Elizabeth Cushman Titus Putnam is an American conservationist and founder of the

Student Conservation Association The Student Conservation Association (SCA) is a non-profit group in the United States whose mission is to build the next generation of Conservation movement, conservation leaders and inspire lifelong Environmental stewardship, stewardship of the ...

Early life and education

Putnam graduated from

Miss Porter's School Miss Porter's School (MPS) is a private college preparatory school for girls founded in 1843 in Farmington, Connecticut. The school draws students from many of the 50 U.S. states, as well as from abroad. International students comprised 14% i ...

in 1952 and from Vassar in 1955.

Founding SCA

As a student at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

in the 1950s, Putnam admired the natural heritage of America's

national parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

, but worried limited federal financial resources would prevent proper maintenance of the pristine parklands. In 1955, Putnam wrote her senior thesis at

, "A Proposed Student Conservation Corps". The idea, modeled after the federal

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

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 The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

and shift to the proposed SCC.

Career

After founding the

in 1957, Putnam served as its President until her retirement in 1990. She currently resides in

Shaftsbury, Vermont Shaftsbury is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,598 at the 2020 census. History The town was chartered on August 20, 1761. It was named after the Earl of Shaftesbury. In June 1843, escaped slaves hid at ...

Awards and honors

*In 2018, Vassar and the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

chapter of the

(SCA) planted a tree in her honor at the 415 acre Vassar Ecological Preserve. *2016 - The Wilderness Society's Robert Marshall Award *2015 - New York State Outdoor Education Association Leadership Award *2014 - Doctor of Humane Letters,

College of Wooster {{Infobox university , image = College of Wooster seal.png , image_upright = .6 , name = The College of Wooster , former_names = University of Wooster (1866–1915) , motto ...

*2012 - The Corps Network Lifetime Achievement *In 2011, the

Vermont legislature The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly", but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...

passed act R-107 to honor Putnam. *In 2010, Putnam won the second highest civilian award, the

Presidential Citizens Medal The Presidential Citizens Medal is an award bestowed by the president of the United States. It is the second-highest civilian award in the United States and is second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Established by executive order on N ...

, from President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, making her the first conservationist to win the honor. * 1982 -

President Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party and became an important figure in ...

- President's Volunteer Action Award * 1982 -

- 25th Anniversary Award * 1980 -

Garden Club of America The Garden Club of America is a nonprofit organization made up of around 18,000 club members and 200 local garden clubs around the United States. Founded in 1913, by Elizabeth Price Martin and Ernestine Abercrombie Goodman, it promotes the recordi ...

- Conservation Achievement Award * 1974 -

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relating t ...

- Distinguished Service Award * 1971 - Arizona Federated Garden Clubs - Distinguished Service Award * 1966 -

- Margaret Douglas Award

Gallery of the
Student Conservation Association The Student Conservation Association (SCA) is a non-profit group in the United States whose mission is to build the next generation of Conservation movement, conservation leaders and inspire lifelong Environmental stewardship, stewardship of the ...
at work - an organization founded by Putnam in 1957

File:SCA Community Crew 2014 (14918987765).jpg, File:SCA VIP 11 (9727213222).jpg File:2010 SCA 3 (9257715631).jpg File:Student Conservation Association-Girl Scout Trail Crew (28476131255).jpg, File:2013 SCA 35 (9668381317).jpg File:Meet Pya! (9034533860).jpg File:2015 SCA Crew 18 (21157690181).jpg File:Student Conservation Association volunteers working on the Prince of Wales mapping project 2.jpg, File:Personnel, 1981- naturalist division, Student Conservation Association (SCA), Zion Natural History Association (ZNHA). ; ZION (0274280e82644af2a4f43ecf0223f1dc).jpg File:Student Conservation Association-Girl Scout Trail Crew (27860299923).jpg File:Student Conservation Association-Girl Scout Trail Crew (27859575454).jpg File:Student Conservation Association volunteers working on the Prince of Wales mapping project.jpg File:Student Conservation Association intern Kevin Tran spoke about his experiences as an intern on the refuge (25550367394).jpg File:Student Conservation Association (SCA) volunteer Mike Prescott at Visitor Center information desk. ; ZION Museum and Archives (110f9f87bdf4441f96c481d05482b7c5).jpg File:Whale necropsy - Tongass National Forest 03.jpg File:Project leader (16893655980).jpg File:SCA crew at Paradise (16643027146).jpg File:SCA Community Crew 2014 (14896295476).jpg File:SCA crew at Paradise (16668056432).jpg File:2010 SCA Group 1 (9257593717).jpg File:Secretary Jewell and Director Ashe (15127381986).jpg File:DOI Secretaryt Jewell and students from the SCA (15127382886).jpg File:SCA VIP 7 (9727238516).jpg File:2013 SCA 14 (9671778276).jpg File:2013 SCA 30 (9671654374).jpg File:2013 SCA 46 (9668260765).jpg File:2013 SCA 1 (9257764215).jpg File:SCA crew working at Mount Rainier (16481723970).jpg File:Student Conservation Association (SCA) volunteer, Carol Ann Lau leading Angels Landing hike. ; ZION Museum and Archives Image (e3211ce63ace418fb52c90619d3fae58).jpg File:Swartout (9671513224).jpg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Putnam, Elizabeth Cushman Titus Living people People from Shaftsbury, Vermont American conservationists Vassar College alumni Miss Porter's School alumni Presidential Citizens Medal recipients People from North Hempstead, New York Women environmentalists Conservationists 1933 births