Category Archives: environmental volulnteers

citizen science, environmental volulnteers, Robert Barossi, Uncategorized

Volunteers and Snapping Turtles

August 10, 2015 Rob Leave a comment

(Photo by Dakota L., Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

by Robert Barossi

As many stories on this blog have demonstrated, environmental volunteers are often citizen scientists. They collect the data that professional scientists will use for a variety of experiments, tests and research. In Connecticut, volunteers are collecting samples from snapping turtles, samples which are part of a number of research projects. The information obtained from this research will do more than reveal the health of the turtles. It will also reveal the health of the ecosystem as a whole and the health of the humans who sometimes eat the turtles. Volunteers will be an important part of collecting the samples that researchers at Mystic Aquarium will turn into invaluable data.

If you’ve enjoyed any of the stories on this blog, download my eBook – Being Where You Are: How Environmental Volunteers Impact Their Community and the Planet Every Day. Available at the following links:

beach cleanup, Brevard County, environmental volulnteers, Robert Barossi

Volunteers Help People Pack it Out

July 27, 2015 Rob Leave a comment

(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

Finally back at the blog after a vacation in New York City and then a few days of recovering from vacation in New York City. A great story this morning from far south of there, Brevard County, Florida. A group called Keep Brevard Beautiful is holding a number of events this summer, all aimed at living up to their name, keeping Brevard’s beaches protected and preserved. Their most recent event implored visitors to those beaches to “pick it up, pack it out.” This was a great event which saw volunteers handing out biodegradable bags to beach visitors. Doing this eliminates one reason why trash so often gets left behind on beaches (“I didn’t have anything to put the trash in”). Hopefully, it led to lots of people picking up and packing out their trash and also gave them the inspiration and motivation to keep doing so in the future.

If you’ve enjoyed the stories on this blog, download my eBook – Being Where You Are: How Environmental Volunteers Impact Their Community and the Planet Every Day

beach cleanup, environmental volulnteers, Philippines, Robert Barossi

Environmental Volunteers in the Philippines

July 16, 2015 Rob Leave a comment

(Photo by Anthony Alger, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

by Robert Barossi

For the second day in a row, an unexpected theme jumped out at me when I searched for environmental volunteer stories. This time – the Philippines. It got me thinking that I really need to post more international stories on here. So, let’s start today. The first story is a great article about 4,000 volunteers cleaning up beaches in the Dumanquillas Bay Protected Landscape and Seascape. The amazing event was part of a celebration of Coral Triangle Day and involved six coastal municipalities. I’ve posted many stories on this blog about beach cleanups and this is a great one due to the sheer numbers involved. It also demonstrates something I’ve tried to emphasize in the past, that these kinds of volunteer efforts do happen all the time, all over the world. The second article implores people to get involved in environmental volunteer efforts and offers six organizations to get involved with. While it is specific to the Philippines, it offers some great insight and advice that potential volunteers can use no matter where they live.

If you have enjoyed the stories on this blog, download my eBook – Being Where You Are: How Environmental Volunteers Impact Their Community and the Planet Every Day

butterflies, citizen science, environmental volulnteers, Maryland, New Jersey, Robert Barossi

Volunteers and Butterflies

July 15, 2015 Rob Leave a comment

(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

The unexpected theme of today’s environmental volunteer story search is butterflies. The first story comes out of New Jersey, at the Howell Living History Farm, where volunteers are counting butterflies. Like the bird watchers in my previous post, these volunteers will help collect data on all the butterfly species in the area and how healthy those populations are. Not too far away, in Maryland, volunteers will be part of creating and maintaining a newly protected area of land. One of the major goals of this effort is protecting and preserving the state insect, the Baltimore checkerspot butterfly. The Susquehannock Wildlife Society and the Maryland DNR are working together to create the protected area where the butterfly can hopefully establish itself and thrive. Here’s a link to a page where you can check out a photo of your own state insect.

If you have enjoyed the stories on this blog, download my eBook – Being Where You Are: How Environmental Volunteers Impact Their Community and the Planet Every Day

Beavers, environmental volulnteers, Goats, Robert Barossi

Volunteers, Beavers and Goats

July 9, 2015 Rob Leave a comment

Image courtesy of ponsulak at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

by Robert Barossi

An environmental volunteer, a beaver and a goat walk into a bar…Ok, it’s not really the beginning of a joke. It’s actually the beginning of an environmental volunteer story out of Oregon featuring volunteers and goats working to help the local beaver population. When invasive species started taking over the beaver’s home, a local environmental organization brought in goats to deal with the problem. The group, Beaver Environmental Advocacy Volunteers (B.E.A.V.), rented 34 goats, who have been efficiently removing the unwanted plants. Once the goats’ work is done, the humans will continue to do whatever they can to help keep the beavers healthy and thriving. The young organization is a great example of how volunteers can work together (and with other species, like goats) to figure out ways to coexist with wildlife, rather than trying to simply remove it.

