SCA NH Corps

This year's Manchester Earth Day Celebration is shaping up to be one of the biggest events in NHCC history. Headlining the day's events will be The Apostles, a well established underground hip-hop duo from Brooklyn, NY. With their politically charged lyrics and soulful sound, MC's Griot and Megawatt will look to connect Saturday's crowd with city-life and environmental action. The Bear Brook Observer reached out to the group, to find out a little bit more about their roots, life as a musician and their anticipation of the upcoming show:

From February 23rd to March 3rd, the crew of the New Hampshire Conservation Corps completed a rigorous and informative Wilderness First Responder course. The crew spent nine days intensively training and preparing themselves for possible emergency situations in the front and back country.

The students and staff that make up SCA’s NHCC are well into the challenges of the 2009 program year as these stories show.  And, we anticipate there will be new challenges that NHCC is uniquely qualified to meet, among which will likely be a resurgence in use of parks and state lands.

As families look for low-cost ways to vacation, our forests, waterways, and beaches will be obvious choices. Our public services will be charged to do more with less. Our natural resources will be used to their limits. As our state’s leaders work to use stimulus funds, create jobs, and preserve NH’s natural treasures, NHCC, not unlike the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 30’s, stands ready to roll up its sleeves and get to work.

With 15 years of work in NH’s schools, parks, and forests to our credit, NHCC has the experience, people, and tools to provide great conservation service at economical costs. If you would like to learn more about SCA’s New Hampshire Conservation Corps, please email Director Mike Vecchiarelli, mvecchiarelli@thesca.org, or Conservation Manager Sam Commarto, scommarto@thesca.org, or call at 603.485.2191.

Members Teach Local Students About Responsible Water Use

How can students apply what they learn about the environment to their everyday lives? How can we motivate youth to take action improving their local environment? What can kids do to make others in their community aware of environmental issues? Twenty-four members of SCA's New Hampshire Conservation Corps are keeping these questions in mind as they conduct their annual "Education Season" providing environmental education to fourth and eighth grade students at thirteen schools in the Allenstown and Manchester School districts.

On March 7th, Manchester CLC members visited Bear Brook State Park, home of the SCA New Hampshire Conservation Corps. In the morning, NHCC member Jim Vidoni led an ecology hike through the park to Smith Pond. CLC members learned about different tree species found in the park and their importance to the ecosystem.

After lunch, the crew was treated to an introduction and question and answer session about the NHCC program, the SCA and conservation career paths. When asked why returning CLC members continued to participate, Chris Mealey described his experience from a conservation crew. “It gave me opportunities to do things I never thought I could do. Last year I helped build a rock staircase, which was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”

Later in the day the members worked on presentations for the Annual SCA Earth Day Celebration at Veteran’s Park in Manchester. This year we are working to install a Green Roof (roof-top garden) on a Manchester Public School. At the Earth Day celebration, the members will be presenting how green roofs work, their history and benefits.