Why SCA

As an SCA Conservation Crew member, you will build hiking trails, protect threatened habitats, sleep under the stars and connect to the land in ways you never thought possible. The work you do will endure, making an important difference in our national parks and forests and community green spaces.

As Scott Russell Sanders told new alumni at a recent SCA Conservation Commencement:

Friends may ask you if you think you're going to save the earth. You can assure them that the earth will go on about its business, with or without us.  We're not called to save the world; we're called to act in light of our deepest values.  And if we value the living abundance that we all inherited at our birth, then we should do everything we can to preserve it.

Conservation begins here.  It begins now. It begins with you. Are you in?

Other benefits from your SCA service run the gamut from jaw-dropping photos, new friends and role models, possible references for future employment/school positions, and an official confirmation of volunteer service hours available upon request.  And, when you have successfully completed your SCA Crew, and are 18 or older, you are one step closer to landing an SCA Internship or placement on one of SCA's elite Conservation Corps teams. All SCA programs are tuition-free.

Whether you're a seasoned traveler or it's your first time away from home, working on an SCA crew is an intense experience. You bond with the other crew members and crew leaders as you share shelter, feasts, and alpine swimming holes. You will be tested to discover what you're capable of and what your real priorities are. Your SCA crew experience can charge you to evaluate yourself, broaden your perspective, and change the world.

To get an idea of what it's like to be on an SCA crew, please watch the short video clip created by members of a Great Smoky Mountains trail crew this past summer.