Student Days Over? Volunteer for Sustainable Causes to Get That Fall Vibe Back

If you miss back-to-school excitement about starting new projects and learning new things, volunteering may fill the void.

The first year or two after you finish your education, it can be a bit bittersweet to see students stocking up on supplies and gearing up for novel experiences. While you may not miss the school schedule, the feeling of purpose can sometimes be lacking depending on where you are in your career path. For many people, the answer is volunteer work.

Numerous research studies have demonstrated the correlation between mental and physical health benefits from volunteering, such as boosting your mood and psychological well-being. If you’re struggling with anger or anxiety over climate change, volunteering for a cause linked to sustainability can provide stress relief, a sense of accomplishment and reduce social isolation.

Regardless of the level of climate anxiety you’re experiencing, there are multiple ways to volunteer to help the environment depending on where you live, your area of expertise and how much time you want to devote to a new cause. Something as simple as a one-day community cleanup event can benefit the environment and add some needed changes to your routine.

Some volunteer options to consider include:

Nature Activities

A quick online search for an activity you’re interested in and your community name can generate information about volunteering to plant trees, participate in a community garden or a cleanup day at a park, river or ocean. You can also look up parks near you to find out what opportunities they offer.

Sites such as Volunteer Clean-Up are searchable by location and provide information about how to organize your own clean-up day, and EarthDay.org has a volunteer form that links you to local activities. The Ocean Conservatory organizes International Coastal Cleanup Day on the third Thursday of every September to mobilize volunteers to clean up beaches and waterways as well as actions throughout the year.

The Rainforest Alliance has numerous suggestions for volunteer work including helping local farmers keep up sustainable farming practices.

Improve Wildlife Habitats

If you want to focus on wildlife, search for local efforts to restore wetlands or other natural areas. Another option is to volunteer at a wildlife center for monitoring, rehabilitation or animal care.

The National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association has a searchable database for volunteer opportunities.

You can also find volunteer opportunities at Animal Help Now or through a local online search.

Defenders of Wildlife provides information about places to volunteer and advocacy action that you can take on a personal or policy level.

Educational Outreach

If you’d like to share your interest and knowledge about the environment with kids, look for local nature centers, community centers, youth organizations and schools to see if they need volunteers to lead workshops or after school activities.

You can also contact the environmental science department at local universities to see if they need volunteers for research projects.

Advocacy

You can make a contribution as a climate activist by supporting national organizations and their missions in several ways, such as contacting state and federal politicians about specific issues or organizing on a local level.

• The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) toolkit provides numerous examples of work you can do in your that can be filtered by your specific interests. Their website also has suggestions for getting involved in your community, such as organizing or joining a composting group and lobbying local officials.
• Greenpeace hosts monthly virtual calls with volunteers to discuss opportunities and needs for community clean-up events, advocacy efforts and peaceful protests.
• The Sierra Club, a 130-year-old organization that advocates to protect wildlife, promote clean energy and safeguard healthy communities connects people with local chapters for volunteer opportunities.
• The Nature Conservancy has an abundance of volunteer needs in urban, suburban and rural areas to protect and preserve the natural environment including planting trees and monitoring plants.
• The Rainforest Alliance works to support sustainable farming and land management to sustain and restore forest communities.

To get started, try some of the organizations above or search online for environmental volunteer opportunities in your area at parks, community centers and nonprofit groups.