 The Nashville state office recently held their annual December Christmas party where several employees received longevity awards. The following employees were honored for their years of federal services:
Alan Fisher – 10 years
Shelby Pearson – 10 years
Courtney Romeo – 15 years
Sheldon Hightower – 25 years
Tammy Swihart – 30 years
Terry Horne – 30 years
Alton Miller – 30 years
Danny Jones – 40 years
Click here to view photos.
Urban agriculture agreements awarded in the Cumberland Plateau
 By Katherine Burse, state public affairs officer
In October, Arthur A.J. Hawkins, assistant state conservationist for field operations in Cookeville, and Katherine Burse, state public affairs officer, met with the project team at the United Methodist Neighborhood Service Center in Chattanooga to discuss the pollinator project that was funded through the Tennessee NRCS. Hawkins, who manages this one-year urban agriculture grant discussed the project’s timeline and implementation dates.
From there, Hawkins and Burse traveled to Alvin C. York High School in Jamestown to visit with staff to discuss the school’s high tunnel education project, answer questions, and provide technical guidance. Both projects were in the beginning stages, and everyone seemed excited about the benefits that will be generated through the projects’ funding and technical assistance. Both projects were selected as urban agriculture agreements through an in-state competitive funding opportunity announced earlier in the year.
Area V TACD hosts its Fall meeting at Henry Horton
 The Area V Tennessee Association of Conservation Districts Fall meeting was held on October 11 at The Restaurant at Henry Horton in Chapel Hill, Tennessee. Area V Director Larry Hasty kicked off the meeting with a welcome and invocation. State Conservationist Sheldon Hightower provided an NRCS report to the group, and John McClurkan with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture discussed state agricultural activities.
Gulley treatment with grassed waterways
By Cam McGinnis, Morristown Field Office soil conservationist
Rutledge, Tennessee, resident David Hixon recently contacted the Morristown Field Office about an increasingly problematic gulley that had divided his hayfield. The erosion was caused by stormwater runoff within a localized watershed with little vegetative cover to slow water above Hixon’s farm.
After consulting with our area engineering staff, we concluded that a grassed waterway with rock lined waterways at the inlet and outlet of the structure would be the most effective way to address his growing problem. Through the National Water Quality Initiative program, Hixon was able to receive cost-share funding to hire a local contractor to install the practices. Click here to read more.
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Knoxville celebrates Morrow’s retirement
By Todd L. Reed, Knoxville Area Office area resource conservationist
John “Allen” Morrow grew up on Racoon Creek in Waynesville, North Carolina, right next door to the North Carolina State Mountain Research Station where he enjoyed walking and spending time outdoors on the station grounds. This is where he started developing his love of the outdoors and agriculture.
On December 14, the Knoxville Area Office celebrated Allen’s exceptional career with NRCS, which started more than 34 years ago (April 24, 1988) at the Florence, South Carolina, Area Office. Allen officially retired on August 30, 2020. Click here to read more.
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Savannah hosts Farm Day
By Elizabeth Gibbs, Savannah Field Office secretary
The Savannah Field Office hosted a group of second grade students countywide at a Farm Day on October 12. The Farm Day was the result of a Future Farmers of America project nearly 30 years ago designed to be a hands-on means for students to relate to agriculture in their community. The all-in approach of the Hardin County Commission, school personnel, farmers and ag related businesses have made Farm Day an annual event. We at the NRCS field office in Savannah were proud to be part of it again. This year, the inflatable soil tunnel was used to introduce students to various agriculture related topics.
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 Robertson County welcomed National Association of State Conservation Agencies
By Jennifer Ayres, Springfield Field Office administrative assistant
The Robertson County Soil and Water Conservation District hosted the National Association of State Conservation Agencies in Robertson County on October 24. There were 75 people in attendance from 26 different states.
First stop was the Springfield Field Office with Nathan Hicklin, the office's district conservationist giving a warm welcome and highlights of the office's accomplishments. The next stop was at the Jepson Family Farms in Orlinda, Tennessee. Willis Jepson shared about his operation of corn, wheat, beans, tobacco, pumpkins and watermelons, and the challenges farmers are facing today. Willis then gave a tour of the stripping room where air curried tobacco is sorted and processed and a dark fired tobacco barn. The last stop of the day was at the Bernard Farms Custom Cuts and Market where Julie Bernard shared about her operation of tobacco, wheat, corn, beans, pork, beef, and farm to table market.
