SCA Massachusetts

Yahsef Johnson is a 5-month Corps member from New York. Yahsef studies at The City College of New York and is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in the biology field. In the near future Yahsef wants to earn a Master’s degree with a concentration in microbiology. Ultimately, his dream is to become a professor. Yahsef strongly believes in renewable energy and thinks there is a bright future for alternate sources of energy.
Yahsef is very enthusiastic when it comes to studying animals and plant species. It is important to know the organisms around you and how they fill each and every ecological niche. Yahsef endorses that knowledge is power, and as a community, we all have a responsibility to use such power to conserve and protect the environment whenever and wherever we can.

Alex is a 23 year old from New Jersey. He is really excited for his tenure with the Student Conservation Core because he has always been passionate about conservation, education, and community service. He really enjoys running, reading, and rocking-out; and he cannot wait to do his part in the movement to maintain one of America’s great gems, state parks. After the SCA, he hopes to become a high-school teacher and inspire young minds to study biology, like he did at Brandeis University. He is thankful for this opportunity and he hopes to make a difference.

Allyson is from Greenville, South Carolina, but grew up in northern Utah. While there, she spent many summers hiking and camping with her family and skiing every winter. It was this active childhood that jump-started her passion for the outdoors. Allyson recently graduated from Winthrop University with a major in Biology and a minor in Spanish. She is looking forward to getting her hands dirty as she works with other corps members to maintain trails and carry out other needed projects throughout Massachusetts. Some of Allyson’s interests are swimming, running, hiking, camping, reading, and exploring the outdoors.

Thursday, February 21st

SCA Massachusetts AmeriCorps members and staff rallied against the wind and cold to join Quincy residents in beautifying and maintaining a frequently used oceanfront park near Boston last Thursday.

The project, organized and coordinated by corps members and staff, was part of SCA Massachusett's Boston service week. With the help of Alexandra Echandi and Kevin Hollenbeck of the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), SCA worked with over 50 dedicated volunteers to pick up garbage and clear trails at Squantum Point Park.

In the morning, the seventeen corps members divided up and led hard-working Boy Scout troops in a guided cleanup as well as a Leave No Trace Workshop. They introduced and enacted, while working, Leave No Trace principles to help Scouts earn a Leave No Trace merit badge. Others donned hardhats and joined generous Quincy high school students to assist with lopping and widening trail areas.

In the afternoon, many enthusiastic college students from an Eastern Nazarene College Ecology class and a local garden club member furthered progress on lopping and trash cleanup. In spite of the inclement weather, it was a productive and fun afternoon. All told, 14 bags of trash and 6 bags of recyclables were removed from the park and over 1 mile of trail was brushed, in addition to several historical displays.

For more pictures, open the pdf below!

Our Summer Nature Program will be June 25 - June 28 this year for students aged 6-12. Explore the forest and learn about local animals!

Applications are available below. Applications are due by June 6. Please fill out both attached documents and email them to jharwood@thesca.org or mail them to SCA Massachusetts, 466 West Hawley Rd, Plainfield, MA, 01070.

The seventeen AmeriCorps volunteers from the SCA Massachusetts AmeriCorps program taught environmental education at the Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School of Excellence in Springfield, MA on Friday, January 25. SCA has had a four year collaboration with the Martin Luther King Charter School, beginning in 2009 when they helped to build a trail behind the new school building on Dorset Street.

For the environmental day event, eighteen classes of kindergarten through fifth grade students will have an opportunity to work with the AmeriCorps volunteers. Lessons followed the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for each grade level, with an environmental focus. Members taught the students about their local habitat and how animals prepare for winter. The AmeriCorps volunteers hope to teach environmental education lessons that inspire curiosity and stewardship for the natural world.

Camilo Gonzalez recently graduated from Rutgers University with a bachelors in Political Science. He is currently participating in SCA Massachusetts and is looking forward to learning various new skills pertaining to environmental education and conservation. This is his first environmental position though he’s had some minimal exposure through political science classes. His other interests include acting, dancing, singing, swimming, running, philosophy, and French & Spanish culture & language.

Hannah Colbert comes from Cornwall, Connecticut. She graduated from Bennington College last spring after studying Spanish, German, and translation. Growing up in the woods, going on family backpacking trips, and leading a college pre-orientation trip all led her to pursue outdoor leadership, and she is excited to learn more about environmental education. She hopes to combine her academic and recreational loves of translation and seasonal outdoor work in some symbiotic way. Apart from those she enjoys cooking, fencing, writing, and reading.

Evelyn grew up in the Northern Adirondacks and spent a lot of time outdoors as a child. In 2012, she graduated from SUNY Geneseo where she majored in Geography and minored in Environmental Studies. At Geneseo, she taught as a lab instructor and occasionally in small scale outdoor settings, and found joy in spreading enthusiasm for our environment. After graduation, Evelyn spent 3 months traveling the country with her brother and 2 months working at St. Regis Canoe Outfitters. Evelyn enjoys learning and teaching in an active, hands-on setting where the student becomes their own teacher.