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Volunteer to Protect Nature

Leon and Carey Ivy were looking for a place to camp for an extended stay. What they found was a place to stay and a new way to help people and the environment. The Ivys set up camp at a beautiful lake and volunteer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Corps of Engineers is the steward of almost 12 million acres of land and water at 460 lakes across the country. Volunteers play an important role in protecting the natural resources and maintaining recreation areas.

Park Ranger Greg Thomas says, “They’re great! They’ve been park hosts, staffed the Visitor Center, painted, trimmed trees, and done other maintenance in the recreation areas.”

The Ivys called the Corps of Engineers Volunteer Clearinghouse, which links interested volunteers with Corps lakes and projects across the country. They received an information packet with a map, an application, and points of contact for the region in which they were interested.

Volunteers serve as campground hosts, staff visitor centers, conduct programs, clean shorelines, restore fish and wildlife habitat, maintain park trails and facilities, and much more. Over 300 Corps lakes and projects nationwide participate in the Volunteer Clearinghouse to help protect the natural resources and maintain the recreation facilities. Some volunteers like the special events, such as shoreline cleanups and National Public Lands Day.

Some Corps lakes provide volunteers a free campsite with water, electric, and sewer hookups. The job duties, time period, and hours are agreed upon between the park ranger and the volunteer.

Volunteers are not paid but receive other valuable benefits. They gain skills, work outdoors at beautiful lakes, meet new people, see new areas of the country, and achieve a sense of helping the environment and other people. Lakes, parks, and visitor centers across the country need volunteers.

Volunteers play an important role in protecting the natural resources and maintaining the recreation areas managed by the Corps of Engineers. Nationwide, over 50,000 volunteers contribute 1 million hours of services annually at Corps lakes and projects with an estimated value of $18.7 million.

Those interested in volunteering can reach the Volunteer Clearinghouse at 1-800-VOL-TEER (1-800-865-8337), on the Internet at www.orn.usace.army.mil/volunteer, and by writing to P.O. Box 1070, Nashville, TN 37202-1070.