Maintaining the natural community, SCA style.

Back-to-school essays featuring the topic, "what I did over summer vacation" have been an American standard for years. Recently, however, the responses have shown dramatic change. Aside from travel and the standard recreation pursuits, some young teens have been working to conserve and restore natural and community resources.

This summer, an urban crew of seven motivated teenagers from Seattle, and two crew leaders, engaged in a five-week program along the Duwamish and Cedar Rivers in Washington State. This work is an integral part of the Duwamish Youth Initiative (DYI), a long-term program committed to community revitalization of the Green/Duwamish Watershed. DYI involves youth who live within close proximity of the watershed participating in various restoration, education, and outreach projects.

This past summer, the crew also worked in the Cedar River Watershed, completing various specialized projects. Among the projects, teenagers engaged in species identification, non-native plant species removal, building rock walls, and using advanced technology to locate and monitor species regeneration. Created by the Student Conservation Association (SCA), these programs allows urban youth to gain valuable job training skills, encourage them to pursue careers in the environmental field and increase self esteem and pride in the work that they accomplish in the community.

Community Service and

Conservation

The Student Conservation Association (SCA) is the nation's largest and oldest provider of national and community service opportunities in conservation. SCA involves student and adult volunteers in the stewardship of public lands, including natural and cultural resources. Since its founding in 1957, SCA has fostered life-long stewardship of the environment by engaging young people in hands-on environmental activities.

SCA recruits and fields more than 2,200 high school, college, and adult volunteers annually to help conserve our nation's parks, forests, and wildlife refuges. SCA provides hands-on experience through which volunteers can learn environmental management techniques, form a commitment to public service and develop a lasting appreciation for the value of the environment. Programs vary in length from a few hours of community-based restoration events to up to six years in the Conservation Career Development Program (CCDP). Other programs within SCA include the Resource Assistant Program, the High School Program, the Wilderness Work Skills Program, the New Hampshire Conservation Corps, and the AmeriCorp program.

Developing a Career in

Conservation

The Conservation Career Development Program (CCDP) is designed to increase awareness of "green" jobs and opportunities among people not traditionally represented in these fields through a program of field experiences, guidance and training. Traditionally, African Americans, Latinos, Asians and Native Americans have not chosen careers within the natural resources professions. The CCDP embraces the challenge of diversity by working primarily, but not exclusively, with people of color and women. "Our goal is to develop a diverse group of biologists, botanists, engineers and park personnel that will change the face of the natural resources professions," says Program Director Reginald "Flip" Hagood, a former park ranger and former chief of the Employee Development Division of the National Park Service.

With headquarters in Washington, D.C., and offices in Los Angeles, Oakland, Newark, and Seattle, SCA/CCDP recruits students in both high school and college. Compared with other SCA programs, the year-round CCDP program is more long term. It involves students in extensive career training and personal development that can last up to six years. Students can begin in their junior year of high school, and work with CCDP until their college graduation.

One of CCDP's goals is to train environmental leaders who possess a heightened awareness of environmental degradation and injustice in their own communities. One way to implement action is by having the students learn to lead effective remediation efforts in their local neighborhoods. Each spring, CCDP high school students implement revitalization projects in their own communities. By planning and publicizing the events, as well as recruiting volunteers, the students develop individual leadership skills while improving their own neighborhoods and the quality of life within them.

The various SCA/CCDP programs are funded by citizen contributions, as well as through partnerships with the National Park Service and other government agencies, universities, non-profit organizations, and grants from foundations and corporations. The students may receive stipends and educational grants to help with their college tuition.

The Work Program

CCDP's work component was exemplified by crew projects in National Parks, National Forests, and local urban parks over the summer of 1995. Ten crews worked on a variety of trail-building and restoration projects. One unique crew was stationed out of the Seattle office. This commuter crew made up of seven youth and two trail leaders, spent five weeks working on various environmental projects. The students, from the metro Seattle area, were given an opportunity to work outside the city. They faced many personal challenges, living so close to the city and working in a natural area. One crew leader commented that, "trying to overcome the influence of pop culture and the modern conveniences, which the participants were exposed to each night and all weekend, was a challenge." Over the five weeks, the crew was able to meet many challenges and grow from their experiences.

The Seattle crew participated in several small projects on the Duwamish River. In one, crew members constructed a trail through a section of old growth forest in the Cedar River Watershed. In addition to completing hands-on watershed restoration projects, participants acquired basic skills in conservation management and environmental issues. Armed with this information, they are on their way to becoming "Duwamish Ambassadors," responsible for reaching out to and educating their local communities in various preservation practices.

For the past few years, CCDP Seattle students have been working at the Duwamish Turning Basin on maintenance, monitoring, and tracking projects. Because maintenance and monitoring of previously restored sites is critical in assuring the long-term success of SCA projects, the projects include identifying and locating over 400 previously planted native species. The Port of Seattle and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service helped SCA with technical assistance and participant training.

