Dan Ryan Woods Crew with The SCA

I met this crew of students with The Student Conservation Association at Dan Ryan Woods in Chicago and was able to photograph some of their good work in investing in the conservation of parks, public lands, and urban green spaces.

For over 60 years The SCA has been a leader in empowering, education, and teaching the next generation of conservation leaders. The SCA wants to move beyond raising awareness to allow stewardship opportunities for young people and helping the engage more in the real daily work of conservation.

One of the crew leaders Eric shared about their work this summer and his pride about the students he is able to lead was evident in every story he shared. “I need to brag on our crew,” he said and shared how they had just finished a turn pike project in the preserve and initially there was not a plan but the students problem solved, used local resources, and completed a walkway trail that many close-by residents appreciate and allows people to more freely walk to and enjoy the preserve. The Crew leaders Angie and Eric lead the high schoolers in learning and doing conservation. This crew is also working to clear evasive species like buckthorn and honeysuckle from the Dan Ryan Woods and later an adult crew with a burn license will come and burn. The crew had a blast climbing up and weighing down the burn pile and shared things they loved learning about the program. The crew is also working to maintain trails at Dan Ryan Woods. One first year crew member London shared, “I love learning more about native plants here and more about tree identification.”

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More from other The SCA Crews soon.