U.S. presidents have been lighting the National Christmas Tree for nearly a century and this year, an SCA alumnus was at center stage for the festivities. Dylan Carrejo introduced Barack Obama just before the president flipped the switch for the eighth and final time. We spoke with Dylan about his...
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 Katelyn Fraser, SCA Intern for USFWS
Posted by Joseph Thurston | Monday, December 12, 2016
It’s early, really early, but a warm sea breeze, an ATV ride through a dark tunnel of sea grapes, and a magnificent, multi-hued sunrise have already combined to make my 5:30 AM wake-up time feel more than worth it. Reaching the start point of my survey, I begin checking marked...
Posted by Megan McVey | Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Buffalo Bayou snakes through downtown Houston. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-led Houston Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership is helping to make a difference on the city’s industrial East End. (Photo: Nancy Brown/USFWS)
Juan “Tony” Elizondo, a teacher in Houston, and Corrin Omowunmi, a program manager in Philadelphia, share a passion for...
Featured Earthsaver, SCA Alumni Council
Posted by Staff | Thursday, December 1, 2016
At age 16, Jean Bartholomew (above, 2nd from left) joined a SCA national crew for a trail project located 15 miles deep into the Yellowstone backcountry and she’s been a true believer in the transformative power of the great outdoors ever since. She stayed connected with SCA throughout her time...
Posted by Megan McVey | Thursday, December 1, 2016
Thank you to everyone who contributed to SCA on #GivingTuesday, we exceeded our $15,000 goal and raised $23,534 in less than 24 hours! You were part of a global movement involving over a million people donating more than $168 million to tens of thousands of causes!
A special thanks goes to...
Posted by Megan McVey | Monday, November 28, 2016
It’s Giving Tuesday and the Student Conservation Association is kicking off its year-end giving campaign with a chance to DOUBLE your impact for national parks and young people!
This #GivingTuesday, almost a million folks will donate over $100 million to tens of thousands of nonprofits in less than 24 hours.
...Posted by Megan McVey | Monday, November 21, 2016
Thanksgiving is still two days away, but at the Student Conservation Association (SCA), we give thanks every day for loyal supporters like you who help us empower the next generation of conservation leaders.
Over the past year, thanks to your support, SCA was able to place more than 9,500 eager young...
SCA Find Your Park Volunteers Conclude the Centennial Year with Service on the Bay Area Ridge Trail
Posted by Ann Pedtke | Monday, November 21, 2016
In honor of Veterans Day, SCA brought together hundreds of volunteers in the Bay Area for a Find Your Park Day of Service at Golden Gate National Recreation Area, planting 1400 native plants along a critical section of the Bay Area Ridge Trail.
Endangered Species, Parks, People, Trails and Hiking
Our 9,638 Volunteers Made A Huge Difference for Conservation & the Environment
Posted by Joseph Thurston | Thursday, November 17, 2016
Now more than ever, America needs young leaders who have felt the transformative power of sacrifice and service, who understand that the right road is often the hard road, and who possess an inclusive vision for a diverse and sustainable future. The conservation service programs that SCA has been conducting...
Posted by Staff | Wednesday, November 16, 2016
ABOVE: Jennifer Tarnacki taught visitors about traditional Southern Appalachian textile customs during her SCA internship at Brinegar Cabin Homestead on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The people of rural Southern Appalachia have a saying: “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without”. You could call them the ultimate...
Education, History, People, Sustainability
We think you'll agree, these winning contest entries are beyond inspiring...
Posted by Joseph Thurston | Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Thank you to all who participated in the Capture Conservation Photo Contest this summer and fall! Our goal was to gather nature photos that would inspire people to get out and enjoy America’s amazing public lands, and also remind them why they’re worth working so hard to protect. Your thousands...
Tell the World that You Chose to #OptOutside Instead of Shopping!
Posted by Joseph Thurston | Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Thanksgiving is a time to gather with loved ones to celebrate the people and places and ideas for which we are most thankful.
As conservationists, parks and trails and other outdoor spaces where we can go to commune with nature are near the top of our “thankful for” list. The best...
Adventures
250 Volunteers Plant 1500 Trees to Celebrate Those Who Serve
Posted by Ann Pedtke | Monday, November 14, 2016
In honor of Veterans Day, SCA brought together over 250 volunteers in New York City for a Find Your Park Day of Service at Jacob Riis Park in Queens.
Coasts & Water, Forests, Kids, Parks, People, Volunteer Opportunities
Featured Earthsaver for the #Next100
Posted by Ann Pedtke | Friday, November 11, 2016
“A good leader has to be a good listener – it’s about finding out what motivates people, and then working with people’s motivations to accomplish things together.”
Career Success, Education, Parks, People
Featured Earthsaver for the #Next100
Posted by Michael Cronin | Thursday, November 10, 2016
“Working with SCA and Sagamore Hill National Historic Site has made me realize conservation has a strong presence in American history and we need to keep that presence strong.”
Education, History, Kids, Parks, People
...so you can cast your vote for conservation.
Posted by Joseph Thurston | Monday, November 7, 2016
SCA’s mission is to inspire and empower the next generation of conservation leaders, and we take the leadership part of our work every bit as seriously as the conservation part. Because voting is an important part of being a leader (how can you claim to be a leader in your...
Education, People
Posted by Kevin Hamilton | Wednesday, November 2, 2016
As SCA’s 2016 Hudson Valley AmeriCorps program reaches its conclusion, we salute member Sarah Lipuma whose Hudson River Sustainable Shorelines Project proposal recently earned the Judges’ Choice Award at MIT’s Climate CoLab.
This initiative, which advocates a number of nature-based remedies to reduce the damaging effects of...
SCA members share their best leaf-peeping shots
Posted by Joseph Thurston | Tuesday, November 1, 2016
ABOVE: Mt. Rainier from the Alta Vista Trail by Caroline Meleedy, SCA NPS Centennial Interpretive Media Intern at Mt. Rainier National Park. Credit Caroline Meleedy/NPS
Whether or not you’re rightly placed in time and space to witness it, vibrant yellows, oranges, and reds sweep across America’s deciduous regions every...
Forests, Parks
Featured Earthsaver for the #Next100
Posted by Michael Cronin | Tuesday, November 1, 2016
“I want to help new generations of students feel the same excitement I felt about protecting our parks when I first joined SCA over nine years ago.”
Education, Parks, People, Trails and Hiking
by Joe Thurston, SCA
Posted by Joseph Thurston | Friday, October 28, 2016
Photo: A concentration mill in an abandoned (and definitely haunted) mining town in the Kennecott Historic District of Wrangell St. Elias National Park, via Richard Droker.
Consider this: many of the primary reasons that people enjoy hiking— expedited blood flow, quiet seclusion, elevated heart rate, adrenalizing natural thrills—are...