with a chuckle-worthy caption (either here or on Facebook) for the imminently Captionable photo below, and you'll be entered to win some assorted SCA wearables enclosed in a handsome, sturdy backpack. Deadline is 9 AM EST Monday, so get writin'.

Oh, and hey, while you're on Facebook, it'd be, um, cool if you could share the contest post. You know, if you feel like it.

Note: Round 3's featured photo is one of many many stellar entries to this year's Got Dirt? Photo Contest. That particular contest runs till November 9, so if you happen to have any great conservation-type photos lying around…. 

Special thanks to SCA national partner Dr. Pepper Snapple Group for making the Conservation Caption Competition, Fall 2012 Edition possible.

Click here for the full rules.

As you likely know, Hurricane Sandy - a large and potentially destructive storm - is impacting the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast part of the eastern seaboard. Widespread rain, flooding, and power outages are anticipated. Thousands of flights are cancelled and many offices (including DC government offices) are closed. 

Please monitor this situation over the next several days and follow your site's and/or agency partner's safety directions including possible relocation or evacuation orders. We advise you to contact your family and gather provisions in advance of the hurricane as you may be isolated without resources (i.e.: food, water, electricity, etc.) or communications (telephones, cell service, internet) for a period of time. Click on this link for more tips for preparing for a hurricane.

As always, the SCA Incident Response Line is available to you 24/7 in the case of an emergency. Call 1.800.YO.SOGGY (1.800.967.6449) to speak with an SCA Duty Officer.