Our Programs

The Senior Environmental Employment Program

In the 1970s, farsighted U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staff recognized that experienced workers age 55 and over were extremely underrated. As a result, EPA created the concept of what was to become a national showcase for the skills of mid-career and older professionals who are now acknowledged as major players in a rapidly aging society.

The concept turned into reality in 1975 when EPA assigned a group of individuals age 55 and over to a pesticide inventory project in Iowa. A year later, EPA and the U.S. Administration on Aging funded a two-year demonstration project for workers to monitor industrial waste, conduct pesticide inventories, measure noise, air, and water pollution, and supply information to communities.

During the 1970s, and until 1984, national aging organizations carried out the demonstration project in each federal region and at EPA headquarters in Washington, DC. The success of the project created a demand for more experienced workers and won formal status when Congress approved, and President Reagan signed, the Environmental Programs Assistance Act of 1984 (PL 98-313). That law authorizes EPA to make grants, or enter into cooperative agreements, with private nonprofit organizations to place individuals age 55 and over in short-term assignments.

The Agricultural Conservation Experienced Services Project

In 2005, the US Department of Agriculture entered into a pilot project with NOWCC to create a corps of experienced workers to support conservation efforts. The pilot began in June, 2005, in 8 states, and has since expanded to include more than 200 positions for those age 40 and over in 30+ States.