Student Conservation Association
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The Student Conservation Association (SCA) is a nonprofit organization that was incorporated in 1964. The SCA was spun off from the Student Conservation Program of the National Parks Service. The SCA was started in 1957 by Elizabeth Titus Putnam with 53 volunteers.
The SCA's Motto is "Changing lives through service to nature."
Conservation Crews
Every summer, over 600 youths aged 15-19 are placed into crews of 6 or 8 in National Parks throught the United States. They have many differing projects from building trail to GIS mapping. The projects last from 21-30 days, and are roughly divided into two sections, an early and late session. The cost for this experince of a lifetime is free, fees are shared between the SCA and the Agency Partner. Students are only responsilbe for transportation to the closest public transportation terminal(I.E. Airport)
Once there, the students work every day on there project, but they do relax. The projects performed by the youth vary. Many times it will involve trail buidling or restoration. A catalog of Conservation Crew sites is available on the SCA website Near the end of the trip, the group takes some kind of Recretational fun trip, as a reward for a job well done.
Conservation Interns
Through partnerships with agencies such as the National Park Service, people 18 and over are placed in intership positions. There are two different types: Short and Long Term Interships. The short term internships last under three months. While long term interships can last from 6 to 12 months. The jobs performed by the interns varies from backcountry patrol, to working with visitors, to conducting ecological surverys. The interns are provided with a Stipend, housing(In most cases), and an AmeriCorps Stipend.
Applications and a catalog of currernt intership openings is available on the SCA's Website. Some internships are very competitive while others are not filled.
External links
- Student Conservation Association website (http://www.thesca.org)