How do kids fall in love with the outdoors? Interpretive guides or environmental educators inspire them daily at parks and schools. We are in dire need of innovative educators to develop and guide this hands-on learning. Up to the challenge? Instill an appreciation of the natural world in students and...
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 | Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Education, Parks, People
Posted by Staff | Friday, October 26, 2018
Throughout history, many of the world’s greatest works of art have arisen out of a contemplation of nature: just think of Monet’s Water Lilies paintings or Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, which within its five movements captures everything from a burbling brook to a storm to a country...
Animals & Wildlife, Career Success, Parks, People, Science
Posted by Dani Tinker | Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Popular culture and common myths perpetuate a fear of these misunderstood animals. They are more closely related to primates than rats and mice, they aren’t all rabid, and they don’t like to mess with humans. Bats want to do their own thing and be left alone. There’s no real reason...
Animals & Wildlife, Endangered Species, Science
Posted by Staff | Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Thirty years ago, in the summer of 1988, more than thirty percent of Yellowstone National Park – known as the “Wonderland of the West” – turned into a raging inferno. After a wet spring, drought struck the park in June, leading to the driest summer in...
History, Parks, Wildfires
Posted by Dani Tinker | Monday, October 15, 2018
A growing SCA initiative is helping teens with autism transition into young adulthood. For the second consecutive summer, high school students with autism joined SCA crews to improve local green spaces. The partnership between SCA and Drexel University launched last year in Philadelphia. This year, it expanded to Pittsburgh and...
Diversity, People, Trails and Hiking
Working Hard in Port Huron!
Posted by Alycia Chuney | Wednesday, October 3, 2018
On Saturday, September 29th forty-two bright and eager Domtar Employees, Family Members, and Friends helped revitalize Sanborn Natural Trail in Port Huron. Port Huron Parks & Recreation Staff, who usually maintain the trail has experienced a busy summer. With a staff of only seven to maintain 19 city parks, the trail hasn’t gotten as much...
Forests, Kids, Parks, People, Trails and Hiking
Earthkeepers Unite at The Blue Island Corridor
Posted by Ally Ratliff | Wednesday, October 3, 2018
On Thursday, September 27th, SCA, Timberland, Journeys, and many local partners came together to transform The Blue Island Corridor from an abandoned lot into a renewed green space. Over 70 participants teamed up to green about 3,500 square feet totaling more than 400 conservation service hours. These conservation leaders strapped...
Invasives, Parks, People, Volunteer Opportunities
Posted by Staff | Thursday, September 20, 2018
Samuel Merring, a seasonal interpretative ranger at the Stanislaus National Forest in northern California, develops and leads nature programs and guided walks around the forest’s picturesque Lake Alpine reservoir. What makes this all the more impressive is that Merring, who just completed his second summer on the job,...
Adventures, Backcountry & Wilderness, Career Success, Coasts & Water, Education, Forests, Parks, Science, Sustainability, Trails and Hiking, Volunteer Opportunities
Posted by Dani Tinker | Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Looking for a place to visit this fall? It can be a challenge to find new places to explore while avoiding crowds on the trail. That’s why we asked our alumni and community to share their favorite spots. Whether an awe-inspiring waterfall or a trail along a river, these sites...
Adventures, Backcountry & Wilderness, Parks, Trails and Hiking
Posted by Staff | Friday, September 7, 2018
Students all over the United States are checking class schedules and shouldering backpacks for another year of learning and growth. But as you head back to school this year, don’t leave your passion for sustainability at the door. Your school needs you – more than you might know. According to...
Education, Kids, Sustainability
Posted by Dani Tinker | Thursday, September 6, 2018
It’s no secret that pollinators are in trouble. Many bee and butterfly species across the country are struggling to survive. And in some cases, there’s not even enough data to figure out next steps to help them. That’s where SCA pollinator interns come in!
Gathering Critical Pollinator Data
Over the summer, Simon...
Adventures, Animals & Wildlife, Endangered Species, Science
Posted by Staff | Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Park rangers are the smiling, friendly, informative folks in uniform we see at the visitor’s center or on the trails of our favorite public lands. They interact with the public on a daily basis and occasionally must deal with people breaking rules or being disrespectful. Let’s give them a hand....
Adventures, Backcountry & Wilderness, Forests, Parks, Trails and Hiking
Posted by Staff | Friday, August 24, 2018
Going to work each day at some of the nation’s most significant and iconic lands is quite a feeling. And the competition for jobs with the National Park Service is a reflection of that. That’s where internships with the Student Conservation Assocaiton (SCA) — in partnership with national parks —...
Backcountry & Wilderness, Parks, Science, Trails and Hiking
Posted by Kevin Hamilton | Monday, August 20, 2018
All summer long, the SCA crew at Tongass National Forest worked an alternating schedule: one week of long, arduous days replacing a fading fish pass on Kupreanof Island, and the next in nearby Petersburg. Fortunately, they were in town when Chuck Najimy and Lane Bagley flew in on consecutive days...
Posted by Staff | Thursday, August 9, 2018
The tragedy of a natural disaster unfolds in multiple ways. First and foremost, there are the irreplaceable lives lost. Then, for survivors, there is the trauma of dealing with damaged or destroyed property, ruined livelihoods, and – in the worst cases – the prospect of having to uproot or relocate....
Coasts & Water, Forests, Parks, Volunteer Opportunities, Wildfires
Posted by Staff | Thursday, August 9, 2018
Bre Jané writes about backpacking along the Olympic Coast with her SCA crew learning everything from wilderness skills to marine science—and the realities of plastic pollution.
Landlocked for my whole life not a single bone in my Midwestern body was exposed to the importance of the ocean. In
...Adventures, Backcountry & Wilderness, Coasts & Water, Education, Sustainability, Trails and Hiking
SCA, Cuyahoga Valley, and Nestlé Partner to Remove Invasives
Posted by Ally Ratliff | Wednesday, August 8, 2018
On Thursday, August 2nd, Nestlé gathered at Terra Vista Natural Study Area alongside SCA and Cuyahoga Valley National Park to continue a seemingly never-ending battle with invasive species. More than 140 participants came together to remove over 60,000 square feet of invasive autumn olive and honeysuckle! This was no small...
Forests, Invasives, Parks, Volunteer Opportunities
Posted by Staff | Tuesday, August 7, 2018
SCA interns Sophie Kline and Carol Gause write about their experiences serving at a haven for migratory birds with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this summer.
We are students from North Carolina and Florida spending our summer out in the prairies of South Dakota with the U.S....
Animals & Wildlife, People, Science, Wetlands
Posted by Staff | Monday, July 30, 2018
Nearly 50 years ago, the Cuyahoga River in northeast Ohio caught fire. Although this was not the first occurrence of its kind – the river had caught fire some 13 times since 1868 due to spill-off from the steel mills and factories stretching between Akron and Cleveland – this...