Two different plant location methods were used to determine species survival. Me first was a traditional rod and transect method where the elevation of a representative sample of the plantings is recorded. The second, and more advanced method, uses a set of Global Positioning Units (GPS). Participants use hand-held electronic devices that tap into a series of satellites to register a position on the earth's surface. With this information they are able to record the current positions of various plant species, and to identify the more successful restoration areas.

The crew then plots a general species map of the site. Vegetative species are then identified, flagged, and catalogued according to placement. Plant heights are measured and tabulated. Plant deaths are counted and tabulated. This allows for chronological growth and death rates to be determined for the past few years. With this method of field study, the crew was able to directly see the success of the past restoration project in the upland sections of the region.

"Clearly this type of maintenance assures the long-term success of a restoration project" comments Bob Warner, program coordinator for the SCA/CCDP Seattle office. Warner points out that this opportunity allows participants to see the influence of previous SCA work, and allows them to participate in the continual monitoring of the plant mortality rates in a heavily polluted area. Furthermore, it allows the program to tangibly account for its effectiveness.

In another of the Duwamish Turning Basin projects, the crew completed a stream rehabilitation on the adjacent PAL creek, which feeds into the Duwamish River Turning Basin site. This area provides valuable urban, natural habitat for a variety of species, including salmon and trout. Nearby construction had filled the creek with sediment that began changing the delicate ecosystem and affecting the native species. The crew removed the excess sedimentation and planted shade trees in order to keep the creek temperature at a desirable level.

The nearby Cedar River Watershed is the water source for 1.2 million people in the greater Seattle area. This 90,495-acre municipal watershed is closed to unsupervised public access. Located in the Cascade Mountains, the scenic beauty and wildfire viewing areas are its main attractions. Me crew worked on a project that involved the construction of 327-feet of new trail tread in a section of old growth forest located within the watershed.

During their 24 days of work, the crew completed 20 feet of drainage ditches, two timber water bars, one rock French drain culvert, two rock walls, and 65 feet of timber cribbing. They hauled 14 cubic yards of fill gravel via bucket brigade, removed and relocated 20 cubic yards of dirt and debris, and constructed a 29-foot timber bridge.

The new trail located in old growth Western red cedars and Douglas firs forests, will be used in educational tours for community-based officials, administrators, educators, and school children.

This unique urban crew was involved in nearly all of SCA's specialized conservation techniques, and their accomplishments were all to the highest standards in the field. Ralph Ness, a naturalist at the Cedar River Watershed and agency coordinator for the project, commented on the project's success. He indicated that the quality and quantity of work performed were above his expectations. He added that the program is not only cost effective, but also allows agency staff to connect with and educate their customers.

Different Programs for

Different Needs

Once the projects are finished, students evaluate the program, and are also evaluated themselves. Students learn about themselves and each other as they share the daily chores of camp life and face the challenges posed by their work projects. The last week of the program is devoted to a recreational hike or canoe trip through the wilderness which they have worked to preserve and protect. This recreational/education trip adds a different dimension to what the participants have learned about the environment. They are able to experience new natural wonders that most urban youth do not see.

Many CCDP students will return again for another summer, or move on into the Fellows Program, the college level component, which provides a three-month internship at various park and forest sites. Students feel a great sense of pride in their work, while building self-esteem. "Having done all those things has left me feeling better about myself than ever before. I know I haven't made history, but for me all these little things were accomplishments" said Bhasker Moorthy, a 17-year-old senior at Cleveland High School. Moorthy was born in India and moved to Seattle in 1989.

Students in the Seattle summer program were extremely motivated and set high goals for themselves. Sixteen-year-old Sarah Nolting notes, "Anything I have built, I am real proud of I mean, when I imagine that this stuff could be here for 50 years that blows my mind." Although Nolting's motivation was extremely high throughout the program, rough spots may occur on any crew. "We've been working our tails off, but we're still not done. It's kind of frustrating. I'm just discouraged that I've spent all summer working on this and it is not finished. I know it's not our fault, but I really would feel better if it was done." SCA students feel a true sense of accomplishment in what they are doing, and are truly motivated to complete the job. Students continually grow throughout their experience.

As one crew leader from Seattle observes, "by the end of the program, all the participants in the crew had gained a feeling of pride towards their accomplishments and the impact that they will have on preserving the environment around them."

How Recreation Professionals

Can Get involved

There is a lot of work to be done, and recreation professionals can be part of it by applying to work as conservation volunteers, or by sponsoring students in their local community. High school students for the CCDP programs are recruited at the local level. Nationally, high school students are recruited for SCA's National High School Program and work in all 50 states on conservation projects. Information about local or national programs can be obtained from one of SCA's regional offices or through the Washington, D.C. CCDP headquarters located in Arlington, Virginia at 703-524-2441.

For more information about the Seattle CCDP program, call 206-324-4649. For agencies or local municipalities interested in hiring high school crews or college Fellows, contact the Washington, D.C. CCDP headquarters. Urban crews can become part of a year-round program such as the Duwamish Youth Initiative in Seattle.