South Carolina Waterfowl Association Receives Wildlife Conservation and Education Grant from the Alcoa Foundation

The South Carolina Waterfowl Association (SCWA) was awarded a $15,000 grant from the Alcoa Foundation on July 15, 2008 to support SCWA’s wildlife conservation and youth education efforts. The grant will be used to support the nation’s largest wood duck nest box program and the nation’s leading wildlife education summer camp program, Camp Woodie.

SCWA exists to conserve and enhance South Carolina’s waterfowl and wetland resources. The Camp Woodie program focuses on passing on the legacy of these great resources to the next generation at its 410 acre outdoor wildlife campus next to Lake Marion. The SCWA wood duck production program founded in 1987, provides nesting habitat for thousands of wood ducks, songbirds and screech owls. Since 1987 over 700,000 wood ducks have hatched from SCWA nest boxes.

The grant will fund summer camp scholarships for 15 youth to attend Camp Woodie and will provide partial support for the construction, distribution and installation of over 500 wood duck nest boxes across South Carolina over the next 12 months. These nest boxes will provide nesting habitat for hundreds of wood ducks, songbirds and screech owls. The nest boxes will annually hatch over 2500 birds.

Alcoa is the world leader in Aluminum production and a world leader in recycling and conservation programs. SCWA would like to thank Alcoa and its 97,000 employees around the world for their commitment to wildlife conservation and youth education in South Carolina.