The National Park Service (NPS) was created on August 25, 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Act.
Forty-one years later, the Student Conservation Association (SCA) placed its first volunteers at Grand Teton and Olympic National Parks to assist with their upkeep. Thus began a glorious partnership between the SCA and the National Park Service.
With the NPS’s birthday celebration approaching, we’re highlighting three national parks where SCA crews can be found helping out.
Recognized as a national park in 2019, Indiana Dunes is home to one of the most biologically diverse habitats in the nation. SCA crews help control invasive species, which has a direct positive impact on multiple rare habitats and the park’s only Federally Threatened plant species, Cirsium pitcheri.
With Yellowstone’s 2.2 million acres, there’s no shortage of work to be done! Our crew members help with the native fish conservation program, assisting with cutthroat trout preservation and restoration through monitoring water quality monitoring, removing invasive species and more.
This 52,830-acre park in Kentucky encompasses portions of Mammoth Cave, the longest known cave system in the world. SCA program participants assists with cave tours and special programs to a variety of youth and adult audiences, including low income and underserved youth populations.
The SCA was founded in 1957 by Liz Putnam while attending Vassar College. For her senior thesis, she modeled the SCA after the 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps and enlisted student volunteers to assist with the upkeep of U.S. national parks and public spaces.
“The SCA started so we can help our country by protecting this land for future generations,” Putnam said. “I believe we all can make a positive difference in our lives.”
Since then, the SCA has provided more than 100,000 young people with opportunities to protect the planet through conservation projects at national parks, state forests and urban green spaces nationwide. You can help continue this legacy with a donation to the SCA today.
