Members of Congress were among the first who were able to pay their respects at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday as former President Jimmy Carter lies in state.

Jimmy Carter’s legacy includes working to eradicate tropical diseases in Africa, South America and Asia and to end conflicts in places like Syria, Israel and Sudan. But the late former president’s efforts also live on in the wild places of his native Georgia that he worked as governor and president to protect.

Six days of funeral observances for former President Jimmy Carter have begun Saturday in Georgia, the state where he died on 29 December at the age of 100. The first events reflected Carter’s climb up the political ladder, from the tiny town of Plains to a lifetime on the global stage as a humanitarian and advocate for democracy.