NRCS California Celebrates Earth Team Volunteer Week

182 volunteers donated 6,700 hours to benefit conservation projects and efforts throughout California

News provided by

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Apr 22, 2013, 12:28 ET

DAVIS, Calif., April 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in California is celebrating National Volunteer Week, April 21-27, 2013, by thanking and honoring its Earth Team volunteers for their service to conservation. Earth Team is NRCS's official volunteer program. Over the past 12 months, 182 volunteers dedicated approximately 6,700 hours of service to NRCS California valued at nearly $150,000.

"We are grateful for the time and effort that our Earth Team volunteers have contributed to helping California's farmers and ranchers conserve and protect natural resources over the past year," said Carlos Suarez, state conservationist for California. "We wouldn't be as successful in our conservation mission if not for these volunteers, and the dozens of partner organizations we work with."

Here are just a few examples of the contributions made by California's Earth Team volunteers over the past 12 months:

An Earth Team volunteer in Indio, Calif., worked with the East Coachella Valley communities, including the Torres-Martinez Indian Reservation, to raise awareness of health risks related to nearby Lawson Dump and to work with partners in identifying solutions to cleaning up the area.
An Earth Team volunteer in Davis, Calif., provided his expertise of mobile irrigation laboratories operating in Tehama, Butte and a number of other counties. The volunteer created a series of documents summarizing how each of the existing mobile labs in California operate; including the services they provide and their value in helping landowners conserve water.

Since the volunteer program was founded in 1985, over 600,000 Earth Team volunteers nationwide have donated 16 million hours to NRCS valued at $363 million.

Anyone, over 14 years old, interested in joining the Earth Team Volunteer Program should call Pam Hertzler at (209) 722-4119 Ext 128.

NRCS has provided leadership in a partnership effort to help America's private land owners and managers conserve their soil, water and other natural resources since 1935. For more information on NRCS, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov.

SOURCE USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service