Tag Archives: California

environmental volunteers, film festivals, Robert Barossi

Volunteers at the Film Festival

1 Comment

IMG_0304

Photo by Robert Barossi

by Robert Barossi

After a long holiday-season hiatus, I’m finally posting the first story of the new year. A year which I’m sure will bring many more great stories of environmental volunteers and their inspiring, amazing work. There are countless ways for people to get involved and support environmental causes. This story out of Nevada City, California features volunteers who are doing just that at an environmentally-themed film festival. Along with nature and the environment, film is one of my other great passions and the Wild & Scenic Film Festival sounds like a fantastic event. I wish there were more festivals like this around the country, festivals which get people to connect with nature in new and different ways.  This one also gives people a chance to show their support for the environment by volunteering at the event. If you’re in the area, be sure to check out the festival, and while you’re there, be sure to thank the volunteers for all that they do.

There are more great environmental volunteer stories in my eBook, Being Where You Are: How Environmental Volunteers Impact Their Community and the Planet Every Day. Download it at the following links:

iTunes

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Kobo Books

BeingFinal

environmental volulnteers, Robert Barossi, Uncategorized

Environmental Volunteers Coast to Coast

1 Comment

Foliage Reflected

by Robert Barossi

This morning, I noticed three environmental stories that just happened to perfectly span the United States, proving once again that volunteers are working on important environmental projects from sea to shining sea.

On the east coast, in Hackensack, New Jersey, over one hundred volunteers took part in an annual event to clean up litter in open spaces around the city.

Right in the middle, in Champaign, Illinois, volunteers are working to make the city greener with a focus on recycling and litter reduction.

And on the west coast, in Sacramento, California, almost 200 volunteers picked up over 20,000 pounds of trash.

These are the kinds of inspiring environmental volunteer stories you’ll find on this blog and in my eBook, Being Where You Are: How Environmental Volunteers Impact Their Community and the Planet Every Day. Available at the following links.

iTunes

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Kobo Books

BeingFinal

 

 

bird monitoring, birds of prey, environmental volunteers, Robert Barossi, Uncategorized

Volunteers and Birds of Prey

Leave a comment

P1000369(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

Two fantastic volunteers stories this morning, both detailing how volunteers are playing an essential role in monitoring and protecting birds of prey.

The first story comes from the east coast, where volunteers in Delaware are counting hawks. Over the fall months, volunteers will take place in a “Hawk Watch,” where they will spend time at monitoring stations, watching and recording the many hawks who fly by as they migrate south. The volunteers have, over the years, observed 18 different hawk species and have collected data which helps local experts “better understand the timing, movement and behavior of these birds as they pass over Delaware,” according to the article.

Three thousand miles away, on the west coast, volunteers in this second story are doing a similar kind of work for another important bird species. As this story from the San Fransisco area details, volunteers are an integral part in the ongoing recovery of the California condor. The volunteers take part in many tracking and monitoring activities related to these birds who have made a comeback but still need more of our help to continue thriving. That help will come largely from environmental volunteers and their efforts.

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

iTunes

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Kobo Book

BeingFinal
California, citizen science, environmental volunteers, roadkill

Can Volunteers Reduce Roadkill?

Leave a comment

Digital Camera(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

Not long ago, I posted a story about volunteers helping toads make it across a busy road, in an effort to prevent the toads from being killed during the crossing. This morning, a similar story out of California, where volunteers are helping to create an enormous database of roadkill sites. According to the article, the California Roadkill Observation System is the largest database of its kind in the country. By collecting this data about where roadkill incidents are happening, these citizen scientists are helping both wildlife advocates and highway  planners. With this information, there will hopefully be more attention paid to where and how animals migrate, where the highways are already causing major problems and how future highways and animal crossings can be designed to reduce wildlife deaths.

For more environmental volunteer stories, download my eBook: Being Where You Are: How Environmental Volunteers Impact Their Community and the Planet Every Day

iTunes

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

BeingFinal

Arcata Community Forest, California, environmental volunteers, redwoods, Robert Barossi, trail building

Volunteers Building Trails

1 Comment

P1000061

(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

This story isn’t so much about one particular volunteer or group of volunteers. Instead, it highlights one of the most important activities that environmental volunteers take part in: trail building. The focus here is on a redwood forest near the city of Arcata in northern California, tucked in along the coast and not far from the redwood-filled national forests that dot the landscape of that part of  The Golden State. Volunteers are playing an essential and vital role in the building and maintenance of trails in the Arcata Community Forest as well a newly designated community forest, the McKay Community Forest, which is in nearby Eureka. In that new community forest, volunteers will be helping to build new trials, with a planned opening for public use some time early this year. Here in the frozen northeast, volunteers will be just as busy, as the snow and ice begin to thaw and they head back out into the local forests to repair and maintain our area’s trails. It’s the same kind of dedicated work performed by environmental volunteers year round, around the globe.

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

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

iTunes

BeingFinal

California, Coastal Habitat Education and Environmental Restoration, river cleanup, Robert Barossi

No Drought for Volunteers

Leave a comment

P1000133(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

Cleaning up waterways is one of the most important and most frequent tasks performed by environmental volunteers. Wherever there’s a lake, river, pond or shoreline, there is likely going to be trash and debris strewn about. And it’s often volunteers who pick up all that stuff, often working with a local environmental organization that plans and executes cleanup efforts. This story out of California deals with a river cleanup but has a bit of a unique twist. Because of the severe, prolonged drought in that state, some rivers have dried up to the point where there is very little to no water left. This has given volunteers, like the ones in this story, the opportunity to get to the bottom of the river, to places they wouldn’t be able to reach if it was filled with water. Led by the organization known as Coastal Habitat Education and Environmental Restoration, these volunteers cleared out “five boats, two pickup trucks, two cars, an outboard motor, more than 1,000 tires and tons of trash.” As the article also points out, perhaps this is one small silver lining to be found in the drought. If these rivers ever get back to their full volume again, they will be a lot cleaner and have a lot less debris, thanks in part to the work of volunteers.

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

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

iTunes

BeingFinal

California, environmental volunteers, Robert Barossi, San Gabriel Mountains, Station Fire

Volunteers Help Land Recover After Wildfires

Leave a comment

Up a Tree(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

According to the USDA, the Station Fire in August of 2009 was, “the largest fire in Los Angeles County’s recorded history, burning a total of 161,189 acres – or nearly 252 square miles.” All these years later, the recovery effort is still ongoing and volunteers are right in the middle of it. This story out of the San Gabriel Mountains focuses on the important work volunteers are doing around the area of Big Tujunga Creek and Canyon. One of the major ramifications of the wildfire was that it opened the door for a takeover by invasive species. These invaders have moved in and caused serious problems, including the fact that they drain so much precious water from the land. One major aspect of the volunteers’ work is the removal of these water-draining invasive species, a much-needed effort  when California is dealing with severe drought.  Volunteers are also rebuilding or moving trails that were damaged in the fire and collecting acorns which will be grown into trees and replanted in the area to replace some of those which were lost in the fire. As the climate changes, wildfires may become more frequent and more destructive. If that happens, this kind of volunteer work may unfortunately become more and more necessary and common.

Click here for more information on Big Tujunga and its importance to the Los Angeles area.

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

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

iTunes

BeingFinal

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

Hall of Fame Volunteers

Leave a comment

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.