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.
The Student Conservation Association (SCA) hosted its second annual Alumni Engagement Week (AEW) from September 21-26, 2020. The week was full of exciting opportunities to engage our network of 95,000 alumni, partners, friends, and more. SCA community gathered, virtually, to support conservation, network, and have fun!
To kickoff the week, over...
by SCA Alum, David Kurapka
It was paradise. My two stints with SCA account for a mere few months of my life, but their importance to me far outweighs the relatively brief time I spent in the program.
Dave pictured top row,...
By Grace O’Hara, Richard J. Guadagno SCA Conservation Fellow
Nineteen years ago on September 11th our nation changed forever when four planes departed from various East Coast airports and never made their destinations. Hijackers took over the aircraft with the intent of crashing them into key locations. Two struck the Twin...
“Get some fresh air.”
This phrase is commonly used during times of stress. There may be no time in history when getting outside has been more powerful for our health, both physical and mental, then through the COVID-19 pandemic.
But what is it that’s so calming about nature? The truth is –...
By Cecilia Aleman
It’s not often that legislation affecting conservation and young Americans is signed into law. So when one of the most pivotal conservation bills in nearly 50 years crosses the finish line – it calls for a celebration.
The recent passage of the Great American Outdoors Act, a bipartisan...
The overlay of past and present quite often astounds.
by Pia Yarnell
If you’re just starting out in your pollinator garden journey, check out some of our resources on pollinator habitats and growing wildflowers. If you already have an efficacious garden full of native flowering plants, what’s next? Here are a few steps you can take to turn...
Last week we asked our alumni, supporters, and staff to offer our SCA members who are graduating from high school or college in 2020 their best advice as they enter into a world demanding justice and equity.
We know their graduation ceremony will be different this year, but we can promise...
The next few days will be significant. Tomorrow is a somber Juneteenth. Summer officially arrives on Saturday. And June 24th is SCA Founder’s Day, marking 63 years since Liz Putnam launched SCA and a national movement. So climb aboard the WABAC Machine for a whirlwind tour of SCA history. Be...
by Kate Hagner
Like many youth-serving organizations, SCA had to cancel or postpone a number of its programs as a result of COVID-19. Our mission hasn’t changed, however. Our members are counting on these experiences to gain new skills, explore conservation careers, give back to their communities, and build connections. In...
By Cecilia Aleman
On Endangered Species Day, we recognize thousands of different species across the globe that are in need of our help.
“Don’t mind that sound,” said Liz Putnam. “It’s only my bird clock chirping away.”
Late last month, the recorded call of a yellow warbler signaled the start of an introductory phone conversation between SCA’s founder and its just-appointed president and CEO, Stephanie Meeks.
“This is a real treat for me,”...
by David Kurapka
Like so many SCA alumni I was deeply moved by Sarah’s reflections on how her SCA experience prepared her for being isolated and sheltered in place during the current crisis. It made me think of my own experiences with the SCA, both in the high school program...
During these uncertain times, many organizations must adapt to a new kind of normal. It is imperative to update our regulations and behaviors as social distancing practices continue to expand. The Student Conservation Association
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Since 2018, SCA has engaged local young adults in GulfCorps, a program in which members restore coastal habitats damaged by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill while developing valuable career skills.
Since mid-March, however, SCA’s GulfCorps teams in Alabama have relocated from their waterfront worksites to their respective dens and dining rooms,...
This 50th Earth Day is unlike any other and Katie Wareham is celebrating in similarly unique fashion: she’s exiting a self-imposed 14-day quarantine.
But before we get to the end, let’s start at the beginning.
Katie, a 23-year old from Frederick, MD, is and has been healthy since starting as an education...
March 16th marked Zack Rowatt’s and Erica Watkins’ first day as interpretive interns at Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve. That’s also the day the White House issued a work-from-home advisory, the Dow fell 3,000 points, and America moved into a new phase of the coronavirus outbreak.
More than a month...
