USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is celebrating National Volunteer Week April 7-13 by honoring Earth Team volunteers in Kansas and recognizing their dedicated commitment to conservation.

The NRCS works with farmers and ranchers to help conserve natural resources on their operations. Earth Team is the volunteer workforce of NRCS and its mission is to provide volunteer leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain, and improve the natural resources and environment in Kansas and throughout the country.

“We know how vital our Earth Team volunteers are in helping us carry out our conservation mission,” said Karen A. Woodrich, Kansas NRCS State Conservationist. “In fiscal year 2018, Kansas NRCS had a total of 2,523 volunteers that contributed 17,539 hours towards helping NRCS and our partners. The value that our Earth Team volunteers contributed to NRCS was nearly $1.4 million.”

Created in 1985, the Earth Team Volunteer Program offers many opportunities to individuals over the age of 14 interested in helping improve the Nation’s natural resources.

Woodrich said she hopes National Volunteer Week will motivate others to volunteer to help NRCS with their conservation mission.

If you are interested in becoming an Earth Team Volunteer, or to learn more about the Earth Team Volunteer Program in Kansas, visit: www.ks.nrcs.usda.gov and click on the Topics tab, click on People, and click the Volunteers link.

Note: The value of volunteer time to the Agency is $26.75 per hour as established by the Independent Sector and utilized by the Federal Interagency Team for Volunteerism.