Are you 55 years or older, live in Lackawanna County and want to become involved in protecting our resources and educating the public on the natural world? If so, the Lackawanna County Senior Environment Corps wants you.

Senior Environment Corps members can participate in a variety of tasks from monitoring water-quality, observing and reporting on wildlife, and even helping with office tasks. The possibilities are endless.

The Lackawanna County Conservation District and Nature Abounds, a national non-profit and organizer of the Senior Environment Corps, are working together to get the group up and running. The Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of Lackawanna County is also supporting the effort.

Cheryl Nolan, Watershed Specialist with the Conservation District said, “We’re very excited to be joining the Senior Environment Corps. Senior volunteers are perfect for the project as they often have a very strong knowledge of the area, our water and the wildlife found here.”

According to Nature Abounds President, Melinda Hughes-Wert, “We’re thrilled that Lackawanna County will have a Senior Environment Corps. The group will join other Senior Environment Corps across the state, which now covers twenty-one counties.

Hughes-Wert continued, “Senior Environment Corps members have monitored water quality, helped to inventory wildlife, marked abandoned oil wells and educated the next generation of environmental stewards.”

The first project of the Lackawanna County Senior Environment Corps will be water quality monitoring. The training for the project will take place on May 29 from 10 a.m. until approximately 3:00 p.m. (lunch to be provided). 

Interested parties are invited to come if they are ready to be involved in the Senior Environment Corps program or if they just want to find out what being involved in the Senior Environment Corps program is all about.

For more information about volunteering with the Lackawanna County Senior Environment Corps, please contact the Nancy Post at the RSVP at 570-346-3630 or send email to: npost@vacnepa.org.

For more information about the Senior Environment Corps or Nature Abounds, please contact Melinda Hughes-Wert of Nature Abounds at either 814-765-1453 or send email to: sec@natureabounds.org.

5/13/2013