The climate crisis is a reality that requires urgent measures and solutions. As many movements, associations, NGOs, platforms and countless scientists and activists are demanding, much more than good intentions are needed to stop the foreseeable environmental disaster.
The seriousness of this crisis, its magnitude and potential repercussions, make it unlikely – as with most major social issues – that we will be able to solve it through citizen action alone. However, this should not be a reason to evade our responsibility as inhabitants of the earth and users of its resources. The pressure we can exert on polluting industries and complicit governments will always be greater the greater our awareness of this reality and the greater our commitment and level of organization. All this, as long as our personal situation allows us such commitment, since we start from the awareness that there are many issues that cross us as human beings and not all of us have the same guarantees that allow us to keep covered most of our vital needs, or at least not always. Taking all this into account, thinking in a network and in a collaborative way, that is, in society, makes it easier for the solutions we are willing to support to be favorable for the majority of the community, and not to satisfy the economic interests of a few. In this sense, volunteering in nature can help us not only to get to know the natural environment better, but also to empathize more with its vulnerabilities and the need to preserve it. Do you want to know more reasons to volunteer in the environment? Read on.
7 Reasons to volunteer in relation to nature:
- It encompasses many more activities than we usually imagine:
Environmental or nature volunteering is all the work that is done in this field and that aims to generate a beneficial impact for the environment and for the rest of the beings that inhabit it or are nourished by that ecosystem. In this sense, not everything is purely environmental or “field” work, such as reforestation or beach cleaning – activities that are very important – but there are also many other tasks related to awareness-raising, education, planning or strategy design.
- It has a great SOCIAL impact
Even if the work you are going to do is mainly linked to the environment, this does not mean that you will not work with people and even less that your volunteering will not have a positive impact on human beings. By volunteering in nature or related to the environment somewhere in the world, you are preserving an environment that benefits us all.
- You will broaden your knowledge and be able to act accordingly.
Volunteering is often a window to the world to become aware of other realities, often not so far from our own, it is a good way to broaden our awareness and act accordingly.
- It is effective in the fight against poverty
In much of the world, poverty is directly related to access to natural resources, their use and the quality of the environment. If we can generate a consistent global and local awareness of the use of these resources, we can have an impact on poverty rates in certain areas that depend directly on them.
- You will learn a lot
Well done, almost every volunteering experience is a great learning experience in personal terms as we mentioned in point 4, but also in a practical sense. Depending on the type of volunteering you choose, you will be able to develop or improve a number of skills that can be useful in other aspects of your life as well.
- You will be able to teach what you know to others:
Just as you can learn from others and from the activities that take place, you can also contribute your previous knowledge and skills to the rest. Generating spaces for exchange and learning is a very nice way to grow together.
- You will meet people with the same interests as you
In order to generate such a network of knowledge exchange, people are needed to form such a network, and volunteers, including environmental volunteers, are made by people. Committed people who, like you, want to look for solutions to current problems and try to do their bit as much as they can. So, you will meet interesting, creative, and predisposed people, people you can rely on to continue promoting initiatives that change the world.
