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 thing you hear most often from SCA alumni is “those X weeks changed my life.”
Nature’s marvels, self-discovery, and a strong sense of accomplishment are all factors in these transformations, but the influence of conservation professionals is also paramount. Those who invest the time to mentor, instruct, advise, encourage, test,...
In Part I of our guide, we taught you how to identify bumble bees and honey bees—two of our most critical pollinators (and pretty nonaggressive, to boot!). In Part II we will explore the other common stinging critters in the U.S., teaching you how to identify them and...
Ian Vogel participated in the Directorate Fellowship Program with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in the summer of 2016 through SCA and is now a wildlife biologist with the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office. He assists with collecting Yosemite toad eggs for two different captive rearing projects.
Things sure have changed since their dads made this trek a quarter century ago.
Cal Najimy and Steve Bagley are part of an SCA team on the Alaska Panhandle, replacing an elaborate fish pass in Tongass National Forest. They are literally following in the footsteps (and airstreams) of their fathers,...
Is that stinging critter a bee, yellow jacket, wasp, or hornet? It’s natural to feel worried when you see stinging insects buzzing around your backyard or barbecue in the park, but many of them are relatively harmless—and are important pollinators. In Part I, we’ll help you learn to identify bees,...
Writeen by Sarantia Mitsinikos, an Invasive Species Project Steward with the SCA Hudson Valley Corps. She is currently serving a 10 month position at New York’s Minnewaska State Park.
The Invasive Species Field Office at Minnewaska State Park gained a new member early this spring. An eastern phoebe...
Nature in America’s national parks, refuges, and protected spaces is a profusion of color: from the purple-pink rhododendrons in the Great Smoky Mountains to the palette of reds, tans, and oranges on the south rim of the Grand Canyon, from the steel blues and grays of Glacier...
June 21st, the longest day of the year, is quite a unique experience in Alaska. The Great Land celebrates this day with live music, gatherings with friends and families, and in the great outdoors. The sun never seems to set here. On this year’s summer solstice, CIRI and SCA teamed...
As a history major at Loyola University New Orleans, Peter Winfrey didn’t expect his career would lead him to the National Park Service (NPS). He definitely didn’t think it would take him to the largest and one of the wildest states in the country: Alaska.
Yet, after years of volunteering, an...
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On Saturday, June 16th, Domtar Employees teamed...
Located on the southern tip of Florida, the Everglades National Park – a World Heritage Site, International Biosphere Reserve, Wetland of International Importance, and a specially protected area under the Cartagena Treaty – is the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles live side by side....
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.
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...
You’ll find the latest updates from Alexis on the road with the Vans Warped Tour 2018, here.
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...
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.
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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...
