“You are part of a great transformation” Dunes with the SCA

I was so excited to be invited back for a storytelling with The SCA on a beautiful November day.

The SCA is the largest provider of hands-on environmental conservation programs for youth and adults. “The SCA programs allow participants protect and restore national parks, marine sanctuaries, cultural landmarks, community green spaces and more across the country. The SCA is devoted to building equitable access to nature, providing green job opportunities for young people and teaching members how to become environmental stewards. Founded in 1957, the SCA is committed to building the next generation of conservation leaders dedicated to the lifelong protection of the environment and our community green spaces.“

The SCA is a leader in conservation and champion of equity in the outdoors and protectors of the planet.

This time the SCA crew was working at The Indiana Dunes National Park. The park is over 500 acres and the crew was managing and clearing invasive species such as Honeysuckle, Autumn Olive, and Black Locust to make way for native plants such as the prickly pear cactus and other rare plants. The Indiana Dunes National Park provides habitat for over 1,000 native vascular plants, including the federally threatened Pitcher’s thistle. The park is home to populations of 30% of Indiana’s listed rare, threatened, endangered, and special concern plant species so their work is so important for conservation. At the start of the work day Laura from the National Park Service thanked the crew for their hard work and explained that they were here to “help preserve the incredible amount of diversity that exists in the Tolleston Dunes. You are part of a great transformation.” Everyone introduced themselves and then grabbed their tools and headed out.

As always I learned so much from the crew and was in awe of their hard work and grit. They worked as a team cutting the trees then spraying with herbicide to the cut stumps, and clearing the trees and branches. Laura explained, “these invasive species pose a threat to the integrity of diversity because they also change the soil chemistry. Killing invasive species also create a better habitat for bees and birds native to the area.” Laura ended the lunch break after their morning of hard work by thanking everyone and explaining about job opportunities withe National Park Service and how the young people working with The SCA can apply. She shared, “this is YOUR park. Come back in the spring to see the resurrection.”

Leopold with The SCA shared, “Thank you again so much for sending these our way! We are grateful for them and appreciate how much care you took in capturing these moments!”