For the Student Conservation Association, Earth Month is a time to honor the legacy of building the next generation of conservation leaders. For 69 years, we’ve been empowering young people to protect America’s most treasured public spaces. What began as a bold idea continues to support a national movement that has shaped generations of conservation leaders.
In 1957, SCA founder Liz Putnam transformed her senior thesis into something bigger than an academic milestone. Inspired by the 1930s Conservation Corps, her idea was simple but impactful: young people could help protect our national parks while gaining skills, purpose and lifelong connection to nature.
“I was raised to believe that we are all responsible for taking care of this earth and that we must always give something back,” wrote Putnam. That belief was the foundation upon which the Student Conservation Association was built.
With early support from National Parks leaders like Horace Albright, who was instrumental in creating the National Park Service, the first group of 53 student volunteers headed to Grand Teton and Olympic National Parks.
First SCA crew at Olympic National Park in 1957. Founder Liz Putnam is 8th from the left. (Photo Credit: student Conservation Association)
Through the 60s and 70s, America’s desire to protect our natural spaces grew rapidly, culminating in the first Earth Day in 1970. That support was mirrored in SCA’s trajectory, as volunteers worked across more national parks and forests and beyond.
In 1964, SCA was officially incorporated with a board of directors that included some of the nation’s most respected conservationists: Albright, Mardy Murie, Sigurd Olson, Bertha Mather McPherson and Conrad Wirth.
By the SCA’s 25th anniversary, annual volunteer enrollment reached 1,000. As the organization grew, so too did the recognition: Putnam accepted the President’s Volunteer Action Award and was later named an Honorary Ranger by the National Park Service.
The 80s launched the long-standing partnership with the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, further spreading the SCA’s impact. Following the devastating 1988 wildfires at Yellowstone National Park, the SCA mobilized 648 volunteers to establish the Greater Yellowstone Recovery Corps, one of the earliest large-scale, youth-led climate recovery efforts in the country.
The spirit of service lives on today. In 2025, our program participants improved 96,861 acres of land and wetlands, 530 miles of shoreline, and built and improved 1,856 miles of trails across the country.
The 90s and 00s brought new partnerships and new ways to engage young people in conservation. EarthWork launched, mobilizing thousands of local volunteers nationwide. A long-running partnership with AmeriCorps began in 1994, expanding service opportunities.
The SCA published the book on trail conservation, quite literally. “Lightly on the Land,” a trail-building and maintenance manual, was published in 1996 and quickly became the standard for sustainable trail construction among conservation corps throughout America.
The SCA’s legacy continues to expand with each passing year. Putnam received the Presidential Citizens Medal in 2010, becoming the first conservationist to ever receive this honor.
SCA interns received the Women in the Gulf award from Audubon’s Women in Conservation for their work responding to the Gulf oil spill. Later in the decade, SCA interns were credited with a first-of-its-kind advancement that biologists say may save ocelots in the U.S. from extinction.
Since 1957, more than 100,000 young conservationists have served through SCA. They have protected national parks, wildlife refuges, marine sanctuaries, cultural sites and community green spaces. They’ve gone on to become scientists, educators, land managers and environmental advocates. All carry with them the values of stewardship and service that define the SCA.
The impact their experience has is profound.
•92% feel more confident.
•88% are better able to communicate.
•91% are more likely to teach others about the importance of conservation.
These aren’t just numbers – they’re the seeds of future environmental leadership.
As we celebrate 69 years of impact, we also recognize the challenges ahead. A changing climate, biodiversity loss, wildlife recovery, and environmental disparities demand bold action and strong leadership. SCA teams continue to face these challenges head-on every day to help protect our planet.
This Earth Month, we invite you to help sustain this legacy. Help us build the next seven decades of conservation leadership. Make a donation today and invest in the future of America’s public lands and the young people serving to protect them.
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