Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 2.1.
Components of a successful volunteer stewardship group.
Individual Volunteer Component
Interested and motivated individuals are the first component to the success of volun-
teer stewardship groups. Simply stated, volunteers are individuals who take part in an
activity that is not required of them and for which they will not be paid (Brown 2000).
Given this type of relationship, a good volunteer coordinator should recognize and
understand the volunteers' motives for participating in restoration and other steward-
ship projects, what it takes to recruit new volunteers, and, perhaps more important,
the keys for sustaining volunteer satisfaction and participation for the duration of the
restoration project (Geist and Galatowitsch 1999; Ryan, Kaplan, and Grese 2001).
Motives and Benefits
Volunteer stewardship groups are composed of people with a common vision and
common motives for joining and participating in volunteer stewardship programs, in-
cluding ecological restoration. The most common motive is a desire, even a sense of
responsibility, to heal, protect, and preserve the natural environment (Donald 1997;
Schroeder 2000; Ryan, Kaplan, and Grese 2001; Christie 2004). Volunteering in res-
toration projects is a way for people to reconnect with nature, to “share a bond of kin-
ship with their landscape” (Clewell and Aronson 2007). Other motives include a de-
sire to learn new things and learn about nature (Schroeder 2000; Ryan, Kaplan, and
Grese 2001; Gooch 2004), a desire for social interaction (Donald 1997; Schroeder
2000; Ryan, Kaplan, and Grese 2001), and a desire to realize personal benefits such as
spiritual renewal, happiness, peace of mind, and feeling connected to the land (Clary
and Snyder 1999; Grese et al. 2000; Schroeder 2000; Clewell and Aronson 2007).
Collective or shared motives within a community or culture may also draw volunteers
to participate in restoration projects (Clewell and Aronson 2007). For example, peo-
ple may have the desire to restore a local community park or preserve used for recre-
ation, or places with sacred or religious value—places where local residents feel a
shared sense of place or attachment to a landscape.
