Environment DEC
From the November 2008 issue
DEC and SCA Celebrate Adirondack and Hudson Valley Stewardship
Robin Schlaff (right), DEC's Special Counsel for Regional Affairs, congratulates Leah Abruza, riparian buffer specialist, at the recognition ceremony.
SCA in the Adirondacks
During a recent recognition ceremony, the Student Conservation Association's (SCA) Adirondack Program celebrated 10 years of stewardship work. This program is a partnership between SCA, DEC and the Corporation for National and Community Service (AmeriCorps), which trains young people to be conservation leaders while working to enhance and protect the natural and historic areas of the Adirondack Park.
For the Adirondack Program, 120 SCA members completed more than 340 conservation service projects, worked with hundreds of K-12 students in areas schools and, most impressively, contributed more than 225,000 hours of service to the lands and people of the Adirondacks. Projects are selected and overseen by DEC staff and are prioritized based on the need to protect natural resources and recreational users of the forest preserve.
2008 SCA interns and mentors
Each summer for the past four years, 10 SCA members (comprising young adults in their late teens and early twenties) spent five months working on a variety of stewardship projects throughout the Adirondacks. They included removing garbage and non-complying structures, maintaining trails, constructing foot bridges and similar structures, rehabilitating fire towers and removing invasive plant species.
SCA in the Hudson Valley
Hailing the SCA's Hudson Valley Program, DEC also recognized their nine years of environmental stewardship work in the Hudson Valley. A ceremony acknowledged the contributions of the 33 interns who served at DEC facilities, state parks, historic sites, non-profit agencies and other governmental agencies throughout the Hudson Valley.
SCA interns, who have college degrees or equivalent field experience, focused on educating school children and the public about the natural resources of the Hudson River. Their hands-on interpretive programs included nature hikes, field-ecology programs, canoe trips and classroom visits involving nearly 100,000 New Yorkers.
One of the major service projects was located at DEC's Old Place Creek Access Site on Staten Island. SCA members helped restore a tidal wetland, improved trails and planted native species for erosion control. They also had the opportunity to learn fish sampling techniques from DEC biologists and toured other wetlands that are being restored by the state.
Student Conservation Association
SCA interns planting trees.
The SCA is a nationwide force of college and high school volunteers who protect and restore America's parks, forests and other public lands. Since 1957, SCA's active, hands-on conservation practices have helped to develop a new generation of conservation leaders, inspire lifelong stewardship and save the planet. Prior to beginning their field work, SCA members receive five weeks of training in such areas as effective communication, project management and leadership, efficient teamwork, cultural and natural history, wilderness living skills, safe chainsaw use, work skills and advanced wilderness first aid.
Members come together regularly to implement large-scale projects or to receive in-service training. Interns receive a modest weekly stipend and housing allowance during their 22- or 44-week term of service. In addition, they receive an education award that can be used to pay for graduate school or to repay student loans.
