Teens In Student Conservation Association Clean Up Gateway National Recreational Area

Teenagers, banded together in the Student Conservation Association (SCA), picked up shovels and handcarts and began cleaning up Jamaica Bay and other parts of the Gateway National Recreational Area. The New York Daily News is reporting that the volunteer teens have been spending their precious summer vacation days making a difference for the environment with some hard work.

The SCA, founded in 1957, is a nonprofit group that culls teenagers looking to join conservation efforts across the country. The latest effort had teens work in an area devastated by Superstorm Sandy as part of the Sandy Project.

The Daily News described the length and nature of the project, as well as the reaction of the teens involved thus far:

The Sandy Project started July 8 and will end Aug. 15. The 50 students have been working 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays, and wrapping up each week with environmental lessons on Friday.

“We encourage them to see more of the parks and beautiful places around the city,” said [Diane] Stanley. “They have been to several talks about conservation and sustainability, and we also sent them to the Museum of Natural History, the Brooklyn Aquarium and Botanical Garden.”

Students have also been working on clean-up crews at Sandy Hook, N.J., and Staten Island.

“There was no lack of interest from the students,” Stanley said. “In fact, we had to turn some people down. To be able to get pay to do positive work after a hurricane from which many of them suffered the consequences, was something really special.”

Their work has already helped Rocky Point Marsh, Jacob Riis and Frank Charles Park in Howard Beach, among other areas in Jamaica Bay and other damaged areas in the city.

Great job to all the teenagers involved and keep up the good work.