Are you 55 years or older, live in Blair or Cambria counties and want to become involved in protecting watershed resources and educating the public on the natural world? If so, the Senior Environment Corps (SEC) of Pennsylvania wants you.
The Cambria and Blair county conservation districts, along with Nature Abounds, a national non-profit and organizer of the SEC program, are working together to engage senior volunteers in environmental activities throughout the region.
Members can participate in a variety of tasks from monitoring water-quality, observing and reporting on wildlife and even helping with office tasks. Blair County has had an active SEC program for more than a decade while the Cambria County SEC is new.
Nature Abounds President Melinda Hughes-Wert stated, “We’re thrilled that Cambria County will have a new Senior Environment Corps (SEC). There have been SEC groups in surrounding counties for quite some time – Indiana, Blair, and Clearfield – so it’s time for Cambria to have one, too.”
Robb Piper, manager of the Cambria County Conservation District said, “The Board of Directors is looking forward to engaging new senior resources for conservation in Cambria County.”
Hughes-Wert added that, “Senior Environment Corps members have monitored water quality, helped to inventory wildlife, marked abandoned oil wells and educated the next generation of environmental stewards. “Since 1997, SEC volunteers in Pennsylvania have contributed over 2,000,000 hours to the
Commonwealth’s environment, and that contribution is estimated to be valued at over $3,000,000 a year. In 2013, the SEC program won a Western Pennsylvania Environmental Award.”
For anyone interested in joining either SEC group in Blair or Cambria counties, they are invited to attend the joint water quality monitoring training on May 6 at the Newry Lions Club Park. It will be from 10 a.m. until approximately 3 p.m.
To attend the training of for more information about the SEC program, contact Melinda Hughes-Wert of Nature Abounds at either 814-765-1453 or at sec@natureabounds.org . RSVP’s for the event will be accepted until May 2.
