Tulsa County Earth Team Volunteers, Oklahoma: National NACD/NRCS Earth Team Award

Volunteers receive training for Oklahoma’s Blue Thumb program, a nonpoint source pollution monitoring and education program  (NRCS photo -- click to enlarge)

Tulsa has cleaner creeks, clearer water, and hundreds of thousands of citizens that are more conservation-conscious thanks to the Tulsa County NRCS Earth Team.

Last year, the 100-plus members of Tulsa County Earth Team volunteer group worked over 3,500 hours to benefit Tulsa and surrounding communities through conservation events and activities. Their outstanding efforts earned them the National Association of Conservation District (NACD)/NRCS National Partnership Award recently presented at the NACD annual meeting in Reno, Nevada.

“In many counties across Oklahoma, Earth Team volunteers play a key role in helping the conservation districts and NRCS offices accomplish conservation goals on a broader scale,” says Oklahoma NRCS State Conservationist for Ron Hilliard.  “The Earth Team in Tulsa County has done an outstanding job of raising community awareness about natural resource conservation.”

“Our Earth Team volunteers are the driving force behind our education, information, and outreach programs,” says Gary Bishop, NRCS District Conservationist in Tulsa County.  “They have been a tremendous help in conservation education, outreach activities and in putting conservation practices on the land and in the communities.”

Community conservation awareness is at the heart of all the Tulsa County Earth Team’s activities.  In April of this year, they will host its 14th Annual Creek Cleanup. Volunteers of all ages and backgrounds are deployed to remove trash, litter, and other foreign objects out Tulsa County's streams, rivers, ponds, and wetlands.

Chelle Ragge' serves as district manager for the TCCD and coordinates many of the Earth Team volunteers and activities.  She has over 20 years of experience in environmental education, having worked with numerous non-profit organizations sharing educational material through workshops, special events, and summer camps.

“The biggest reward for me is when I see the light go on with our Earth Team volunteers,” she says.  “Then you know you’ve made an impact in the way they think about natural resources and they are going to change their behavior about the environment.

“But the best thing is that they are going to pass-on that ethic on,” she continues.

Bishop and Ragge’ have tried to create and maintain a challenging atmosphere for volunteers to participate in their area of interest.

“When they can actually go out and work with other people to conserve our natural resources, it helps them feel like they are accomplishing something positive in their community and for the area,” Bishop explains.