National Park Week (April 22-30) is a time to honor all things parks. With more than 400 national parks across the country, there is a lot to love.
The Student Conservation Association (SCA) has partnered with the National Park Service since our founding in 1957. Here are five (of the many!) parks where you will find SCA crew members lending a hand this year.
How SCA members help in the primitive desert atmosphere of this Utah park:
We assist with intensive river restoration projects on the Green and Colorado rivers, including hand-pulling exotic plants and collecting native seeds. Monitoring the water quality and spring flow helps study the effect of climate change.
How SCA members help at this park located in both D.C. and Maryland:
This team works to protect this beautiful historic National Park Service site through service projects, including removing vegetation from stone structures to preserve their history and clearing fallen trees and debris along the towpath.
How SCA members help at this Kentucky park associated with the longest known cave system in the world:
The goal here is the preservation of cultural resources. We help conduct field surveys using photography and GPS mapping. In addition, we collaborate with volunteers to manage sensitive cultural resources such as sorting and analyzing artifacts.
How SCA members help protect this sacred Hawaiian landscape:
The primary goal is to assist in protecting endangered species through direct observations of endangered forest birds and additional management activities for the benefit of forest birds such as weed management and invasive predator control.
How SCA members help at this nearly 146,000-acre New Mexico park:
Here we help visitors connect to and appreciate the world’s largest gypsum dunefield. Through education activities, we also assist with engaging underserved youth to inspire them to learn about their national parks.
You can help protect parks of all shapes and sizes with your donation for Earth Month times two! Through April 30, your gift with matched dollar-for-dollar.
