The Student Conservation Association (SCA) is a non-profit group in the United States whose mission is to build the next generation of conservation leaders and inspire lifelong stewardship of the environment and communities by engaging young people in hands-on service to the land through service opportunities, outdoor skills, and leadership training.

[2][3] The idea, modeled after the federal Civilian Conservation Corps program (1933–42), was to take the burden of labor-intensive jobs such as entrance fee collecting or trail work from the National Park Service and shift to the SCC.

[2] Putnum worked with Martha Hayne Talbot to advocate for the proposal to the superintendents of Olympic, Grand Teton, Mount Rainier and Yellowstone National Parks.

Since then, the organization has grown significantly and currently places more than 4,000 volunteers annually in public lands and urban green spaces.

[5][2] The SCA's 4,000 volunteers annually provide more than 2 million hours of conservation service, including trail construction, wildlife research, habitat restoration and GIS mapping; in parks, forests, refuges and urban green spaces in all 50 states.

The sponsoring organization such as the Park Service or Bureau of Land Management provides instruction and tools, but the crews are responsible for completing their job without supervision.

[9] Interns often work either on a one-to-one basis with state or federal professionals, or in groups as part of the Conservation Corps.

[2] The SCA offers community programs in the following cities: Houston, Stamford, Seattle, Edmonds, Oakland, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Manchester, Milwaukee, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Camden, New Jersey, Anchorage, Alaska, New York City, New York, Seattle, and Pittsburgh.

[9] The Conservation Leadership Corps (CLC) program takes place year-round in regional offices.

All students successfully completing the CLC program will have the opportunity to participate in a summer Conservation Crew and will have their airfare covered by their regional office.

As part of the CLC, members volunteer on weekends throughout the school year in their home city, build trails, restore river and lakefront environments, conserve habitats, learn about the environment through field trips, go on weekend camping excursions, and give back to the community through service projects.