Earth Team Activities

Debbie Eagle, Mark Habiger, and Ellie, Debbie’s companion.

Debbie Eagle, working at her desk.

“NRCS, this is Debbie,” is the cheerful voice greeting callers at the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “How can I help you?”

The voice is that of Debbie Eagle, as she provides callers with answers to questions or routes their calls, all with a professional demeanor that is sincere and truly helpful.

Based on her effective assistance, most callers assume she is an employee of the NRCS or the Tulsa County Conservation District (TCCD). While Eagle does take her job very seriously, she does not get paid for her services; she is a volunteer for the NRCS Earth Team in Tulsa County. For the past three years she has been answering phones, typing minutes, writing letters, making copies, doing mail-outs and other secretarial-type jobs for the NRCS and District office two or three days a week.

While some people are surprised to learn she is a volunteer, they are even more surprised to learn she is also vision-impaired. Eagle relies on her Seeing Eye dog, Ellie, a yellow lab, and specialized screen reading software with a synthesized voice to help with her office tasks.

“For a person with a disability, it’s sometimes hard to get a job,” Eagle explains. “But I need to feel like I’m contributing something to society, so if volunteering is the only way I can do that, then that’s what I’ll do.”

It takes a considerable effort for Eagle to get to her job where her only payment is appreciation. She has to call Tulsa’s public transportation system to reserve a ride for her and Ellie. Sometimes it’s a bus, other times a car or van, and sometimes they are late. She has been completely forgotten more than once. TCCD secretary Debbie Coleman lives close to Eagle, and gives her a ride occasionally.

Eagle says she is especially appreciative of the NRCS’ confidence in her abilities.

“I have volunteered other places and they were hesitant to put me to work,” she says. “Because of my disability, they didn’t think I can do a lot of things. “

“Not here!” she laughs. “They put me to work right away doing all kinds of things. And I enjoy that very much. They have made Ellie and me feel so welcome and appreciated.”

Eagle is just one of over 100 Earth Team volunteers that donate time and talent to help with natural resource conservation projects in the Tulsa area. In fact, Eagle encouraged her husband, Justin, to become an Earth Team member. Justin, who is also vision impaired with only partial vision capabilities, uses his computer skills to maintain the TCCD website at www.tulsacountyconservationdistrict.org.

Eagle claims she has never had a green thumb, but thanks to NRCS workshops and other events she has worked as an Earth Team volunteer, she has a wide variety of plants growing, including a butterfly garden in her back yard. She has a bird feeder out to welcome song birds and she has started a recycling program in her home.

Eagle shares her newfound passion for conservation with others. She encourages other people to become Earth Team volunteers. She also enjoys helping NRCS customers with their natural resource issues and opportunities.

Eagle was honored as Oklahoma’s Earth Team Volunteer of the Year in 2005 for her dedication and support of NRCS’ mission of “helping people help the land.” She continues to be a significant contributor to the Tulsa County Earth Team, which received the 2007 National Partnership Award from the National Association of Conservation Districts and NRCS.

“I have always felt that we have a responsibility to the environment,” she says. “God created this earth and gave us the task of caring for it in a responsible way.”

“Through NRCS and District events and daily activities, I have learned so much about the environment and the things that impact it,” she says. “I grown more confident in the role I can play to help improve it.”