Indiana is fortunate in that those organizations that work for conservation work together, sharing people, knowledge and resources in order to make Indiana a cleaner, better place to live. This "conservation partnership" is somewhat unique to Indiana. An employee from each organization works in the Soil & Water Conservation district office together. Instead of having a host of different organizations working on the same types of projects and rarely communicating with each other, Indiana's conservation partnership organizes their efforts with unity, without the inevitable competition that comes with disunity.
Our partners include:
COUNTY
Soil and Water Conservation Districts are the most local conservation governing body. It is made up of a Board of Directors that consist of farmers, people in the farm related businesses related businesses, and any other citizen who may be concerned with soil and water quality. In addition to a board of supervisors, county employees are hired to organize the efforts of the board and to assist other conservation partners.
STATE:
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources offers the partnership skilled people in the area of conservation from almost all of its divisions. IDNR employees working in the county Soil & Water Conservation offices offer technical assistance to land owners in the areas of soil & water conservation, wildlife management, and forestry.
Purdue Cooperative Extension Service is another state agency that is part of the partnership. Although some counties also hire education specialists and each agency partner is involved with educating the public, the cooperative extension is considered the primary education arm. They host a number of educational events including conducting the 4-H programs for the county.
FEDERAL:
The Natural Resources Conservation Service(NRCS), formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service, is a technical assistance agency of the USDA. Like the IDNR, their primary duties include giving assistance to landowners and Soil & Water Conservation Districts.
Another form of assistance that the federal government provides is through the recruitment of volunteers. Earth Team volunteers are non-paid, non-permanent employees who do not receive benefits and do not have a designated term of service. They consist of citizens who have a deep concern for the environment and a desire to assist in conservation in spare time.
AmeriCorps team members are paid employees who receive benefits and have designated terms of service in exchange for educational scholarships. There are many different teams of AmeriCorps employees working for several different agencies around the state of Indiana. However, AmeriCorp's Rural Development Team works for NRCS and is therefore considered a part of the Conservation Partnership.
If you would like information on becoming an
Earth Team Volunteer or AmeriCorps Team
call: 1(800) 880-4183
OR
your local Soil & Water Conservation District
(Hendricks County residents call (317) 745-2555)
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