At the moment, the land owned by Elder Pyatt in Beattie, Oregon is covered by juniper trees and rocks. But it won’t be for long. Pyatt, a Student Conversation Association alum and Iraq War veteran, has big dreams for his 40 acres: to turn them into a flourishing lavender farm.
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.
Posted by Staff | Wednesday, June 20, 2018
Animals & Wildlife, Sustainability, Wildfires
Posted by Julia Kaback | Wednesday, June 20, 2018
Recently, at my synagogue Congregation Rodeph Shalom in New York City, a rabbi shared his desire to learn about bread baking. Hearing this sermon reminded me of baking bread on Student Conservation Association (SCA) high school crews during my summer recess. I returned home a few hours later and checked...
Posted by Staff | Monday, June 18, 2018
Hey hi hello!
My name is Alexis Acar and I am one of the Corporate and Community Engagement Coordinators at the Student Conservation Association (SCA). In a few days, I’ll be hitting the road on the 2018 Vans Warped Tour.
Posted by Kevin Hamilton | Tuesday, June 12, 2018
What are the chances of history repeating itself…twice? Simultaneously?
This story begins in the summer of 1992 on Kupreanof Island, part of Tongass National Forest in southeastern Alaska. Officials there wanted to install a fish pass to make it easier for coho salmon to navigate Mitchell Creek. To
...Posted by Staff | Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Adventures, Parks, Trails and Hiking
West Monroe teamed up in Seattle to restore University District P-Patch
Posted by Ally Ratliff | Monday, June 4, 2018
On Friday, June 1st, West Monroe employee volunteers teamed up with SCA at Seattle’s University District P-Patch to help revitalize this much-loved, public space. Over 50 participants gathered together for #WMPDayofChange to clear pathways and garden beds and restore the garden’s composting structure.
...
Invasives, Parks, People, Volunteer Opportunities
Posted by Staff | Wednesday, May 30, 2018
In 1998, President Clinton launched “Great Outdoors Week,” seven days to celebrate our relationship with nature in all of its facets: recreation, art, therapy, conservation, and so much more. So popular was the initiative that, over time, it blossomed into Great Outdoors Month. And, fitting for the time that heralds...
Adventures, Parks, Trails and Hiking, Volunteer Opportunities
Seed Balls with American Express
Posted by Kelly McSween Runzel | Friday, May 25, 2018
April 17th , 2018 - American Express hosts Seed Ball events in Phoenix, Miami, Salt Lake City and New York City and helps create thousands of Seed Balls.
I made my way through the TSA security check point hoping that the quarter pound satchel of Native Western Wildflower Seeds...
Posted by Kevin Hamilton | Thursday, May 24, 2018
SCA has earned many honors over the years: from the Interior Department, the US Conference of Mayors, the Garden Club of America and others (not to mention Founding President Liz Putnam’s Presidential Citizens Medal).
This week, however, we entered an entirely new realm when the SCA documentary “National Park...
Posted by Staff | Thursday, May 24, 2018
What does it take to be a park ranger? To find out, we caught up with SCA alumni who have gone on to hold government careers as park rangers. In Part I, we explored the college majors and internships that can help you land your dream job. In...
Career Success, Parks
400 Volunteers, 5 Cities, 1 Earth Month Project
Posted by Ally Ratliff | Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Drones flying overhead, youth tweeting to the world, Go Pro’s readied for action. Doesn’t sound like something you would see during an outdoor service project, does it? At Exelon’s first ever National Volunteer week, that was exactly what we saw. During the month of April, SCA & Exelon teamed up...
Forests, Invasives, Kids, Parks, People, Volunteer Opportunities
Posted by Staff | Friday, May 18, 2018
Many children dream of becoming park rangers, and the career retains the allure of the romantic. But what does it take to turn that dream into action? To find out, we tracked down SCA alumni who have gone on to become successful park rangers and asked them precisely that. In...
Career Success, Parks, People
Sony Springing into Action for Tompkins Square Park
Posted by Ally Ratliff | Friday, May 18, 2018
On Tuesday, May 15th, Sony employee volunteers joined SCA to conserve Tompkins Square Park. They met early in the morning to get fueled up for a full day of spreading seed, laying soil, and cleaning up the park. Before getting their hands dirty, the group gathered up for the morning...
Parks, People, Volunteer Opportunities
Hearts in Action Across the Nation
Posted by Kelly McSween Runzel | Thursday, May 17, 2018
The Student Conservation Association (SCA) is proud to call Southwest Airlines its most LUV’d partner, especially after SWA “Cohearts” participating in the airline’s spring company-wide initiative, fueled a record-setting SCA Earth Month celebration in April. Together, we mobilized a record-setting 4,000 volunteers to serve the planet, and conserved over 136,000...
History, Kids, Parks, People, Volunteer Opportunities
Posted by Dani Tinker | Wednesday, May 16, 2018
We all want to see wildlife. I travel to Great Smoky Mountains National Park to find salamanders and Bombay Hook Wildlife Refuge for avocets and bald eagles. But we forget that cities are complex ecosystems with perhaps unexpected levels of biodiversity.
Animals & Wildlife
Posted by Staff | Monday, May 14, 2018
At the age of 13, Nancy Rogers already knew she wanted to be a park ranger. And for upwards of four decades she’s followed that dream, first as an intern in the Student Conservation Association (SCA), then seasonally in the National Park Service, and finally as a permanent ranger in...
Career Success, Parks, People
SCA Spring Cleaning at Kirkwood Park with Domtar
Posted by Kelly McSween Runzel | Saturday, May 12, 2018
It seems like the entire country had a long winter. The ripple effects took a toll on more than our moods; our parks needed a whole lot of work to recover and prepare for summer.
SCA and more than 100 Domtar HDIS employees and family members tackled that need in...
Forests, Invasives, Kids, Parks, People, Volunteer Opportunities
Posted by Kevin Hamilton | Friday, May 11, 2018
“It was one of the coolest moments ever!”
Not everyone would attach those words to the impending arrival of an historically calamitous Category 5 hurricane, but Cassie Holden has her reasons, which we will get to shortly. But first, some introductions.
May 18th is Endangered Species Day. Cassie...
Posted by Staff | Friday, May 11, 2018
There’s no question that birds in every habitat need our attention. It’s estimated that one-third of all North American bird species require urgent conservation action. As a result, biologists are busy gathering data to better understand what can be done to stop the decline.
From the federally endangered Hawaiian...
Animals & Wildlife, Endangered Species
Posted by Kevin Hamilton | Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Spring came late to much of the country this year, including Vermont and its only national park: Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park. With a unique focus on conservation history and land stewardship, Marsh-Billings plays host to numerous SCA interns each year.
Katie Kull (above left) traveled here from North Carolina...