Summer jobs for under-served Chicago youth and young military veterans…ecological improvements to at-risk habitats, watersheds and city parks…free environmental education instruction and activities for hundreds of Chicago K-12th graders. SCA has revealed some exciting news in the Windy City: with the first half of a two-year, $1 million grant from BP America, SCA is expanding service, career and leadership opportunities for Chicago youth and connecting thousands of school children to nature in a partnership Mayor Rahm Emanuel calls “inspiring and empowering.” Along with BP, we’re teaming up with the Chicago Parks District, Cook County Forest Preserve, Friends of the Forest Preserves and Openlands to restore precious regional resources and advance the U.S. Interior Department’s 21st Century Conservation Service Corps, a national campaign to put America’s young people and returning veterans to work protecting, restoring and enhancing America’s great outdoors.
SCA’s expanded 2015 Chicago program included more than 125 members – including many underserved teens – who protected city parks, restored habitats at nearby Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and provided free environmental education to thousands of local school children through SCA’s Urban Tree House.
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Chicago’s Kailon Lang, 19, is on his third SCA hitch. After two summers as an SCA community crew member, he’s returned as an apprentice crew leader, advancing along the SCA conservation continuum. Kailon talks about learning communication skills, team building tactics and leadership skills, all while gaining a deeper connection to nature.
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Try to imagine a place where all of the plants look exactly the same; where there was once a beautiful, unique environment that was thriving with a multitude of diverse plant species. An environment that has undergone this change is the Cowles Bog at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. What was once considered a living laboratory is now completely overgrown by a species of invasive cattail.
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The Student Conservation Association, the national leader in youth service and stewardship, today announced a new partnership with BP America that will provide $1 million in financial support over the next two years, including the immediate funding of environmental projects in Chicago and at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
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