This summer, the SCA’s 2024 Urban Green Acadian Exploration Crew from New York City completed a special mission. The crew made the trek from the Big Apple to Acadia National Park in Maine to help preserve local plant life and combat erosion caused by decades of trampling by parkgoers.
(Photo Credit: Shaun Crockett/The Bearded Mainer Photography)
A popular destination for its spectacular views, it is also vulnerable to extreme weather events, including increased rain and snow.
Joined by SCA President & CEO Lidia Soto-Harmon, the crew carried 209 pounds of soil to the summit of Sargent Mountain, the park’s second-highest peak at 1,040 feet above sea level.
Each hiker carried five to 25 pounds of sterilized soil up the mountain. The four-mile hike along steep terrain took around four hours to complete.
(Photo Credit: Shaun Crockett/The Bearded Mainer Photography)
“I enjoy doing difficult things and am glad I got to do it,” said SCA crew leader Angel Barrott, 21. “Being on top of Sargent Mountain, I see why this is needed. It’s a beautiful view, and the mountain will benefit from having more greenery on top. I feel good being a part of it and want to see it in the future when it’s all done.”
Barrott first joined the SCA as a crew member while a sophomore at Cardinal Hayes High School in Bronx, New York. Barrott was recruited by the SCA’s New York City Director, John Donovan, who gave a presentation at the school. Now a senior studying mechanical engineering at SUNY Delhi in upstate New York, Barrott credits the SCA for instilling a love for the outdoors and helping him become more outgoing.
“It sounded like a good chance to get outside more. I grew to enjoy being outdoors and working with the tools. I prefer to work with my hands, and building is something I want to do with my life,” said Barrott, who evolved from an SCA crew member to crew leader. “Before the SCA, after track ended, most of my summers were spent indoors. If I didn’t have a reason to go outside, I wouldn’t. My first SCA assignment was at a park that was really close to my house, and I had no reason not to go.”
(Photo Credit: Shaun Crockett/The Bearded Mainer Photography)
Five crew members and three field leaders were selected from the 2024 New York City Urban Green Program to embark on a 12-day regional deployment to Acadia National Park that included conservation projects, community events and outdoor recreation. For many of the crew members, this was their first experience camping, which allowed them to develop newfound skills, including pitching a tent, lighting a campfire, cooking outdoors and making s’mores.
The SCA began expanding its first-time outdoor recreation adventures by curating crews designed to provide Urban Green program participants with unique excursions that expose them to new experiences while building equitable access to nature for Black, Hispanic, Indigenous and other underrepresented community members.
Similar crew experiences to learn and serve this year included Urban Green crew members from Atlanta and Houston traveling to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming and crew members from the San Francisco Bay area traveling to Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California.
In addition to bringing soil to the summit, the crew assisted with several much-needed projects at Acadia, including partnering with the Acadia Youth Conservation Corps to build a section of a bog walk along the Great Notch Trail. They also teamed up with the Friends of Acadia to repair a severely damaged 80-foot rustic fence impacting a natural area.
The crew even got to meet with park superintendent Kevin Schneider, who previously worked with the SCA at North Cascades National Park in Washington before joining the Park Service.
(Photo Credit: Shaun Crockett/The Bearded Mainer Photography)
Just as the crew positively impacted Acadia National Park’s trails and natural landscape, the park had an equally substantial impact on the crew members.
“I learned to push myself out of my comfort zone, hike and work outside. Now, I know I am able to do hard things, and I can keep pushing myself. You’re tired, but it was satisfying,” said SCA crew leader Jael Wood, 23, of Bronx, New York. “The first night at the campsite, we hiked to the beach and saw a couple of shooting stars. [The trip] was a good balance. We had service projects throughout the week, and then we could explore the area on the weekends. As a group, we really got to bond.”
Wood joined the SCA as a crew member following freshman year at Stephen T. Mather Building Arts & Craftsmanship High School in Manhattan, New York, which partners with the National Park Service to specialize in hands-on skills training for building and landscaping trades with an emphasis on high-quality craftsmanship and historic preservation. Working with the SCA has developed a desire to become more sustainable and teach others how to help protect the planet, Wood said.
“I have learned that we are responsible for our environmental impact as individuals and as a society. Every time I see nature, I see how fragile it is,” said Wood, who was studying writing and literature at Borough Manhattan Community College before transferring to the City University of New York. “I learned to be more mindful to help mitigate waste. What I learn I like to tell my friends who will listen. I want to thank our donors for their support and for allowing the younger generation to experience nature and enjoy it so they can help protect it. The SCA has a lifelong impact.”
