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.
ABOVE: A California Condor, one of the small, critically endangered population at Zion National Park. Photo: Madison Roberts
If you’re lucky enough to spot a rare California Condor, you might just feel as if you’ve been transported back to a time when dinosaurs ruled the...
ABOVE: Rachel holding an endangered Hawaiian Stilt that she assisted with capturing, banding, and fitting with a tracking device.
The IUCN World Conservation Congress is upon us here in Honolulu, Hawai’i with an estimated 8,000 - 10,000 delegates representing 160 nations converging onto the island of O’ahu for the event. The...
Plastic water bottles have been around since the 1940s helping humans transport fresh, clean water. During Roman times, aqueducts were built to provide water to cities, and animal skins were used to transport water from place to place. Clay and woven materials were molded into water carrying devices so the...
As part of our celebration of the National Park Service (NPS), over 1000 people came together to create a giant version of the agency emblem, the Arrowhead, on the Washington Monument grounds. The event was symbolic in more ways than one. We each...
Thanks to sponsorship from ATN International and partnership with Canyon de Chelly National Monumentin Arizona, dozens of youth have experienced conservation on SCA crews comprised entirely of Navajo, or Diné, students. The teenaged crews repair trails and restores habitats, though much time is also devoted to...
On August 6th, a record number of SCA alumni gathered in the New York City region to reunite and reconnect with SCA.
Time spent enjoying the great outdoors is more than just fun. It’s an essential part of life, and an especially essential part of growing up. Time spent in nature, or even just time spent gazing at greenery through a well-placed window, has lately been shown to have a variety of...
SCA offers a variety of activities to help you gain life experience and perspective during your gap year, all while serving the planet. Don’t take our word for it though. Hear what life lessons Sarah Newsham acquired during her gap year experience:
A couple of weeks ago I was...
Ever wonder what it’s like to work with dinosaurs? Well I can’t tell you what it’s like to work with a Tyrannosaurus rex, but I can tell you about working with a reptile whose ancestors were around during the Cretaceous period.
From the Brooks Falls viewing platform, I count thirteen individual brown bears. Since the beginning of July, it has been nearly guaranteed to see bears at the falls, but thirteen is the most to date. My routine remains the same—I make note of which bears are present, and begin a count of how many fish each catches. I also start a running list of interactions between the bears—skirmishes, fish stealing, displays of aggression, etc.
These four artifacts, all currently on display at Yosemite National Park, each have a story to tell about the man who used them: John Muir.
Hema Lochan hopes to use her position as an intern in the Zion Museum to cultivate and revitalize a human connection with wilderness.
Swiss-native Helena Looser has only lived in the United State for two years. While being away from her family is difficult, she says that Zion’s wilderness opportunities have helped her become more mindful of her own dreams and goals.
In an era where people hardly stay at a specific job for more than 5 years, Lead Park Ranger Mike Large can be said to be, in a way, serving a Zion National Park marathon. After 32 years here, he’s far from worn out by the park’s landscape and culture. After seven years as a tour guide for Zion Lodge in the ‘80s, Large decided to keep the Zion dice rolling and took a position with the fee department.
After working outside helped Emmett Pegan deal with the stress of coming out as transgender, he decided to try and make a career of it. Now as an SCA Biology Intern at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Philadelphia, he’s learning what such a career might look like before he heads to college in the fall.
On Wednesday, July 27th, SCA joined the National Parks Conservation Association for a joint networking happy hour.
