The Earth Team Volunteer Program was established in 1981 when Congress passed legislation allowing the Natural Resources Conservation Service to use volunteers in all of its programs. During Fiscal Year 2013, just under 2,000 Indiana Earth Team volunteers donated almost 18,000 hours of their time in over 80 percent of the field offices around the state. The value of this work is approximately $400,000. 

Each year, more children do not fully understand where their food comes from or the importance of conserving natural resources for future generations. In response to this need, the Montgomery County Soil and Water Conservation District developed a day-long, outdoor learning experience. While these lessons can be taught in a classroom setting, a hands-on experience gives students a sense of how important these topics really are and leaves them with a positive impression. The 2013 event was the 16th annual field day.

The event invites all four grade students to participate in a hands-on learning experience on a working farm. Activities that students and teachers participate in include wildlife, soils and erosion, entomology, forestry, water quality, prairie grasses, worms and composting, and the water cycle. The sessions are taught by local conservation leaders from the park's department, state department of agriculture, surrounding county SWCDs, and NRCS.

An additional benefit to this field day is incorporating the local FFA students, allowing them to practice their public speaking skills by teaching fourth graders about the water cycle.

This incredible task is accomplished with the help of more than 50 individual volunteers who donated over 400 hours of time to make it a successful event. They taught approximately 460 students the importance of conserving our natural resources, while helping NRCS attain their goals and objectives of addressing this priority item.