All posts by Rob

Chicago, Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, environmental volunteers, Robert Barossi

Birds in the City

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ID-100224232(Photo by porbital, courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

by Robert Barossi

To say that humans have completely changed the natural landscape of this planet might be the most obvious statement ever made. In every corner of the globe, in a million different ways, humans have irrevocably altered the habitats of numerous animal species. One of the most devastating changes, in terms of wildlife and their survival, has been the rise of massive cities and metropolitan areas. These urban landscapes have created an entirely new universe for animals to deal with and survive in. In one major metropolitan area, the city of Chicago, there is a group of volunteers doing everything they can to help some of our animal kingdom neighbors.

Dedicated members of the all-volunteer Chicago Bird Collision Monitors are on the streets of Chicago every day, looking for injured birds. According to their website, “Our teams spend the early morning hours recovering these birds to save the injured and document the fatalities that have occurred.” CBCM’s inspiring work provides help to many of the birds who are simply living their natural life in the confusing and dangerous world of the city skyline. The group also provides invaluable information to other people who are interested in helping our feathered friends.

Cascade Mountain Runners, environmental volunteers, Robert Barossi, trail maintenance, trail running

Running Down a Dream

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(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

Trail maintenance is one of the most common tasks practiced by environmental volunteers. Everywhere there are trails through the wilderness, there is likely an environmental organization or community organization that maintains those trails. And most of that work is likely performed by volunteers, who go out and cut down branches, remove fallen trees, fix water bars and keep the trail safe and accessible. Volunteers get involved in this kind of work for many reasons. For example, one volunteer I met was a passionate bike rider. He loved to ride through the wilderness and was part of a mountain biking group that did a lot of trail maintenance. He had even taken some classes to become a “Trail Boss.” He was passionate about wanting to make sure that the public had access to those trails and wanting the public to know that mountain bikers were out there protecting the trails, and nature, not destroying them.

In this story out of Washington state, there’s a similar group trying to rebuild an historic wilderness trail. Daniel Probst is leading the effort to rebuild and restore a trail that was once part of a famous race, the Mount Baker Marathon. The route has become treacherous for runners still trying to make the journey, or anyone else attempting to simply enjoy the path through the woods. Along with the forest service and volunteers from the Washington Trails Association and Cascade Mountain Runners, the effort is on to clear the trail. The hope is that some time soon, the trail will be able to once again host an ultra-marathon as well as hikers wanting to enjoy the natural beauty of the area.

environmental volunteer, invasive species, San Diego, San Diego Natural History Museum

Volunteers Under the Mistletoe

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ID-100152905

(photo by digidreamgrafix, courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

by Robert Barossi

The holiday season is without doubt one of my favorite times of year. Whether it’s holiday songs playing on my car’s stereo while navigating snowy streets or houses covered in Christmas lights that fill my neighborhood, I’m a sucker for pretty much anything related to the holiday season. Kissing under the mistletoe is, of course, just one long-standing tradition of the season and this story from San Diego focuses on that famous plant and the legend and lore that surrounds it. It’s also got one of the best titles I’ve seen for a volunteer-related story, “Mistletoe: A Parasite of Peace.” While the article offers lots of information to explain that attention-catching title, it also focuses on a group of volunteers, the Canyoneers. This group of dedicated and passionate volunteers work with the San Diego Natural History Museum and lead area hikes and, every year, sell mistletoe to raise money for their nature programs. Gathering and selling the plant is a holiday season tradition for these volunteers, one that helps them fund some of the great work they do all year round.

More information here on San Diego’s Natural History Museum

Just for fun, a couple of resources I found about the lore and legend of mistletoe, form The Farmer’s Almanac, Smithsonian Magazine and The History Channel

environmental volunteers, Robert Barossi, voluntourism, voluntourists

Volunteer Tourists

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Underwater Leaves(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

Lately, while searching out stories of environmental volunteers, I’ve noticed the term voluntourism pop up again and again. I realize that this idea has been around a long time. For many years, people have traveled to an area as a tourist and spent their time there working as a volunteer, often for an environmental cause. It seems that lately, the idea is picking up steam and gaining popularity. Here’s one story out of North Carolina, where voluntourists are helping sea turtles.

While these traveling environmental volunteers may be helping out and making a real difference, many are skeptical. This article from NPR discusses the trend and asks “Who is it helping most?” And this article from ABC News in Australia asks more questions about the potential benefits, what they are and who gets them, of voluntourism. And finally, this post on Huffington Post says right in the title, “helping abroad isn’t always helping.”

Interestingly, it’s easier to find stories debating and vilifying voluntourism than find stories about volunteer tourists really helping the environment. I can’t help but think, though, that these traveling environmental volunteers are doing some real good in some places. The question is whether or not that good is outweighed by a number of negative impacts caused by their travel to and presence in a foreign place.

environmental volunteer, Montana, Outdoor Hall of Fame, Robert Barossi

Hall of Fame Volunteers

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IMG_0504(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

I’m a little ashamed to admit that I have never heard of the Outdoor Hall of Fame. I should say, I’ve never heard of any of them, since there are a number of them, in states including Wyoming, California and Arizona.

