Parkway Gets A Push With Help From Student Conservationists By Sherrie Norris “Changing Lives Through Service to Nature,” is the motto of SCA, and this crew recently stationed at Moses Cone Park, agrees wholeheartedly. Photo by Sherrie Norris A few people might have noticed a little extra activity going on along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Moses Cone Park during the last few weeks . . . or maybe not. Some of that “activity” has been along the trails and into the wooded areas where the general public might not be looking closely, but it’s been happening. Six high-schoolers and two crew leaders, who literally represent every corner of the US, as well as Puerto Rico and Uganda, have been in these parts recently as part of The Student Conservation Association, (SCA) an agency that provides interns and volunteers with meaningful conservation service opportunities in National Parks, forests and other public lands. Headquartered in Charlestown, New Hampshire, SCA, as a spokesperson shared, “allows our participants to enjoy adventure, gain experience, and make a difference.” We witnessed that description first-hand during a visit to their work site on Thursday. Rachael Davidson of Puerto Rica, teamed up with Caroline Garmon, from the Washington DC area, as trained crew leaders for the group assigned to the local Blue Ridge Parkway area. For the past three weeks, the two have supervised six students working on such projects as trail building, restoration and maintenance. They all met in Roanoke, Va., and drove into the High Country area for what they see as an opportunity of a life-time. With their main focus on physical labor, the entire group has taken time to enjoy the natural beauty of the area and commented on the hospitality and friendliness of the people they have encountered during their stay. While their counterparts, thousands in number, have been scattered everywhere from the Virgin Islands to Cumberland Gap, this particular crew felt fortunate to be assigned to Western North Carolina, with another group just over the ridge in the Smoky Mountains. Among the local crew, eighteen year old Weston Fisher from the San Diego region of California, learned about the opportunity when his biology teacher brought in a representative from SCA last year. “I went home and signed up that same day.” However, Weston’s appreciation for nature went beyond the surface, as his family had been among those who lost their homes in the devastating California wildfires in 2003; his was one of 700 homes destroyed in a community of only 3,000 residents. Maura Roth-Gormley, at seventeen, left her Pennsylvania home for the summer excursion, after discovering SCA “on-line.” As a dancer who had never been camping or backpacking, she wanted to do volunteer for something “different,” and tells us it’s been a great experience for her. “I’ve really liked it.” Liza Eaton, seventeen, from Vermont, chose to participate “Because I really wanted to give something back to the environment . . . I love the outside and I love camping and it’s been good for me.” This is the second experience with SCA for sixteen year-old Britney Countz of Pittsburgh, PA, who flew into Virginia on her first plane ride to meet her team. Previously, she did a weekend stint during the school year, but decided on a longer-term commitment, saying, “I’m definitely glad I came.” Dan Flach of Massachusetts, at seventeen, loves the outdoors, and as a “big hiker and camper,” felt like it was something he could do to help” Flying in from Uganda for the summer, eighteen year old Brain Jonah tells us, “I thought it would be a good thing for me to work in a national park. I have enjoyed this experience.” Rachael and Caroline, though having just met prior to gathering their crew, became fast friends, and share a unique leadership style that is conducive to a successful team. “It was hard for us to believe they didn’t know each other before . . . they work really well together,” a crew member shared, with the others nodding in agreement. Prior to our visit, the group had been refurbishing the “wilderness loop,” around Price Lake, which they all agree would be nice to see as wheelchair accessible one day soon. The day we met up with them, they were headed to the Green Knob Trail to re-gravel the scenic walkway. One of the group members wore a tee-shirt with an appropriate slogan, reading, “Changing Lives Through Service to Nature,” and as another pointed out, “That’s what it’s all about.” While the team says some of the SCA’s projects take place deep in the backcountry, they were happy to be in a more accessible parkland or “front country,” near “civilization.” However, even there, comfort and convenience were brief and only during visits in and around the Blowing Rock area; special treats included a visit to Horn in the West, Daniel Boone Gardens, the Farmers Market and Appalachian Cultural Museum in Boone and a meal in a local restaurant. The team leaders expressed the importance of acquainting the workers with their surrounding culture. Otherwise, they lived and worked out of a base camp - sleeping in tents and sharing camp responsibilities such as cooking and cleaning. Two Coleman stoves and a couple of coolers to keep their food fresh have been the extent of modern conveniences, in addition to a Dutch Oven, loaned to them by Linville Falls Ranger Alex Rose, to whom they were very grateful. “We’ve learned to cook in it and made what we called an Appalachian Stew with potatoes, sweet potatoes, onion, zucchini and carrots. We’ve also leaned how to make home-made bread and have enjoyed our camp food much more than anything we could have eaten out.” (They especially loved cornbread – “It’s so delicious,” one stated.) No showers at the campsite, but within walking distance, has kept everyone at a friendly pace, with water carried in to wash their utensils, as well. Brian, an avid bird watcher, peeked interest in his group by identifying a lot of different birds, and mentioned the robins, crows, and cardinals, as well as herring, geese and red-headed sap sucker as some of his favorites. Weston had never seen a ground hog or beaver before his High Country visit, and all enjoyed the raccoons and deer; they saw snakes and skunks and heard the cry of the coyote at night. The crew agrees that many lessons have been learned during their stay in these North Carolina mountains – conservation ethics, environmental education, responsibility, leadership, group dynamics, cooking skills and basic survival techniques, just to name a few. They agreed that eight different personalities coming from as many diverse backgrounds have given them a rare gift. “We would never have met if it hadn’t been for this . . .” and now, they say, there are eight new friends who plan to stay in touch in the future and reminisce about their summer of 2005 . . . forging the trails along the Blue Ridge Parkway. In addition to Ranger Rose, they also expressed appreciation to James Choate, regional maintenance supervisor, and agency coordinator, Terri McElrath of the Asheville park office, for their assistance. According to SCA, living in the outdoors for a month is an extraordinary experience, but it is not a summer camp - it’s more like a high school summer internship. Participants must often engage in strenuous work, lengthy hikes and long days. Crew members must be between the ages of 15 and 19, physically fit, and able to undertake the challenges of outdoor living. No other experience is necessary. “At SCA, we recognize that while the land gives physical shape to our nation, it has also shaped us a people. And as a people, we have a responsibility to preserve our planet – from the remote backcountry to urban neighborhoods – for future generations. Conservation service combines the ethic of environmental stewardship with the action of serving others. Through conservation service, SCA volunteers make the world a better place for all living things and also gain valuable skills and lessons that guide them through a lifetime of citizenship.” For nearly a half-century, SCA tells us, volunteers have been making a difference in our parks, our communities and our corporations, with each member taking their place among the next generation of conservation leaders. “The origin of SCA can be traced back to 1955, when Elizabeth Titus Putnam - then a student at Vassar College - developed her senior thesis around the concept of young volunteers performing natural resource conservation in our nation’s parklands. With the support of many both in and out of the conservation field, Liz and her teammate Martha Hayne Talbot placed the first SCA volunteers two years later at Grand Teton and Olympic National Parks. Today, SCA is the largest and oldest conservation service organization in America. SCA interns and volunteers provide more than one million hours of natural resource conservation service annually at nearly 400 sites throughout the US. SCA has been recognized by, among others, the White House, the US Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, and The Wilderness Society for its achievements in conservation and youth development. More than 40,000 alumni around the world continue to practice the ethics and values they first encountered through SCA.”