Kristal McKelvey Evens recently joined the staff of Tidewater Soil and Water Conservation District as a conservation assistant.

Evens, who grew up in Mathews and now resides in Gloucester, said she is happy to return to work here. Tidewater SWCD has offices in Gloucester and serves the counties of Mathews, Middlesex and Gloucester.

Evens works with district manager LaVerne Calhoun and conservation/education assistant Carl Thiel-Goin. Her duties include meeting with agricultural producers for Best Management Practices (BMP) projects and consulting with them and other landowners on conservation, erosion and similar measures.

Some of her job involves talking to farmers about cost-share programs that are available to help them. Also, Evens goes to schools to present conservation and erosion programs and speaks to local civic and other groups about ways they can help the environment. Her agency works closely with a number of other agencies on the best ways to protect local resources.

“I am honored to be a part of the Tidewater SWCD team and to have this opportunity to contribute to my hometown community through the conservation of natural resources and environmental education,” Evens said. “I have enjoyed getting to know the local producers and working with them on our programs.”

Evens said she is looking forward to help individual residential landowners too.

Before joining TSWCD, Evens worked five years doing pharmaceutical research in Richmond, with jobs as a cell biologist and as a quality control scientist. Also, in Richmond she worked for the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Division of Natural Heritage. Earlier, she worked for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Evens is a graduate of Mathews High School, where she was salutatorian. She earned a bachelor’s degree at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina. She is the daughter of Joyce and Don McKelvey of Port Haywood.