Today, I came across this story about the brand new Outdoor Hall of Fame in  Montana and it’s inaugural inductees. While the inductees include outdoor legends of the past like President Theodore Roosevelt, there are also some modern-day citizens who are doing inspiring work in their local area. For example, there is Gerry Jennings, who is described as a “longtime wilderness volunteer,” and “citizen advocate” Chris Marchion. These halls of fame are great ways to recognize the work of people who have had an indelible impact on their local wilderness, including passionate, dedicated volunteers.

 

Audubon Christmas Bird Count, environmental volulnteers, Robert Barossi

A Holiday Volunteer Tradition

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ID-100134733(Photo by Tina Phillips, Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Every holiday season, thousands of volunteers take part in a massive citizen science project, the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. This event, which helps Audubon to track the health of bird populations, is now in its 115th year. Again this year, starting on December 14, tens of thousands of volunteers, in thousands of locations, will explore their local areas, searching for as many birds as they can find and catalog. The invaluable resource created by all the data will be used to inform decisions, policies and research all over the country. It is a yearly tradition for many people, families and organizations, and an undeniably impressive and inspiring environmental volunteer effort.

Here is the official site for the Audubon Christmas Bird Count.

And more local stories about the Bird Count, in places as different as Montana, New Mexico, Wisconsin and the San Juan Islands

environmental volunteer, Minnesota, Minnesota Wildlife Tracking Project, Robert Barossi, wildlife tracking

Volunteer Trackers

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IMG_0463(by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

When interviewing environmental volunteers, I met a volunteer wildlife tracker. She told me about how groups of volunteers would go out in the winter and search for animal tracks, in an effort to gather data about which animals were in a given area. It’s yet another way that volunteers can help to collect information that is vital for conservationists as well as the general public, potential developers, government officials and others. In Minnesota, Jonathan Poppele wants to train volunteers to do this kind of work across the state, specifically aiming to collect data on wolves. The story mentions a similar program that has been successful in collecting important information about wolves in Wisconsin. Programs like these, across the country, are yet another citizen science opportunity for volunteers to get involved and make a difference in wildlife conservation.

More information here on the Minnesota Wildlife Tracking Project.

environmental volunteers, invasive species, Rhode Island, Robert Barossi

Volunteers Lead the Fight Against Invaders

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Rocks in Still Water(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

The “invaders” are invasive species and they are becoming more and more widespread all the time. Climate change is not helping matters, pushing and changing the boundaries of where species can live and thrive. This story out of Rhode Island details a number of ways that volunteers in southern New England are taking part in the struggle to hold back or eliminate invasive species. As the title suggests, it often takes “patience and creativity,” two of the many attributes volunteers bring to the ongoing efforts to deal with a problem that can seem insurmountable.

environmental volunteers, Robert Barossi

Well Deserved Recognition for Volunteers

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Through the Trees(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

Not sure what it is about this time of year, but stories of environmental volunteer recognition are everywhere. It’s great to see so many volunteers being awarded and honored, in so many different places for many different kinds of volunteer work. They don’t typically do it for the recognition, which is part of what makes volunteers inspiring, but they absolutely deserve it. So, here are just a few of the ones I’ve come across today:

This story out of Indiana County, just outside of Pittsburgh, features two environmental volunteers who also happen to be senior citizens. Many volunteers are seniors and retirees, and these two have demonstrated an amazing dedication and passion over a number of years of service.

I had never heard of Disney Conservation Heroes until reading this story. The Disney Conservation Hero Award is given to volunteers for their “tireless efforts to save wildlife, protect habitats, and educate communities,” according to this story out of New Jersey. This article focuses on three of the nineteen people who won the award, a trio of volunteers who work with The Wetlands Institute.

In the city of Bristol, in England, a number of people were recognized through the Green Volunteer Awards. Awards included the Green Voluntary Leader of the Year and an award given to Young Green Volunteers.

Finally, in Maui, five volunteers were awarded for their efforts to preserve the environmental health of Maui County. The inspiring citizens have been actively involved in a number of ways, from picking up trash and litter to educating the public about better anti-litter behavior.

environmental volulnteers, Northwestern University, Robert Barossi

Environmental Volunteers on Campus

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IMG_1108(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

Many of tomorrow’s environmental leaders, thinkers and volunteers are today’s college students. At colleges and universities around the world, young people are getting together and getting involved. At the recent climate change march in New York City, the “Student Section” of the assembled crowd was enormous and very vocal. Many colleges have begun to implement or increase environmental stewardship programs on their campuses. And student groups are getting involved on campus and, perhaps more importantly, in their surrounding communities. At Northwestern University, the Associated Student Government’s Sustainability Committee recently held its first-ever Environmental Day of Service. A number of campus groups were invited or involved, including fraternities and sororities. While students did participate in activities to clean up their campus, they got out into the surrounding area, taking part in tasks such as removing invasive species.

For more information about colleges that are very environmentally friendly and at the forefront of campus sustainability, The Princeton Review has a Green Honor Roll that lists 24 schools. Every year, the Sierra Club puts out a list of America’s Greenest Colleges, here is there most recent list. (Proud to say that mine is on both of those lists) There’s also this list of 50 affordable eco-friendly colleges. And this one that breaks it down into greenest college by state.