SCA coordinates approximately 300 positions in AmeriCorps environmental service across the United States for Americans who engage in national service and then receive financial assistance with their education. Many enrolled in the program have just completed school and are paying off loans, others are taking a semester off, while still others are high school graduates earning funds for their future education. Projects have ranged from aiding in the reintroduction of the endangered Yaqui fish at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Dexter National Fish Hatchery to wetlands restoration at Everglades National Park. What better way to ensure our children have a wonderful world to live in than to teach them how they can be a part of the conservation and restoration process. No experience is necessary, just a willingness to perform hard physical work and be committed to working with others.
Participants live in tent camps near the work site, far from the interference of area visitors.
They share duties with other crew members as camp cook, take responsibilities for helping their crew complete its work, and learn from agency officials about careers in conservation. Each day, crews tackle a conservation project, often in the back country. The work is often difficult, but rewarding. I learned more in a few weeks about myself and my career than I would have ever learned from a whole shelf of books. I loved it beyond belief, saw things I never saw before, and had a real sense of accomplishment that I was making a difference for others.