Earth Team Volunteers help NRCS accomplish Mission

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is honoring Georgia’s Earth Team volunteers and celebrating their many contributions to natural resource protection during National Volunteer week, April 19-25.  Earth Team is a program that allows NRCS to stretch available resources by partnering volunteers with employees to provide a wide range of services to private landowners and the public. These activities can include conservation technical assistance, office support, and teaching and generating awareness about conservation through community projects.  “Whether Earth Team volunteers donate a year, a month or a lifetime to help producers improve their natural resources, the impacts of volunteer efforts are felt far and wide,” said State Conservationist Terrance O. Rudolph. “So far in Fiscal Year 2020, Georgia Earth Team Volunteers have donated more than 1,850 hours of service because they believe in our critical conservation work.”  NRCS appreciates the important work these volunteers do. Their efforts help NRCS bring more conservation services to farmers and ranchers throughout the state. Georgia’s Earth Team provided about $47,200 (www.independentsector.org) of benefits to our customers and taxpayers in fiscal year 2020.  Some recent volunteer efforts include several University of Georgia (UGA) students representing two different schools of discipline. A Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources student has been helping protect sensitive lands and endangered species through her USDA program support. Additionally, a collective of students from UGA’s College of Engineering are providing preliminary engineering studies of flood prone watersheds. Also, this year one of our long-time, but recently retired volunteers, Maria Morton, was named Southeast Volunteer of the Year by NRCS Chief Matthew Lohr. Maria first volunteered in 2008 and provided support to thousands of outreach and promotional events in her 11 years of volunteer service. Her contributions have paved the way for countless children and adults to better understand the importance of conservation in their communities.  Like Maria and the UGA students, the Earth Team volunteer program helps its participants expand their skills and knowledge through community projects. The program also offers participants community service hours, earned academic credit and an unpaid internship in federal service. Visit https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/people/volunteers/ to find out more about volunteer opportunities in your community.