The Student Conservation Association (“SCA”) has effectively implemented community-based environmental education through a variety of programs.  These programs have been successful in connecting high school students with the environment and linking students with members of the public.  SCA programs get urban youth involved in their local and regional communities.

SCA’s programs have helped to reach out to a variety of underserved youth in the greater Seattle area in different capacities.  In the Seattle area, SCA has a variety of new and ongoing programs created to connect urban youth with the urban environment and the larger environment as a whole.  With programs like the Conservation Leadership Corps (CLC), a year-round program for urban high school students, SCA helps develop leadership skills along with hands-on service learning opportunities in the greater Seattle area, around Washington State and even some opportunities across the country.

SCA also collaborated with North Cascades Institute (http://www.ncascades.org/) for the North Cascades WILD program that recruited underserved students and introduced them to the outdoors through 12-day recreation trips in North Cascades National Park (click here for more information), providing the opportunity for students that had limited or no experience with the outdoors to explore the North Cascades and learn more about themselves and the environment.  Additionally, the new Urban Forestry Corps program provides the opportunity for students that for financial or family reasons cannot leave Seattle for an extended period of time during the summer to gain experience working in the urban environment.

SCA’s community based environmental education begins with the high school students that participate in the programs, but then it spreads into the community.  Students who previously were disengaged become passionately involved in making their communities better. SCA’s programs help give students and the larger community a deeper connection to the environment.

EEAW invites everyone to congratulate the Student Conservation Association for their achievements and ongoing commitment to this great work.  You can learn more about them by visiting their website at http://www.thesca.org/.