Volunteer Opportunities

The District is grateful for our dedicated volunteers who share their time and talent with us. We strive to attract and retain quality, committed individuals who want an interesting and unique volunteer experience, while having fun and supporting conservation.

Congratulations Denise Tenison, 2020 Volunteer of the Year!

Paw paw trees were planted in recognition of Denise Tenison at the Stoller Road Trail at Clear Fork Reservoir. The trees were donated by volunteer Amy Workman and her husband, Mark. Denise is a long-time volunteer with Richland SWCD. She is a Precipitation, Lake and Stream Monitor Volunteer. Denise was born in Mansfield. She and her husband of 34 years, Denny, live outside Lexington not far from Clear Fork Reservoir and have two adult children, Andrew and Christina. Prior to 1998, Denise conducted lake monitoring for the District while on Clear Fork Reservoir. She resumed volunteering again for the District in 2015. She has been joined by her husband, Denny, and her daughter Christina, on her volunteer activities. She and Denny now kayak out to two sites on the Clear Fork to collect data twice a month. She also developed an interest in daily precipitation monitoring in 2015 and lastly began stream monitoring, with this being her second season. She collects data at four different sites on the Black Fork outside of Shelby each month. Denise volunteered approximately 85 hours so far this year. Learn more about Denise. Click here for photos. Thank you, Denise!

The 77-member volunteer team has contributed more than 2,200 hours in 2020, which has saved the General Fund approximately $23,000. Volunteers contribute high quality data that is used to track soil and water health in Richland County’s eight watersheds

Volunteers Receive 2018 Awards

Congratulations to volunteers for receiving the 2018 Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) National and Northeast Regional Earth Team Chief's Office Awards! Through the partnership between NRCS and Richland Soil and Water Conservation District (Richland SWCD), Richland SWCD volunteers also serve as Earth team volunteers. Both organizations collaborate on local projects while utilizing a passionate group of volunteers to stretch valuable resources. Each volunteer task helps paint a picture of how land use affect Richland County's eight watersheds. In 2018, volunteers donated service hours valued at $45,270.00. Thank you, Volunteers!

Now Recruiting Watershed Investigators!

Lake Monitoring Volunteer Watershed investigators volunteer their time to help manage our eight Richland County watersheds. Each tasks helps paint a picture of how land use affects our watersheds. Quality data is collected through testing and making observations. This valuable data is vital for mapping and reporting and will be used to gauge long-terms trends in watershed health. This data will also help identify threatened environmental areas in the county when planning future land use. Training is provided to ensure quality reporting.

Lake Monitors
Photographers
Precipitation Monitors
Stream Monitors
Data Management

Additional opportunities include:

Office Assistance
Photo and Video Editing
Special Events

If you are interested in volunteering with the District, please call the District at 419-747-8686, fill out our application online, or download and return the application to:

Richland Soil and Water Conservation District
C/O Community Relations Coordinator
1495 W. Longview Ave., Suite 205B
Mansfield, OH 44906

We hope you’ll consider joining our valued team of volunteers and appreciate your interest.

Volunteer Training

Precipitation Monitor Volunteer Training: watch for the next group training date. If you enjoy keeping track of when it rains or snows, you'll enjoy this volunteer opportunity. As a Precipitation Monitor you will measure and record rain and snowfall at your home or business. The data is used to gauge long-term trends in watershed health and land use practices. We'll train you and provide the equipment; you just need access to the internet. Your data is shared with the public on the Water Data Map. This is a great citizen-science opportunity that doesn't require a lot of time and provides valuable data.

Lake Monitors

Lake Monitor Volunteers Take an active role in water quality. Record water quality data on Clear Fork, Charles Mill and Pleasant Hill Lakes. The data is used to document changes in lake conditions and the information will be used to assist with watershed management efforts.

Precipitation Monitors

Volunteers Precipitation Monitors collect and record rain and snow fall at home or work. The data that you collect is vital to identifying geographic locations of rain fall and snow fall in respect to the watershed you are recording precipitation from. Our network of volunteer data shows the amount of surface water your watershed collects annually. This information is used to assist communities by estimating the amount of precipitation during an event that may cause flooding reactions to your receiving streams and rivers.

Stream Monitors

Volunteers checking water Stream Monitors collect data from designated streams from the stream banks in Richland County's eight watersheds. We provide the equipment and training. Volunteers needs access to the internet to post the data on our website. Quality data will be used to gauge long-terms trends in stream health. Click here for a copy of the Stream Monitor Volunteer Training.

Data Management

Data that is collected is entered into computer spreadsheets and software (Microsoft Excel, primarily) that is easily managed and shared.

Access to the internet is needed for many watershed investigator opportunities.

The District is involved with a number of special events throughout the year such as the Pond Fish Sale, Land Judging competition, and Annual Celebration. Extra help is always appreciated.

Photographers

Take photos at Richland SWCD special events and natural resource, conservation and agriculture photos throughout Richland County.