Dyer County examines water source concern with local eighth-grade STEM students
By Mendy Carnell, Dyer County Soil and Water Conservation District
Josh Phillips, the Dyer County Field Office district conservationist, lead a guided tour of some of the Lewis Creek projects they have completed in Dyer County with STEM students from Three Oaks Middle School. The eighth-grade Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics students have been challenged to base their 2023 statewide design challenge on exploring water to protect the environment and wellbeing of Tennesseans. During the tour, the students were shown areas of concern that will be addressed as well as areas where work has already been completed under an Environmental Quality Incentives Program contract within the Lewis Creek watershed as part of the National Water Quality Initiative. Josh explained the need for conservation efforts along Lewis Creek. To date, NRCS has invested more than $3.6 million in projects along Lewis Creek. Emily Pope, a soil conservationist, and Asher Anders, a soil conservationist technician, in the Dyer County Field Office also assisted in the tour.
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Marion County hosts Ag Day
By Debbie Smith, Marion County office manager
The Marion County Soil and Water Conservation District participated in the Marion County Ag Day on October 28. We were blessed to have about 300 10th graders from Marion County’s South Pittsburg and Whitwell High Schools visit our display. Each student had the opportunity to experience the soil tunnel, learn about the no till drill as well as rotational grazing from Cody Brown, Marion County district conservationist. Each were given packets containing information about the Pathway’s Program, Earth Team volunteers and careers in conservation along with ink pens.
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Washington County attends workshop aimed at women farmers
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By Michaela Slagle-Saylor, district office manager, Washington County Soil and Water Conservation District
The Appalachian Resource Conservation and Development Council hosted a wonderful workshop to help teach and equip women landowners and operators with the skills, knowledge, and tools to preserve farmland. The class was directed by former NRCS Chief Operations Officer Dana York and was titled, Women Preserving Farmland for the Future.
Kinsley Graves, a soil conservationist for Washington and Unicoi Counties, gave a presentation on how to create an on-farm resource inventory checklist, how a conservation plan for a farm is developed, and how to apply for programs. Kinsley led a mock interview with facilitator, while Dana demonstrated what to expect with a farm visit. Kinsley and Dana explained the resource concerns, practices, enhancements, and other details of programs pertaining to the example farm used. Kinsley and Dana also talked about what tools are available to help and how the planning process worked. Click here to read more.
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NRCS staff deliver CART training
By Linda Ortiz, Tennessee state resource conservationist
NRCS Tennessee successful delivered Conservation Assessment Ranking Tool training recently in each area. The attendees had the opportunity to personally meet part of the conservation planning branch team, ask questions, and learn new functionalities of the tools. Thank you to all the participants for their engagement throughout the training sessions and for helping us to identify future improvements as we move forward with planning and contracting in FY2023.
Left photo: (Top row) Aaron Lauster, conservation planning branch chief and Astrid Martinez, director of the conservation planning and technical assistance division. (Bottom row) Matt Flint, national planning technology lead, Eric McTaggart, national conservation planning lead and Jarred Kneisel, national planning data steward.
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Farm Days at the Appalachian Fairgrounds
 Farm Days was hosted at the Appalachian Fairgrounds in Gray, Tennessee. Farm Days is an event sponsored by multiple state agencies including the Sullivan and Washington County Soil and Water Conservation Districts. The event was open to students in Washington and Sullivan Counties from kindergarten and second grade. About 1,250 kids and 220 adults attended the event. The soil and water conservation districts worked together to read, “The Adventures of Sammy Soil” and to have a staff member dress as Sammy. Students toured the fairgrounds, had meet and greets with many local farmers, got to see animals, and learned about farm safety.
Barnes awarded DeKalb Farmer of The Year
The DeKalb County Soil and Water Conservation District selected Suzette Barnes as its 2022 Farmer of The Year. Barnes was invited to the December banquet to receive this honor, where she was presented with a cap, an embroidered Jacket and the Farmer of The Year sign.
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Fayette County demonstrates new mobile soil health system
By Jeff Woodward, area resource soil scientist, Jackson Area Office
The inaugural voyage of the new Area 1 mobile soil health demonstration system took place on October 27 in Fayette County. This was a great event for educating the youth of Fayette County on the importance of soil conservation, soil health and cover crops. Around 380 children and 45 teachers got to experience the rainfall simulator and the effects of different farming practices can have on the soil and how keeping a living root on the soil and adopting no-till with cover crops as a farming system prevented runoff, erosion, and increased rainfall infiltration into the soil. This was combined with education on the ecosystem, and how good soil health helps restore a robust environment for soil microbes to live. And to top it off they got to see how non-point source pollution can cause a domino effect of water degradation as each small source of pollution adds up to cause a lot of problems downstream. Click here to read more.
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Washington County staff participates in Seedkeepers Forest School Program
 By Michaela Slagle-Saylor, Washington County SWCD office manager
Seedkeepers Forest School Program is a nature-connection recreation program designed for children 3-9 years old. This program is in Jonesborough, Tennessee. They integrate many varieties of education for hands-on learning for a deeper understanding and respect for the environment. Teaching young minds to understand big things is what they do daily. They teach children about plant and wildlife identification, community building skills, map making, gardening, seed saving, and how to be more mindful and make more thoughtful conservation decisions. The Seedkeepers Forest School Program works fervently with children to instill conservation education. This program helps to teach children about the importance of conservation education and provides a deeper understanding of the world and the environment and ecosystems. Click here to read more.