If you have enjoyed any of the stories on this blog, download my eBook – Being Where You Are: How Environmental Volunteers Impact Their Community and the Planet Every Day

coastal cleanups, environmental volulnteers, Georgia, Robert Barossi

Volunteers Clean Up Debris Along the Coast

July 2, 2015 Rob Leave a comment

(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

We’re into the heart of summer now, with the calendar turning to July and the days heating up. There are always lots of things to celebrate this time of year, from graduations to weddings, and the gorgeous weather usually means the party will be held outside. The outdoor festivities frequently include balloons, which are often released into the air and allowed to fly off into the distance with no way of telling where they’ll eventually fall back to the ground. A story out of Georgia demonstrates how one group of environmental volunteers are dealing with this particular environmental problem. These volunteers aren’t just picking up litter, including fallen balloons, they are encouraging the local community to find alternatives which will prevent more balloons from ending up on coastal beaches. The effort is led by the volunteer-run organization Keep Brunswick – Golden Isles Beautiful.

If you’ve enjoyed any of the stories on this blog, download my eBook – Being Where You Are: How Environmental Volunteers Impact Their Community and the Planet Every Day

environmental volulnteers, Inc., Omaha, Robert Barossi, wildlife rehab

Volunteers Lead Wildlife Rehab Effort

June 24, 2015 Rob Leave a comment

(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

I’ve posted a number of stories on here about the direct impact humans have on wildlife and how volunteers become involved in dealing with those impacts. When it comes to wildlife rehab centers, it’s often volunteers who do most or all of the work caring for injured animals, whether they’re hit by passing vehicles or fly into the windows of tall glass buildings. In Omaha, Nebraska, Nebraska Wildlife Rehab, Inc. is an example of just how amazing these volunteers are. As this story details, the rehab center has been inundated with an unusually large number of injured animals so far this year. More than 2,000 animals in need of care have come to the center, according to the article, about 600 more than usual. Entirely staffed by volunteers, the organization is doing everything they can to properly house and care for these animals until they are able to be released back into the wild. While some animals may be too injured and must be euthanized, there are many more who are brought back to health by these dedicated and inspiring volunteers.

If you’ve enjoyed any of the stories on this blog, download my eBook – Being Where You Are: How Environmental Volunteers Impact Their Community and the Planet Every Day

environmental volulnteers, Oregon, Robert Barossi, salmon

Volunteers Help Salmon with Christmas Trees

June 4, 2015 Rob Leave a comment

(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

At first, it may seem that Christmas trees and salmon don’t really go together. In this case, they do. Volunteers are part of an effort in Oregon to create spawning habitat for salmon by using parts of Christmas trees. As the trees were collected, tree parts and debris were used to slow the water down, creating places where salmon can spawn. A collection of groups and organizations were involved in the effort, including the South Coast chapter of Coastal Conservation Association Oregon and a number of local students.

If you’ve enjoyed the stories on this blog, check out my eBook, Being Where You Are: How Environmental Volunteers Impact Their Community and the Planet Every Day

California, environmental volulnteers, oil spill cleanup, Robert Barossi, Santa Clarita Valley High School

High School Volunteers Clean Up Oil Spill

June 2, 2015 Rob Leave a comment

(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

For this week’s second story, let’s stick with the theme of young environmental volunteers. Yesterday it was teens in Virginia involved in a myriad of important environmental projects. Today, let’s go all the way across the country to the coast of California, where a major oil spill recently hit the Santa Barbara area.

In this great story, three students from Santa Clarita Valley High School took action and got involved in the cleanup efforts. According to the article, they “took their two shovels, big plastic bags, masks, Home Depot buckets and gloves and went to work scooping up 70 gallons of oil off of the beach over the course of two days.” It’s another inspiring story that makes one feel optimistic about the environmental volunteers and leaders of tomorrow.

If you’ve enjoyed the stories on this blog, check out my eBook, Being Where You Are: How Environmental Volunteers Impact Their Community and the Planet Every Day

environmental volulnteers, New Jersey, Robert Barossi, Surfrider Foundation

Volunteering in All Kinds of Weather

January 19, 2015 Rob Leave a comment

(photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

Recently, I posted a story about a couple of volunteers in New Jersey who showed up in frigid temperatures to pick up trash. Today, there’s another story about New Jersey volunteers who did not let weather stop them from doing important environmental volunteer work. This time, volunteers showed up in the rain to clean an area along the Jersey shore, just south of Atlantic City. The South Jersey Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation led the effort in Ventnor, where even the mayor pitched in and helped out. This great event proves again that dedicated volunteers will not let bad weather stop them from helping their community and the planet.

If you have enjoyed any of the stories on my blog, I hope you’ll consider downloading my eBook, Being Where You Are: How environmental Volunteers Impact their Community and the Planet Every Day:

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	Composting Volunteer… on Composting Volunteers

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Telling the Stories of Environmental Volunteers