Every year, SCA provides training, tools and projects that place motivated teens and young adults in the field to effect changes great and small. How do we measure the effects? Sometimes its through decreased CO2 levels or by the tons of trash collected or in the number of trees planted. Our success is also measured by the lessons learned, the perspective gained and the lives we transform—today and into the future. Often when the SCA project is over, the success story is just beginning. Take a look at some of our most recent accomplishments.
By Elyria Rose Little, SCA Alum and Alumni Council Secretary
Eighteen years ago, I was about to join my first SCA backcountry trail crew. This year, for Earth Day, I co-led a volunteer trail day in an ecological restoration project at Cleveland Metroparks, where I work on the Trails team.
At SCA, #EarthWeek reminds us of where conservation begins. It can be in nature, parks, or even your own backyard.
During its second annual run, SCA’s Parks Pandemonium Tournament proved once again how much people love public lands.
In January, the inaugural cohort of SCA Alumni Fellows began their three-month remote internships supporting different SCA departments on a national level. Now in the second month, the seven Alumni Fellows are collaborating and connecting over the research, writing, and video content that makes up their respective projects.
In a recent...
Photo: Stewart’s Canal, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park (NPS)
The Student Conservation Association will achieve a major milestone this year when we place our 100,000th service member! We will mark this momentous occasion with a year-long #SCA100K celebration, one that showcases SCA members, alumni, and others as they shape...
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The U.S. Forest Service places the number of trees in and around Chicago at 157 million. These trees store 62 million tons of CO2, annually remove another 677,000 tons of carbon from the air, and are valued at over $50 billion. SCA crews are helping to maintain these extraordinary ecological assets....
There are so, so, so many reasons to love autumn (milder weather, jackets, less crowded parks and trails, fewer mosquitos, less poison ivy, cozier camping, pumpkins, squash, gourds… we could go on forever), but the best—and certainly brightest—may be what happens to the leaves.
But what exactly does happen to them?...
Some spooktacular service is taking place this fall season and the SCA Massachusetts (MA) Historic Preservation Corps has the inside scoop!
Preservation is a key part of conservation and ensures that places with historic and cultural significance are protected for future generations. Through progams like the MA Historic Preservation Corps, SCA...
By Ernesto Paz
SCA Crew Member
Fifty miles southwest of Chicago, hiding in plain sight, sits a time machine.
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie is one of the last remaining ecosystems of its kind, offering a glimpse of the landscape that defined the Midwest for centuries, right down to the (reintroduced) bison herd. The...
As we approach the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, SCA shares a collection of unique perspectives.
Most are tied to Richard Guadagno, who in 2001 was manager of Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge and among the courageous passengers on United Flight 93. Since 2015, the Guadagno family has...
The final diary entry from a melancholy Team Leader Jake Westrich:
I can’t believe it’s over. One guy on my team asked Patrick [Gallo, SCA program manager] very early on how long the season might feel, and he was told it depends on his experience.
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It has been quite an eventful summer season for SCA crews! From clearing trails in the Atlanta area to rebuilding bridges in Washington, DC, SCA members helped protect parks and public lands across the country. Here are six snapshots of the amazing work they accomplished!
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Here’s the very latest from Team Leader Jake Westrich:
After finishing up our work on the Golden Gate Trail, we transitioned to another neat locality called Marmot Hill. One of Rainier’s most popular trails is called the Skyline Trail, also based out of Paradise, and Marmot Hill is just one half-mile...
Just a few days after getting back in from Bonny Lakes, we hitched up our trailer and drove Dusty five hours from Enterprise, OR to Longmire, WA: the Park Service’s main hub for Mount Rainier. Unlike our time in Oregon, our work in Mount. Rainier National Park is all in...
By Jake Westrich, Team Leader
So for our final hitch in the Oregon Wilderness, we went to work on trails near Bonny Lakes in the Eagle Cap Wilderness. We had been running out of gas on Day 6 of our previous 10-day hitches, so I decided to split this last one into...
The world’s seven-warmest years have been the last seven (2014-2020) and should this trend continue, heat waves are likely to become more frequent, more severe, and more extended. As heat waves continue to blanket the country, it’s never been more important to focus on heat safety and taking precautions while outdoors....