The Teague Valley Farm springs alive
By Haydee L Thillet, Clinton Field Office district conservationist
Nested in beautiful Campbell County you will find Teague Valley Farms, a small operation that started two years ago but has been in the makings from quite some time thanks to the mighty vision and passion for farming of its proud owner Rachel Teague.
Everyone who meets Rachel can immediately tell how much she loves agriculture and how determined she is to succeed. Now she teaches full time at Jacksboro Elementary School on top of farming, and she looks forward to being a High School Agriculture teacher someday. Click here to read more.
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Another successful of EWP year
 By Haydee L Thillet, Clinton Field Office district conservationist
The Campbell County Highway Department in October completed the final streambank stabilization of the year in partnership with the Clinton Field Office. This was a successful year for the partnership, as the Highway Department completed 1,110 feet of streambank work in 10 different sites during 2022. This work was possible thanks to the support of Terry Horne, the Area IV engineering staff, the Area IV biologist staff, and the Clinton Field Office.
Left photo: Completed EWP site 4 at Old Highway 63. Photo by Emily Harmon. Middle photo: Completed EWP site 10 at Habersham Road. right photo: David Hutto, area IV CMI private lands biologist, surveys EWP site for Hellbenders prior initiating EWP construction of site 4. Photo by Jason Robinson.
 
The Tennessee Civil Rights Advisory Committee started the fiscal year by welcoming our newest members. Starting for fiscal year 2023, we are joined by Frank Barbour and Devin Ross as our new Associate Members, as well as Eric Peitz as our new Asian American/Pacific Islander Special Emphasis Program Manager and Sarah Singhurst as our Federal Women’s Program Manager. We also had Lauren Carter join us late last fiscal year as the LGBTQ+ Emphasis Manager. We are excited to welcome our new members!
We were able to start the new fiscal year right by gathering in Knoxville for our first quarter meeting. We prepared for the new year by drafting our FY23 Business Plan, discussing the fall recruitment events we attended and how we can improve recruitment going forward, making field office Civil Rights review assignments, and getting updates from our SEPMs. Tammy Swihart also shared the results of the TN and KY Disability Survey (found here) to initiate a discussion on the disability related resources, training, and education needs of the state.
Click here to read more.
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 The Earth Team is the volunteer workforce of the NRCS and we are making a difference in every county in the nation. Earth Team volunteers are an integral part of the conservation partnership, and each member takes pride in the fact that they maintain and improve our natural resources and environment on private lands.
Click here to learn more about the Tennessee Earth Team volunteer program.
 Employee Assistance Program
Effective December 1, Espyr is the new service provider for the Employee Assistance Program. Espyr may be contacted to obtain free professional counseling, legal, financial support, and more to help manage work and life responsibilities. A wealth of helpful information and resources are located on the EAP website.
EAP Overview and Resources
The EAP provides a wealth of comprehensive services (i.e., professional counseling, health and life coaching, financial and legal support, work-life) to employees and eligible family members to help provide optimal health and well-being and balance work and life responsibilities. Click here for more information.
You may contact the EAP for professional assistance and obtain support 24/7, 365 days a year as follows:
- By call or text: 1-866-869-0276.
- By chat: Live with Espyr online. Your organization ID or password to login is usdafpac.
- By the Espyr Connect mobile app. Download Espyr Connect from Apple Store or Google Play.
 Espyr Connect delivers on-demand resources to help employees and their family members manager their well-being with useful tips, articles, assessments, and motivational exercises. Click here to connect.
TalkNow® is in-the-moment mental health support to help individuals manage small to monumental issues with a qualified mental health professional when you can’t wait. It is free, confidential and may be reached by calling 1-866-869-0276. Click here for more.
In addition, if you or someone that you know find it difficult to manage personal or workplace challenges and feel hopeless with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for immediate help or call 911. The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7, 365 days a year and you can reach them by texting or calling 988, and by chat.
EAP Services
EAP offers a wide variety of services including:
Assessment, counseling, and referrals Financial and legal services
Critical incident response Monthly EAP campaigns
Management consultation and counseling
Educational presentations, orientations, and outreach
Work/Life Services
The work/life program, WorkLife4You, also offers a wide variety of services including:
Childcare and parenting Senior care and PCM
Educational resources Healthy lifestyles
Daily life needs Financial and legal services
Backup care Working mothers
Program promotion
To contact FOH, visit www.foh.psc.gov. You can also call 1-800-457-9808.
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