Florida NRCS Outreach Update FY 2005 #2 April - September 

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Florida’s Mobile Irrigation 

Lab Program

Education and Outreach 

By Bob Beck, Naples FO

During August and September 2005, Florida’s Mobile Irrigation Lab (MIL) program concentrated on education/outreach 

activities. Plans 

and preparations 

were completed 

for participation in 

several water conservation events. 

MIL staff created new display items to 

update the booth display to be used in addition to the new banner stand displays 

created by the NRCS Public Affairs Section.

The MIL staff:

set up a display at the Asian American/

Pacific Islander Conference in Wichita, 

Kansas. 

manned the 

display booth at 

the Citrus Expo 

held at the Lee 

Civic Center 

and attended 

by thousands of 

citrus industry personel. 

set up a display at the ribbon-cutting 

ceremony for the Holloway Tree Farm, 

which received an environmental 

award for their innovative irrigation 

system. 

The Lee County MIL assisted the two 

Collier 

MIL’s in 

staffing 

the display 

booth at 

the 30th 

Annual Conference on 

Water Management held at the Sanibel 

Harbour Resort. Hundreds of water 

management professionals attended 

seminars and viewed our display.

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A Visit to the Children’s 

Museum for Boat and 

Water Safety Week

by Jackie Bailey, Sebring FO

Eric Harper, Jennifer Donze and 

Kevin Wolcott from Highlands Soil and 

Water Conservation District visited the 

Children’s Museum on Thursday, July 

14, 2005, at the request of Gay Vaughn. 

The week of July 11 through July 15 

was Boat and Water Safety Week at 

the Museum.

While at the museum they told the 

children about the fishing line recycling program sponsored by Highlands 

Soil and Water Conservation District 

and the Tourist Tax Committee in the 

County. Fishing line can last up to 600 

years in the environment and endangers wildlife. The recycling program 

gets the fishing line out of the water 

and recycled into tackle boxes. 

Eric Harper, wearing his life vest, 

hip waders and with his fishing pole in 

hand talked to the kids about fishing 

and boat safety. 

Kevin Wolcott showed the children 

how to tie several different types of 

nautical knots. The children were also 

shown a video called “Frogline” which 

encouraged a discussion about urban 

pollution.

At the end of the presentation, 

all the children received a bag filled 

with goodies from many environmental 

organizations.
Florida NRCS Outreach Update FY 2005 #2 April - September 

NRCS Sponsors Morehouse 

College Students

In May, the Natural Resources Conservation Service sponsored a group of students from Morehouse 

College in Atlanta to fulfill their community service 

requirement for their Bonner Scholarship. The students spent the week helping to construct a house 

for Habitat for Humanity as well as helping clean up 

hurricane debris on the beaches of Okaloosa County. 

Natural Resources Specialist, 

Jennifer Donze, Creates Soil 

Tunnel

by Jackie Bailey, Sebring FO

The Soil Tunnel is a mobile, innovative and interactive teaching aide designed for grade school 

audiences. The empasis of the program is environmental education in a unique, hands-on approach. Children can view the world below the 

ground surface by crawling through the Tunnel. 

Once inside, roots and carrots dangle overhead 

while side panels display soil horizons, wells, septic 

systems, and gopher tortoise burrow with insects 

and animals that live inside. A trained staff member, who presents a dynamic lesson, transports 

the display to schools and is available by request.

O b j e c t i v e s o f t h e S o i l T u n n e l :

Provide education to children on soil functions (i.e. waste recycling, habitat for 

organisms, medium for plant growth)

Provide outreach to students and teachers

Provide education on soil and water 

conservation techniques.

Any questions concerning the Soil Tunnel should be 

addressed to the Sebring Field Office at 863-402-6545.

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Inside soil tunnel

NRCS in Partnership with FAMU 

for Small Farm Field Day

The annual Florida A&M University (FAMU) Small 

Farm Field Day was held on September 29, 2005 at 

the FAMU Farm. The field day event is a tradition 

established at FAMU which features an agricultural preview of the current research and extension projects being conducted in the FAMU College 

of Engineering Sciences, Technology and Agriculture through the Cooperative Extension Program.

