In yesterday’s post on Civic Works, I told you all about my first summer job doing manual labor. If I had known that I’d be writing about the Student Conservation Association today, I probably would have saved the story, as they’re an organization that puts students to work protecting and restoring “national parks, marine sanctuaries, cultural landmarks and community green spaces in all 50 states.” They’re based in Charlestown, NH with regional offices in Oakland, CA; Pittsburgh, PA; Seattle, WA; and Washington, DC. The SCA offers an endless variety of conservation opportunities for students, and they’ve been doing it since 1955 when a Vassar College student named Elizabeth Cushman wrote about the idea in her senior thesis. Now the SCA takes on 4,000 interns and volunteers every year, and they combine for “more than two million hours of conservation service per year.”

Conservation Is Key

As a fly fisherman, I know how important conservation is. Luckily our rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans have an army of passionate people who are always working to protect the places where they can practice their favorite sport. But what about the places that don’t have so many devoted conservationists? That’s where the SCA steps in. From cultural landmarks to grizzly bear habitat, if conservation will help, you can bet that the SCA has students working there. If you think that sounds like a fun way to spend some time, then check out The SCA’s Serve page. You have the option to take on one of their thousands of internships, serve on a Conservation Corps, or look at jobs in the SCA office. There are way too many options for me to outline them all, but the SCA site is pretty decent, so you should be able to find what you’re looking for.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• TheSCA.org
• Jobs at the Student Conservation Association
• About the Student Conservation Association
• SCA’s History
• SCA’s Fact Sheet
• SCA’s Blog
• SCA News

What conservation project is most important to you?

We've identified Student Conservation Association as having career opportunities in the following categories:

• all employers
• conservation
• green
• manual labor
• nationwide
• New Hampshire
• non-profit

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Jobs Near You

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