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Sent to us Emilka's Working Vacations |
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Each summer I try to find an opportunity to spend time in the great outdoors. Last summer I went to Poland and spent a month camping with the Polish scouts, however this year I decided to try something different. I sent an application to the
Student Conservation Association to be placed on a conservation crew somewhere in the country. Luckily I was accepted and got assigned to a crew in
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan with seven other people. Our job was to plant plants on old home sites which had become the park’s property, while camping for a month in the park. Everyday we worked eight hours planting and watering the plants. We even got to do some trail work and help rebuild an old barn in the park. Overall we planted over 3,000 plants over a course of a month. At the end of the month we took a four day canoe trip to celebrate our finished project and the hard work we did to complete it. There are hundreds of SCA crews all over the country during the summer. Usually a crew consists of 2 crew leaders and 6 high school students. Conservation projects in these crews range from transplanting, which is what I did, to trail work, which can involve building rock staircases, bridges, and other structures. Although the responsibility of each crew is to complete their project, SCA also focus on building students’ leadership, interaction, and life skills. When a crew isn’t working they play games, go swimming, hike, or even visit nearby towns and cities. For more information about how to get involved in the SCA visit www.thesca.org. The month I spent in Michigan this year was one of the most rewarding and life changing experiences I’ve ever had. I got the chance the help nature, meet awesome people, and live under a canopy of leaves. Emilia Stepinski |
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