The theme for this year was “Safe and Sustainable 

Agri-Systems for the 21st Century.” Presentations included informative discussions, taste tests and handson demonstrations related to agriculture including 

both vegetables and crops (fruits, grain, forage, 

specialty and genetically-engineered crops); forestry 

and livestock protection (goats and pasture); urban 

farming and containerized gardens; and mosquito 

research. NRCS provided an informational display. 

Overall the event was a success with good participation from the farm community. The Small 

Farm Field Day lunch included a variety of delicious 

entrees and samples made from the agricultural produce that was featured in the extension presentation. 

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Florida NRCS Outreach Update FY 2005 #2 April - September 

For more information on Outreach, contact :

Ann Bowens, Outreach Coordinator

P.O. Box 141510

Gainesville, FL 32614

352-338-9516

ann.bowens@fl.usda.gov

Outreach Editor:

Gail Hendricks

Public Affairs Staff

352-338-9560

gail.hendricks@fl.usda.gov

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits 

discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of 

race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political 

beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all 

prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities 

who require alternative means for communication of program 

information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact 

USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). 

To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, 

Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 

14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 

20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA 

is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

USDA Job has Darryl 

Williams “in high cotton”

Reprinted from Daily News - By ISAAC SABETAI 

CRESTVIEW, August 14, 2005 -Darryl Williams’ 

grew up on a farm picking watermelon, peaches 

and tobacco. These days he labels himself an urban 

farmer, but he still has a strong connection to the land.

He is the district conservationist for the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural 

Resources Conservation Service in Crestview.

Williams helps oversee a number of conservation projects across North Okaloosa County. He 

helps residents improve their property whether 

its help planting trees or prescribed burns. Local governments usually welcome him because he 

helps them get federal grants to repair roads damaged in heavy rains and sometimes beach dunes.

“I like working with people and being out in the 

field helping people,” Williams said.

Williams doesn’t work with the USDAs regulatory 

arm. All of the projects he works with are voluntary. He often finds himself working 

hand-in-hand with other government 

agencies such as the extension office. 

Sometimes, Williams has to funnel a 

caller to another office. “My goal is to 

assist any and everybody that wants 

services,” Williams said. “I try to keep 

an open mind. They don’t want `no’ 

for an answer. If you try to help them, 

that gives them a better perception of 

the agency”

Williams came to Crestview in 1989 

to become the area’s district conservationist. “It’s been a successful trip working here,” 

Williams said.

Williams grew up on a farm in Madison County, 

which is about 50 miles east of Tallahassee. He got 

involved with the agency not long after he enrolled in 

Florida A&M University in 1979.

Before he began working sum­mers with the USDA, 

he cleaned school buses to get some extra spending 

money. “I thought I was in high cotton,” Williams said 

of one of his first jobs. Williams would eventually 

graduate college with a degree in animal science and 

he got a job with the USDA. He worked around Florida 

before settling in Crestview.

He enjoys Okaloosa’s diverse habitats from the 

Blackwater River State Forest to the white sandy 

beaches. He’s also proud that the public has access to 

so much land for recreation.

“You’ve got Blackwater, Eglin (Air Force Base); 

the Gulf of Mexico - what else do you need?” Williams 

said. “There are so many opportunities for people to 

enjoy public land in the county”.

Williams not only enjoys the land but he works to 

protect it. He educates landowners about ways to protect their land from building fences to identifying ways 

to reduce the amount of pesticides used on crops.

When roads wash out, Williams helps local governments find federal funds to repair them. He’s also helping Jackson Guard with some erosion control measures. 

“We bring tax money that was sent to Washington back 

to the community,” Williams said.

The idea that government agencies 

are only out to regulate bothers Williams. 

He’s proud that the NRCS works in tandem 

with people to achieve positive results.

He also knows the value of preserving the environment, especially as more 

and more land sprouts houses. “It’s a 

partnership, and we all have to work together,” Williams said. “A lot of people 

like to canoe and fish, and we have more 

urban buildings. We have to protect our 

resources.”

Williams said he has made Crestview his family’s 

home. He doesn’t work on a farm anymore, though. 

He has to settle for a vegetable garden in his backyard 

and helping out farmers with his job. He can’t envision leaving.

Darryl (right) working with 

students on Earth Day