Student Conservation Association

The SCA's mission is to build the next generation of conservation leaders and inspire lifelong stewardship of the environment and communities by engaging young people in hands-on service to the land.

• About Us
  EVERY DAY SCA PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TO MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE WORLD AROUND THEM.
  
  Every year we motivate and deploy thousands of young people who care passionately about improving their natural world. We put them to work in our parks and public lands and urban green spaces to make improvements and learn conservation and sustainability practices. We teach them how to plan, enact, and lead, all while making a tangible impact in conservation.
  
  SCA MEMBERS ARE …
  
  … age 15 to young adults
  
  … high school and college students, or recent graduates interested in green careers
  
  … from all 50 states and from all socio-economic backgrounds
  
  SCA members protect, enhance, and restore national parks, marine sanctuaries, cultural landmarks, and urban green spaces across the United States. They serve year-round in programs lasting anywhere from two weeks to twelve months.
• Our Impact
  TODAY’S SCA VOLUNTEERS ARE TOMORROW’S LEADERS.
  
  The lessons we impart stay with these young volunteers as their experiences ripple out into all they do throughout their lives.
  
  96% of members have gained skills that they expect to use in the future.
  Tens of thousands of “green” professionals—from park superintendents to EPA scientists to urban planners—can trace their career beginnings to their time with SCA.
  SCA alumni make up an estimated 12 percent of the National Park Service workforce.
  
  
  “Nature is the essence of everything we are.”
  
  —Jacqueline Keating, SCA Park Guide Interpretation Intern, Arches National Park, Utah
  
  AWARDS AND HONORS
  
  SCA programs, staff, and members have received a number of awards and honors acknowledging the powerful work we do across the country, locally and nationally, to protect our outdoor spaces and empower our future leaders. Below is just a sampling of these honors.
  
  2014 The Walden Woods Project’s Environmental Challenge Award
  SCA received the Environmental Challenge Award for engaging youth in hands-on conservation service and serving as a model for those who seek effective, constructive and sustainable outcomes. The Walden Woods Project and Thoreau Institute were founded by rocker Don Henley.
  
  2014 Golden Halo Award
  SCA and American Eagle Outfitters – signature sponsor of our ongoing Alternative Spring Breaks (ASBs) – won the Golden Halo Award from the Cause Marketing Forum for our 2013 ASBs at Big Cypress National Preserve and Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
  
  2010: 2010 Presidential Citizens Medal
  SCA founder Elizabeth Cushman Titus Putnam was bestowed this prestigious award by President Barrack Obama for “performing exemplary deeds of service for her country and fellow citizens.” She was the first conservationist to receive the Citizens Medal, the nation’s second-highest civilian award, since its creation in 1969.
  
  2009: Audubon Rachel Carson Award
  SCA founder Elizabeth Cushman Titus Putnam received the nation’s premier award honoring women leaders in the environmental world. Presented annually, the Audubon Rachel Carson Award recognizes women who have advanced the conservation and the environmental movement locally and globally.
  
  2009: Walter J. Dunfey Nonprofit Management Award
  For more than one-quarter century, The Corporate Fund has presented this annual award to organizations demonstrating exemplary nonprofit management practices. Each year, Dunfey Award is presented to organizations that meet critical community needs in New Hampshire.
  
  2009: The Walmart Foundation Green Jobs Training Initiative Grant
  The $550,000 grant, presented in collaboration with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, supported the Milwaukee Conservation Leadership Corps (CLC) Program local job training and youth employment experience in conservation projects operated in partnership by SCA, Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board and Johnson Controls.
  
  2009: Do Something Award
  DoSomething.org is the country’s largest not-for-profit for young people and social change. Every year DoSomething provides grants to individuals and groups who are trying to make a difference in their communities. The SCA Great Allegheny Passage interns earned a Do Something grant for their work conducting sustainability evaluations to help encourage economic revitalization in towns along the Allegheny trail.
  
  2008: Cooperative Conservation Award
  SCA and project partners—Mount Rainier National Park, the Washington’s Trails Association, the National Parks Conservation Association, Washington’s National Park Fund and The Mountaineers—received the Department of Interior’s highest honor for their efforts helping Mount Rainier National Park recover from damage done by the 2006 flooding.
  
  2008: Outstanding Achievement Award
  Elizabeth Cushman Titus Putnam was honored by the Society of Women Geographers for her role as founder of SCA and her work as a conservation educator.
  
  2008: Cornelius Amory Pugsley National Medal Award
  This prestigious award is bestowed annually by the American Academy for Park & Recreation Administrations. It was given to SCA founder Elizabeth Cushman Titus Putnam in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the promotion and development of public parks in the United States.
  MORE AWARDS FOR SCA
  
  2012: SCA Highlands Crew at Blue Ridge Parkway receives Outstanding Youth Award
  2010: SCA Wilderness Restoration Crew receives Yosemite Volunteer Award
  2010: Yosemite Individual Youth Volunteer Award won by SCA intern Brina Mocsny
  2009: Community Catalyst Award, Seattle, WA
  2009: U.S. Conference of Mayor’s Best Practices Award
  2009: Greater Newark Conservancy - Urban Conservation Award, Newark, NJ
  2009: Nielsen Distinguished Citizen Award to NH Conservation Corps
  2009: Mayor’s Proud Partner Award - Won by SCA Houston, TX
  2009: SCA wins U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Green Jobs Training Initiative Grant
  2009: SCA receives Walter J. Dunfey Nonprofit Management Award
  2009: SCA intern Erica Ball receives Acadia National Park “Champlain Volunteer of the Year Award”
  2009: Do Something Award - Won by the Great Allegheny Passage Interns
  2009: Mayor’s Environmental Excellence Awards - City of Dallas
  2009: Mt Dew Energize Your Community Grant - Won by the SCA New Jersey Green Team
  2007: SCA is awarded the Margaret Douglas Medal from the Garden Club of America
  2006: SCA earns US Department of the Interior’s “Take Pride in America” volunteerism award for work with native and invasive plants.
  2005: SCA earns USDA Forest Service Centennial Award for conservation leadership.
  2004: Heroes in Conservation Award
  2000: National Partnership Award for Education
  1994: Regional Civil Rights Action Group Award
  1993: National Wildlife Federation Award
  1989: Take Pride in America Award – Greater Yellowstone Recovery Corps
  Awards for Elizabeth Cushman Titus Putnam
  
  2010: Liz Cushman Titus Putnam receives 2010 Presidential Citizens Medal
  2009: The Audubon Society Rachel Carson Award
  2008: Society of Woman Geographers Outstanding Achievement Awards
  2007: Chatham University Rachel Carson Leadership Award
  2007: LL Bean Outdoor Hero Award
  2007: Sterling College Trustees Environmental Leadership Award
  2006: SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Honorary Doctorate
  2006: University of Vermont Honorary Degree
  2003: ChevronTexaco Conservation Award
  1996: National Wildlife Federation Conservation Achievement Award
  1996: SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Sol Feinstone Environmental Award
  1989: National Park Service Honorary Park Ranger Award
  1989: Vermont Youth Conservation Corps Commendation
  1987: U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary’s Commendation Award
  1987: Student Conservation Association Resolution
  1982: President Reagan presents the President’s Volunteer Action Award
  1982: Student Conservation Association 25th Anniversary Award
  1980: Garden Club of America Conservation Achievement Award
  1974: U.S. Department of the Interior Distinguished Service Award
  1971: Arizona Federated Garden Clubs Distinguished Service Award
  1966: Garden Club of America Margaret Douglas Award