Student Conservation Association founder Liz Putnam (right) with Flood Recovery Corps director Jill Baum at Longmire Campground, Mount Rainier National Park, during a visit by the SCA board. NPS.
Elizabeth "Liz" Putnam is known in the conservation world for creating today's model of conservation and service corps when she founded the Student Conservation Association (SCA) in 1957.
From thesis to corps
- 1953: at 20, Putnam proposed the idea in her senior thesis at Vassar College.
- The model: President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), founded in 1933, which put thousands of men to work on conservation projects. Putnam wanted people from all backgrounds in the conservation movement, and built on the CCC's approach to protecting public lands — plus her own love of the outdoors.
- 1957: with help from fellow Vassar alumna Martha Hayne Talbot and support from NPS officials, the first SCA crews — volunteers then — went to work at Grand Teton and Olympic national parks.
Since then
- More than 100,000 high schoolers, college students and recent graduates have served.
- The SCA partners with federal, state and local agencies to protect endangered species, conserve urban green spaces and restore land hit by natural disasters.
- Members gain hands-on experience in maintenance, wildlife protection, historic preservation and natural and cultural resources — learning stewardship, technical skills and making lifelong friendships.
Putnam still serves on the SCA's board of directors.
Honors
| Year | Honor |
|---|---|
| 1982 | President's Volunteer Action Award, from President Reagan |
| 2006 | the SCA receives the Interior Department's Take Pride in America volunteerism award |
| 2009 | the U.S. Conference of Mayors names the SCA one of America's "best green jobs programs for youth" |
| 2010 | Presidential Citizens Medal, from President Obama — one of the nation's highest civilian honors, and the first to a conservationist |
| 2012 | The Corps Network's Legacy Achievement Award |
| 2016 | The Wilderness Society's Robert Marshall Award |
| 2022 | the NPS celebrates 65 years of partnership with the SCA |
More: NPS youth programs.
Sources
Based on "Liz Putnam: The Visionary Behind the Creation of the Student Conservation Association," National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain. The original says the CCC put men to work "after World War I"; it was founded in 1933, during the Great Depression.
In these publicationsGrand Teton National ParkOlympic National Park
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.nps.gov
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