Student Summer Conservation Efforts in Rock Creek Watershed

For Student Conservation Association (SCA) crew members, summer is a time for action. It is a critical time for the removal of invasive plants and vines, maintaining native trees, preservation of trails, and much more. 

SCA’s Community Crews in the National Capital Region is a team-based program that engages local high school-aged youth and young adults in hands-on conservation service in urban parks and green spaces. In addition to gaining conservation work experience, they develop leadership, communication, and organizational skills while learning to work with people from different parts of the region. 

Over the summer, crew members completed the closure of 30 “social trails” -- informal, user-created paths that become established over time from repeated foot traffic where people stray from designated trails. These trails cause negative environmental impacts, including vegetation loss, soil erosion, and damage to wildlife habitats. 

Crew members are now removing invasive plants and vegetation overgrowth, closing social trails, and clearing the trail corridor in Fort Bunker Hill Park. 

From left to right: Before and after photos from a conservation project in Fort Bunker Hill Park of Rock Creek

Photo Source: Student Conservation Association

SCA’s Community Crews contribute to the Rock Creek watershed by directly restoring and protecting natural areas, while building the region’s green workforce and providing career pathways for local young people. 

To learn more, visit: https://thesca.org/program/urban-green/washington-dc  

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Crimsonbridge partnered with the Student Conservation Association to expand its Community Crews program in the Greater Washington DC Region. This work is part of the Foundation’s Environmental Sustainability program, focusing on tangible improvements to the environment, inclusive and informed community engagement, and green workforce initiatives.