(TOYKO, JAPAN) July 13, 2011-The Student Conservation Association (SCA), the nation's leading conservation service organization for youth, and International Christian University (ICU) in Japan have announced an expansion of the SCA International Parks Program.
In its fifth year, the Parks Program places ICU students in SCA internships throughout the US. To support the growth of service opportunities, SCA has cultivated National Park Service host sites such as Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite and others across the country to provide ICU students with a broad range of internship offerings. In addition, SCA has created a webpage on the International Parks Program and developed recruiting and orientation processes and materials to help each ICU student prepare for their placements.
As part of the expansion effort this year, LL Bean Japan will join forces with SCA as a corporate sponsor, along with the Atsuhiko & Ina Goodwin Tateuchi Foundation, both providing vital financial support to the program.
Eleven ICU students will serve this summer in parks from Denali National Park in Alaska, to Cumberland Island National Seashore in Georgia. Interns will learn park stewardship through field monitoring and restoration projects, and interpretation through interaction with park visitors. Opportunities benefit ICU students by enabling them to strengthen their English language skills, apply their environmental studies' knowledge, and expand their global awareness. In turn, parks and park visitors benefit from the chance to connect with bright, motivated and energetic international volunteers.
At the International Parks Program signing ceremony which took place between ICU and SCA at the ICU campus in Tokyo, Japan, Don Hunger, Associate Vice President of Partnership Development at SCA stated, "We are pleased to strengthen and sustain the environmental studies, English language and park internship offerings through our partnership. During the four years SCA and ICU have hosted this program, more than 40 students have enjoyed service-learning and recreational experiences in our national parks. This agreement will ensure future ICU students have the same unique opportunities."
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About the International Christian University
ICU holds as its mission the establishment of an academic tradition of freedom and reverence based on Christian ideals, and the education of individuals of conscience, internationally cultured and with a strong sense of citizenship in a democratic society. ICU was established shortly after World War II, its founding philosophy embracing a supranational perspective based on deep reflection about the war. On the Mitaka campus, people from different nations and cultures live, study and work together, to form an international community. Our academic program reflects a variety of educational visions, with each individual encountering others from different backgrounds. This multi-cultural environment provides students the groundwork for future problems in the world by handling tensions in a group, accommodating other's needs and adapting common goals.
To promote mutual understanding and exchange in the international community, language ability is vital. ICU provides a bilingual education in English and Japanese. The university provides students with a variety of programs that connect them with the world outside Japan, including ample opportunities to study at universities overseas through our educational exchange programs.
ICU sees itself as a bridge both to and from Japan. To learn more visit http://www.icu.ac.jp/index_e.html [1]
About the Student Conservation Association
The Student Conservation Association (SCA) is the only national organization that develops tomorrow's conservation leaders by providing high school and college students with conservation service opportunities in all 50 states, from urban communities to national parks and forests. Since 1957, SCA's hands-on practice of conservation service has helped to develop new generations of conservation leaders, to inspire lifelong stewardship, and to save the planet. SCA is a non-profit headquartered in Charlestown, NH and maintains regional offices in Boise, ID, Oakland, CA, Pittsburgh, PA, Seattle, WA, and Washington, D.C. For more, logon at www.thesca.org [2].