Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
• Support growth and development—building the skills and knowledge of volun-
teers to ensure that their on-ground impact is maximized and that they are able
to operate
• Provide recognition—initiatives including awards programs, field days and ap-
propriate acknowledgment of volunteer effort, particularly from government
and the broader community, provide considerable motivation for groups, many
of whom are quite isolated
• Ensure long-term viability—assist in succession planning and financial man-
agement; broker partnerships with private sector; target recruitment of new
groups, including youth, indigenous participants, and those ethnic groups not
traditionally associated with volunteering
• Manage safety and minimize risk—occupational safety training to ensure that
volunteers operate safely and know how to manage and minimize risks associ-
ated with coastal volunteering, which may include injury from machinery, ex-
posure to chemical herbicides, and falls in rugged coastal terrain
New Horizons for the Coastal Stewardship Movement
Since coastal volunteering emerged fifteen years ago, a number of factors have
shifted. As coastal populations grow, the human demographic both ages and diversi-
fies. This demographic change also includes a larger number of occasional or absen-
tee residents. Extractive industries, including fisheries and forestry, are in decline,
while tourism has increased. In the long term, these factors may lead to a decline in
the very detailed local knowledge that older volunteers possess. While protected area
and public land management improves, pressure on freehold coastal resources and
ecosystems steadily increases, resulting in more concentrated patterns of land use. A
trend of decentralized management has also seen communities charged with greater
responsibility over natural resource management, while capacity within government
for on-ground management and compliance is reduced.
It is also fair to say that our volunteers are better skilled due to the provision of ca-
pacity building, an increase in skilled volunteers, and practical experience gained dur-
ing the past decade or more. The volunteer skills base is probably broader now with
new skills including organizational development, strategy, and fund-raising entering
the pool. Volunteering now has a higher profile within the community as evidenced
by the uptake of volunteering days within corporate workplaces.
Increased knowledge and better skills can allow us to better develop strategic ap-
proaches to restoring and maintaining coastal ecosystems. Community groups are
now producing five-year strategic plans and visions that prioritize works, outline their
resourcing requirements and necessary partnerships, and identify sources of funding.
This may allow for a greater emphasis on restoration as opposed to maintenance roles.
Funding arrangements continue to change as well. Federal funding is increasingly
linked to intended integrated, landscape-level environmental outcomes, which pre-
sents challenges for groups acting locally and in isolation. Some community groups
may not always have the capacity to engage with the many players in an increasingly
