June Volunteer Bulletin

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eVIP Volunteers at Lake Lotus Park

Lend a hand to make a difference in your Orange County environment and community.

Volunteer With EPD

Summer Opportunities

Looking for ways to get involved in your community and earn volunteer hours over the summer? The Orange County Environmental Protection Division (EPD) invites you and your family to learn more about our ongoing activities. Students seeking service hours for school can check out our Explore Nature Project and the Storm Drain Labeling Program detailed below. Both are tailored to meet the volunteer's needs, location and schedule. These opportunities are open to anyone with a little extra time this summer to volunteer, not just students. Groups can also check out our Community Cleanup Kit. Please reach out to evip@ocfl.net to get your project on the calendar and learn more!

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

In Her Own Words

Volunteer Intern, Brooke Ballschmieder

In January 2025, I began my internship with the Orange County Environmental Protection Division (EPD) and currently serve as an intern with the Development Review Program (DRP). I am a junior at the University of Central Florida, majoring in environmental studies (science track), with a minor in geoscience and a GIS certificate. As part of the DRP team, I am helping with the file conversion project. This consists of reviewing historical development plans and entering the information into the LDMS database. While assisting with this project, I have also been able to job shadow two other EPD programs. I spent a day in the field with Green PLACE and visited Hidden Pond Preserve. While there, EPD staff taught me about Orange County's environmentally sensitive land program and how they survey, maintain and obtain properties. I also learned about the native and invasive species on this property. Additionally, I joined the Lake Management program for a site visit on Lake Mary to look for an invasive aquatic plant called hydrilla. It was fun learning about hydrilla and how to spot the plant in the water. Throughout this internship, I have gained so much already. I was recently promoted to a paid internship and I am so excited to continue to be a part of EPD. I look forward to dedicating more time to the file conversion project and participating in additional job shadowing opportunities. I can’t wait to see what lies ahead, and I am so glad I chose to be a part of the EPD family!

Community Cleanup Volunteers

Thank You!

The Orange County Environmental Protection Division (EPD) would like to extend a big thank you to Girl Scouts of Citrus Troop 2351. Girl Scouts and their families set aside a morning to help pick up 15 bags of trash and recyclables at Young Pine Community Park in East Orange County. In all, 27 volunteers gave 108 hours towards helping to remove pollution from our environment. Thank you for your hard work and dedication!

Receive More News From EPD

Would you like to learn more about the Orange County Environmental Protection Division (EPD)? EPD is excited to share information about events, sustainability, the Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge, regulatory updates, lake management, water quality and more! If you would like to be included on the email list, please fill out this brief sign-up form.

ONGOING ACTIVITIES

Storm Drain Labeling

Spearhead a storm drain labeling project in your community. Orange County eVIP provides all the supplies, a one-hour training session and the support to create an enjoyable and meaningful service project for your group. Please help us keep our surface water clean and storm drains functioning properly. This is a great project for scout groups!

Girls identifying natural specimen with phone app

The Explore Nature Project

The Explore Nature Project provides an opportunity to help clean up natural lands in Orange County and learn about the countless species in these diverse ecosystems. To view recent observations captured by Explore Nature volunteers, visit eVIP's iNaturalist Project page. Then click "join" to upload and share your finds! Volunteer hours will be verified upon request.

Internship Program

To learn more about the program, send an email stating your interest. Internships are competitive and applications are accepted year-round. Students can earn service hours, college credit and meaningful work experience. Interns who complete a three-month unpaid internship are eligible to apply for paid internships as available.

Orange County Water Quality Monitoring

Orange County partners with the UF/IFAS LAKEWATCH program to provide volunteers with training and equipment for water-quality testing on local lakes. Volunteers need lake access, a few hours each month to collect samples, transportation to deliver samples, a canoe or watercraft, and a two-year- plus commitment to sampling.

EnviroScape Training and Presentations

Learn how to use the EnviroScape Model to provide fun, hands-on watershed education presentations. Are you an educator? Once trained, classroom teachers and youth group leaders can also "check out" our education materials. Alternately, request EnviroScape presentations for your students. Presentations are scheduled year-round as schedule permits.

Group Community

Cleanup Kit

Is your group looking for an environmental project? eVIP has a new kit that helps individuals lead a cleanup and assist in keeping Orange County free of pollution. eVIP provides the supplies, training and support. The project is a good fit for volunteers of all ages and groups of all sizes. Educational materials will be provided as requested.

Thank you for your interest!

If you would like more information on any of the opportunities listed above,

please contact the Orange County Environmental Protection Division Volunteer Coordinator

at evip@ocfl.net or 407-836-1400.

Visit our website

Orange County Environmental Protection Division, a part of the Planning, Environmental and Development Services Department

www.ocfl.net/eVIP

407-836-1400 | 321-689-8232 (C) | 407-836-1499 (F)

3165 McCrory Place, Suite 200, Orlando, FL 32803

Serving our community by conserving, protecting and enhancing the environment for current and future generations.