Student Conservation Association

The official tumblr of the SCA. We're building the next generation of conservation leaders. How do you serve the planet? Join us at www.thesca.org.

[studentconservationassociation]

That time you ascended Sahale Peak and snapped a photo from the highest established campsite in North Cascades National Park... 📷: Steve Smith/SCA

[studentconservationassociation]

That time you gave your legs a much needed rest after a 3 day trek through the Grand Canyon and you were too tired to even care about one of the world's most spectacular views. Thanks to Sri GanGam (@whatisinmymind_sri) for the photo! Hit the link in our profile for another shot from this epic adventure to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back.

[studentconservationassociation]

That time you led a group of volunteer yarrow seed collectors through @YosemiteNPS's El Capitan Meadow...

[studentconservationassociation]

Sungjin Ahn’s favorite camping spots are Yosemite and Joshua Tree, but he ventured into Alabama Hills National Recreation Area to grab this shot of Mobius Arch silhouetted against a dazzling night sky. How’d he manage to get into the middle of his own photo? A self-timer and a statue-like ability to stand perfectly still during 30 second, star-capturing exposures. The amazing result of all that effort won him 1st prize in the recently wrapped summer round of our Capture Conservation Photo Contest. Hit the link in our profile for more info.

[studentconservationassociation]

Tag your most adventuresome friend and start planning a weekend excursion! These young mountain goats, frolicking atop Colorado's Mt. Evans, know how it's done. Thanks to Ann Zimmerman for this entry to SCA's Capture Conservation Photo Contest. Follow the link in our profile to vote for this shot and/or enter your own best nature pics for a chance to win a round-trip flight for two. Tag #LightTheLand to enter our Instagram mini-contest, with its own mini-prizes.

[studentconservationassociation]

From the Jumbo Mountain Lookout, located in Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness, the view includes mountains, mountains, and more mountains for 360 degrees as far as the eye can see. It's the kind of sight that really puts things in perspective. Thanks to Tess Duncan (@tessduncs) for entering this amazing shot in SCA's Capture Conservation Photo Contest. Hit the link in our profile to vote for this image, or enter your own nature pics for a chance to win a free round-trip flight for two. Tag #LightTheLand to enter our Instagram mini-contest.

[studentconservationassociation]

✨Hard to imagine a greater incentive to hit the trail at 3AM than the prospect of seeing dawn break over #HalfDome.✨ Monica Haulman *did* hit the trail at 3AM, and this stunning entry to the Capture Conservation Photo Contest is the result. Hit the link in our profile to vote on this photo and enter your own nature pics for a chance to win a round-trip flight for two. You can also enter our Instagram mini-contest with hashtag #LightTheLand.

[studentconservationassociation]

GHOST TOWN ALERT: Kennecott is an abandoned mining camp located deep in the heart of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska. Once a thriving copper mine with many investors--including J.P. Morgan and the Guggenheim family--today it's owned and preserved by the @NationalParkService. This photo was taken by @peakedcuriosity, who is interning at Wrangell with SCA this summer. Hit the link in our profile to learn more about her life at the park, and experiencing the effects of nearby wildfires.

[studentconservationassociation]

Bear on the move! What do you think caught his eye? Our guess is a *very* fresh salmon dinner... Thanks to Aubrey Davis (@aubreylenae16) for entering this #bearpic in our Capture Conservation Photo Contest. She shot it at Lake Clark National Park in #Alaska, where she's currently serving with SCA. Enter YOUR best nature pics today at contest.thesca.org (linked in our profile) for a chance to win a free round-trip flight for two to the U.S. destination of your choice.

[studentconservationassociation]

Stop and look. Exit Glacier is truly a sight to behold. This cool blue shot was taken by SCA alum Leah Duran during a trek through the Harding Icefield at Kenai Fjords National Park in the great state of #Alaska. Use the link in our profile to vote for it to win the People's Choice Prize in SCA's Capture Conservation Photo Contest. Enter YOUR best nature pics if you'd like a chance to win Grand Prize round-trip airfare for two to the U.S. destination of your choice.

[studentconservationassociation]

This beautiful Capture Conservation Photo Contest entry was shot by @jimihightower at Diablo Lake in North Cascades National Park. Have a brilliant nature pic of your own? Hit the link in our profile to enter it for a chance to win a round-trip flight for two on Southwest Airlines. You can also enter our Instagram mini-contest by tagging #LightTheLand.

[studentconservationassociation]

Raise your hand if you've seen the Northern Lights! Hand up? Tell us where you saw 'em in the comments. @gigiebertphotos entered this particular Northern Lights pic in our Capture Conservation Photo Contest. Have some great nature pics of your own? Follow the link in our profile to enter them for a chance to win a free round-trip flight for two on @SouthwestAir.

[studentconservationassociation]

Two of the two photos that SCA alum Lian Law has had featured by @usinterior have had the moon as their subject. One was taken during her NPS Live Stream Production Internship at Denali National Park, the other during her current gig as a Social Media Technician for the Great Basin Institute, based in @JoshuaTreeNPS. While moon pics are apparently her specialty, the photos she sent to accompany our recent interview with her (this portrait of Denali being a perfect example) prove that she’s pretty good at earthscape, wildlife, and giant boulder photography too. Hit the link in our profile to learn more about Lian and her plans to move to Minnesota and become a dogsled musher.

[studentconservationassociation]

Last summer, @UofMichigan student Sammy Pressman spent 3 months roaming the wilds of Alaska, sleeping in a tent and working on a variety of vital conservation projects—restoring moose habitat, battling invasive plants, closing dangerously eroded sections of trail and replacing them with fresh routes—all as a member of SCA’s Alaska Corps. Here he is hiking in Denali National Park during a "rest" day. Hit the link in our profile to read Sammy's story and see more photos from his time on the trail.

[studentconservationassociation]

Beautiful. "As part of my SCA internship in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, I get a "rove day" each week. Roving allows me to explore all of our backcountry trails while making visitor contacts, fixing cairns, and helping to restore the cryptobiotic soil. This photo of cliff fendlerbush was taken during one such rove on the Big Spring-Squaw Canyon loop trail." NPS photo by Evangelynn Fortuna (@evangelynntara)

[americasgreatoutdoors]

Congrats the winner of the Share the Experience photo contest! Gregory Cameron Teller took home the contest’s grand prize for his touching photo of a baby polar bear and its mama at Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska – an honor that includes having his photo appear on the 2016 America the Beautiful public lands pass. This was Teller’s first time visiting the wildlife refuge, and of the experience, he says, “We stayed a couple of days in a village in the refuge where bear’s frequented this part of the landscape. Moments with mothers and their cubs were just perfect; especially this shot as the cub reached up to his mother.” 

Check the other winning photos: http://on.doi.gov/1DMPBJl

[studentconservationassociation]

This is so impossibly adorable that we literally just died.

Congrats to Cameron Teller on his winning photo!

Help protect polar bears and polar bear habitat at www.thesca.org.

[studentconservationassociation]

@AmyJMarks shot this one during an SCA Backcountry Ranger Internship with @nationalparkservice that took her to some of the wildest and most remote lands in #Alaska. By river and by bush plane, she helped patrol areas that no road will take you to, and she came back more determined than ever to take good care of this wonderful planet we live on. Follow the link in our profile to read her story and see more of her photos. Happy Earth Day!