Polk County currently has two Project Conserve host sites: Polk County Office of Agricultural Economic Development (located in the Mill Spring Ag Center) under the supervision of Lynn Sprague and FENCE under the supervision of Tracie Hanson. Sprague is currently in the fourth year of supervising Project Conserve members with the Office of Ag Economic Development and feels that having members has been very beneficial.

“AmeriCorps members reach out to the community in ways that I can’t always do, especially through the use of social media. They have been crucial in organizing programs and workshops at the Ag Center and bringing the community in. They also bring the energy of a younger generation which helps bridge the gap between the older and newer generations of farmers in the county.”

To learn more about AmeriCorps and Project Conserve, visit www.americorps.gov and www.carolinamountain.org/projectconserve.

– article submitted by Laura Brookshire