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.
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...
What does it take to be a park ranger? To find out, we caught up with SCA alumni who have gone on to hold government careers as park rangers. In Part I, we explored the college majors and internships that can help you land your dream job. In...
Drones flying overhead, youth tweeting to the world, Go Pro’s readied for action. Doesn’t sound like something you would see during an outdoor service project, does it? At Exelon’s first ever National Volunteer week, that was exactly what we saw. During the month of April, SCA & Exelon teamed up...
Many children dream of becoming park rangers, and the career retains the allure of the romantic. But what does it take to turn that dream into action? To find out, we tracked down SCA alumni who have gone on to become successful park rangers and asked them precisely that. In...
On Tuesday, May 15th, Sony employee volunteers joined SCA to conserve Tompkins Square Park. They met early in the morning to get fueled up for a full day of spreading seed, laying soil, and cleaning up the park. Before getting their hands dirty, the group gathered up for the morning...
The Student Conservation Association (SCA) is proud to call Southwest Airlines its most LUV’d partner, especially after SWA “Cohearts” participating in the airline’s spring company-wide initiative, fueled a record-setting SCA Earth Month celebration in April. Together, we mobilized a record-setting 4,000 volunteers to serve the planet, and conserved over 136,000...
We all want to see wildlife. I travel to Great Smoky Mountains National Park to find salamanders and Bombay Hook Wildlife Refuge for avocets and bald eagles. But we forget that cities are complex ecosystems with perhaps unexpected levels of biodiversity.
At the age of 13, Nancy Rogers already knew she wanted to be a park ranger. And for upwards of four decades she’s followed that dream, first as an intern in the Student Conservation Association (SCA), then seasonally in the National Park Service, and finally as a permanent ranger in...
It seems like the entire country had a long winter. The ripple effects took a toll on more than our moods; our parks needed a whole lot of work to recover and prepare for summer.
SCA and more than 100 Domtar HDIS employees and family members tackled that need in...
There’s no question that birds in every habitat need our attention. It’s estimated that one-third of all North American bird species require urgent conservation action. As a result, biologists are busy gathering data to better understand what can be done to stop the decline.
From the federally endangered Hawaiian...
Rick Kuyper did an internship with the Tongass National Forest through SCA and is now Sierra Cascades Division Chief with the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office. He offers a glimpse into activities underway to monitor this threatened toad.
Site visits are critical to helping Sacramento...
We often picture park rangers in forested national parks, rescuing hikers or handing out trail maps. And while those are important roles, there are so many others that we rarely hear about. We had a chance to sit down with Jason Cangelosi, the Volunteer Program Manager for the National Mall...
The National Park Service’s aviation branch helps find stranded hikers, manage fires, and conduct wildlife and vegetation surveys. To learn more, we met with Aviation Branch Chief (and SCA ALUM!) Meg Gallagher.
We’re thrilled when we can teach students about leadership or stewardship of the land. But often times,...
Sarah Spragg, park ranger for the Bureau of Land Management in Marina, California, sums up her job in five words: “Being available for the public.” In addition to her outreach duties, she also helps maintain the bureau’s facilities and provides special recreation permits for use on public lands. She is...
