National Conservation Crews

If you are between 15 and 19 and looking for tuition-free summer service opportunities, SCA's National Conservation Crews are for you. There's work to be done in all 50 states -- in parks and forests, on beaches and riverbanks, at fisheries and volcanoes. You could be there, carving trails across tundra, building rock steps up woody slopes, constructing foot bridges over marsh lands...

With your crew of 6-8 students from across the country and  two experienced leaders, you'll be up early, rain or shine, felling trees, prying rocks from the ground, building lean-tos, and removing invasive plants. You will become proficient at filtering water and cooking over a 2-burner propane stove. You will learn to use a pulaski to grub and to dig a backcountry latrine and respect leave-no-trace ethics.

While learning outdoor skills, you will also work with others to solve tough problems, be part of a team to run your camp -- cooking, cleaning, sharing responsibilities -- and get in awesome physical shape.

Our crews run anywhere from 15 to 35 days in length. Most '09 crews are 30 days total. We run crews in three different tracks and for 2009 the tracks are as follows:

• June 11th - Track I
• July 6th - Track II
• July 23rd - Track III
  We are no longer accepting applications for the 2009 Field Season

Please read on and when you are ready, you can apply online. But first, take a minute to view photos and video submitted by crew members from  this past summer.