Each year, Knox County Engineering and Public Works welcomes a team of AmeriCorps members to assist with vital department functions. Primarily, this team works with the Stormwater Compliance team and supports field work and education/outreach programing. AmeriCorps is a national service program where individuals commit to addressing critical community needs, and this year’s EPW members – Marie Armes and Madison Moore – have done an amazing job serving the Knox County community.
Despite being a smaller team than previous years, this two-member EPW AmeriCorps team has done a phenomenal job getting the department caught up on stream inspections (over 60 miles worth!), stormwater infrastructure mapping, and more.
Armes and Moore have also been busy with educational and outreach events and programing. They helped educate our community on water quality issues at events like the Dogwood Arts House and Garden Show, the Beaver Creek Flotilla and Tennessee Tree Day. They enjoyed assisting at WaterFest in May, where over 650 students participated in a fun and educational field trip to Ijams Nature Center. Additionally, they led Knox County students through chemical testing, macroinvertebrate identification, and other water quality lessons through twenty classroom visits.
By coordinating 10 Adopt-A-Stream clean-ups this past year, they helped citizen groups remove over 1,800 pounds of trash from county streams. The mission of the Adopt-A-Stream Program is to educate and inspire local residents to care for the waterways in their community by engaging them in hands-on environmental action (find out more here).
As they wrap up their service term, Knox County EPW wants to express its gratitude to both of them, and to the AmeriCorps program for giving their time, energy and care to the department and this community.
Enjoy some photos of their work around the County:
Madison Moore, Madeline Lyons, Abbie Broersma, Haley Lee, Dr. Andrea Ludwig, and Marie Armes
Madison Moore handling the information table.
Marie Armes and trash collected from a stream.Knox County Engineering and Public Works is now accepting applications for next years AmeriCorps. If this experience interests you, please apply here.
Rylie McClurg is the communications and outreach coordinator for Knox County Engineering & Public Works.