2026 High School Scholarship

In keeping with the Adirondack Mountain Club’s (ADK) dedication to the conservation and preservation of New York State’s parks, preserves and wild spaces, the Albany-Schenectady Chapter of the ADK will be awarding one scholarship totaling $500, along with a one-year membership to the ADK Albany-Schenectady  Chapter, to a High School senior in the Albany-Schenectady area who shows an interest in the preservation and protection of the environment. In order to qualify, applicants must be pursuing, in September of the upcoming academic year, a course of study in a field such as, but not limited to, forestry, marine biology, conservation or environmental science.  

To apply:

Interested candidates should submit an essay describing their motivation for pursuing their particular course of study, their future goals, and any current or past activities that show their commitment to protecting the environment.  

Submissions should include the following information (and must be submitted in either Word or pdf format):

  • Name
  • Address
  • Contact number and email address
  • Parent’s Name(s)
  • Name of High School
  • Name of College attending in September
  • Reference: Please also include the name, phone number and/or email of a reference we may contact who is able to validate the commitment described.  

Send submissions, no later than April 19, 2026 to:
jeve3@aol.com (Subject Line: ADK HS Scholarship)

 

Questions?  Call Jacqueline McGinn, HS Scholarship Project Coordinator at 518-281-3673 or email her at jeve3@aol.com.

 

DEC Summer Camp 2026

Each summer, NYS DEC offers weekly overnight camps for 11-17 year olds. The first week begins on 6/28/26 and the last week ends on 8/14/26. Campers stay in cabins, with one overnight camp out. Two of the camps are located in the Adirondacks, one in the Catskills, and one in western NY state. In order to encourage the younger generation to become good stewards of the environment, as well as to pass along our love of the outdoors, Albany-Schenectady ADK bought a small number of scholarships for students in our community. That money will completely cover the cost of a week at camp, including housing and food. The camper’s family or designee transports them to and from camp or uses our volunteer. We are looking for chapter members to identify one or more children that would not otherwise have the opportunity to participate in camp. After you identify a candidate child please e-mail us by 2/28/26 at events-admin@albany-adk.org. Include a short statement from the student why s/he wants to go to camp and state why they need some financial help. Since the number of scholarships is limited, if there are more applicants than spots we will make the final decision based on the information provided. If your student is chosen, you will need to apply for camp in mid-March and register your student online using a special code provided by us at the time. Here is a link with more information: Summer Camps – NYSDEC.