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How to help our planet through volunteering

Images of whales being found with 40kg of plastic in their stomach, emaciated polar bears, rainforest destruction, drought ravaged farms and fish kills can leave us all feeling overwhelmed at the state of planet Earth.

How to help our planet through volunteering

Many are further frustrated by the apparent collective failure of governments around the world to respond to the warning signs that we just might be on the precipice of catastrophic global warming.

However, the biggest danger to the environment is thinking that other people will fix it. Rather than waiting for others to ‘fix it’, why not roll up your sleeves and get to work doing your bit to make a difference to our environment?

Every moment spent volunteering for a cause to better the planet is one small step to radical positive change. Here are some ways you can make your mark…

Volunteer for animal care and rehabilitation

Organisations such as Friends of the Koala and Pets for Life Animal Shelter work towards rescuing, rehabilitating and caring for animals (either wild or domestic) with the goal of returning them healthy, back to their natural habitat or to new, caring homes.

Your work in these environments might be as a rescuer, but also could involve maintaining the shelters, feeding the animals and learning how to lower their stress levels.

Volunteer for the plight of specific endangered animal species

Join a project specifically aimed at the conservation of a particular species, where you might work on habitat restoration or gathering data on breeding patterns.

If you are concerned about the plight of a critically endangered species like the orangutan, join The Orangutan Project as an Australian based volunteer where you might be asked to organise fundraiser drives on their behalf or raise awareness of the cause by visiting local primary schools.

Volunteer for river, coastal or bushland regeneration

Another popular way to do your bit to green the planet is with an organisation such as Conservation Volunteers Australia. This sort of work takes you out into the natural environment to prevent sand dune degradation, or to collect litter and associated data to help develop preventative action against pollution in the future. Volunteer for environmental causes from your desk