Going Green @ Your Library

Explores ways public libraries can contribute to a sustainable environment.

Environmental Literacy and Green Volunteer Opportunities for your Community

An article by Kathryn Miller

A new role for the public library is educating users in environmental literacy.  Environmental literacy is a part of information literacy - it is the ability to recognize that one's choices impact the environment; to identify the most sustainable solution a problem; and to be able to act in the most environmentally friendly way on that solution.  Public libraries have the opportunity to inform their communities in environmental literacy by example, through education, and by providing access to information about going green. 

An easy first step in promoting environmental literacy at your library is to connect users with information on green volunteer opportunities.  A great start is  VolunteerMatch, which allows users to enter a zip code and keywords to find nearby organizations in need of volunteers.   A quick search in VolunteerMatch introduced me to the Nicodemus Wilderness Project, a nonprofit group that aims to educate future conservation leaders.  This particular green project could fit in with the Young Adult initiatives in a public library.  The website offers a wide range of prospects that will suit a variety of interests and ability levels: ice watch volunteers, river clean-up helpers and gardening instructors are all examples of volunteer opportunities found here.  Also, VolunteerMatch is working with the California State Library to promote skilled volunteerism in California libraries. The program Get Involved: Powered by Your Library, is a library initiative that all public libraries should be aware of.       

A second website that matches people with green volunteer opportunities is The Nature Conservancy. This organization protects ecologically important lands and waters by connecting volunteers with opportunities to make a difference on issues that affect their own backyard.  Once such example is the Konza Environmental Education Program in Manhattan, Kansas where volunteer docents are needed to provide tours to school groups.

Another valuable website is  The Great Green List, which promotes itself with the slogan "If it's green it's here." Although the volunteer list is not searchable by zip code, it provides access to many great national and international green volunteer projects.  Organizations including Earth Resource Foundation, Eco Stewards and EarthCorps all list their volunteer opportunities on The Great Green List.

Another way to find volunteerism prospects through search engines.  A web search for "eco-volunteer opportunities" and your specific state, county, or city will connect you to local groups that are working to help the environment and who are looking for assistance.  I did this search for my home state, Florida, and found eco-Volunteer USA.  Eco-Volunteer USA has teamed with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to provide resources for volunteers to make a difference in Florida's natural environment.  The many volunteer efforts listed in eco-Volunteer each aim to provide interested participants with the ability to leave a lasting contributing to Florida's environment.

Library users who may not have the time to volunteer with an agency or group can still help the environment on their own schedule.  Deborah Mitchell, a senior editor for Charity Guide, lists several ways that an individual can make an environmental difference in just 15 or 30 minutes.  Mitchell's clever list covers green choices ranging from coffee to light bulbs, and serves as a good guide to help public library users understand their individual impact on the environment.  

Your library may also be able to connect your community with volunteer travel opportunities.  

Ecovolunteer organizes trips where participants are able to work on projects that will help conserve nature and its inhabitants.  At Ecovolunteer's website you choose your destination (in the USA or abroad) or an animal species you would like to work with and then are matched with an appropriate volunteer project.  One example of an Ecovolunteer project is a two week expedition with a team of marine biologists who study Minke whales in Canada. According to the website, the information and data you help collect on a volunteer trip will help advance Minke whale conservation efforts.

Projects Abroad is an organization that matches applicants with environmental conservation projects in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.  Participants can select from rain forest conservation projects to eco-development projects on the Projects Abroad website.  One very intriguing Project Abroad project is working in India to help grow trees and plants and promoting environmental conservation in South Indian villages and schools.

In 2010, Disney World is providing an incentive to volunteer: one day free admission to a theme park at Disneyland Resort in California or World Disney World Resort in Florida.  By visiting http://www.disneyparks.com  users can search for volunteer opportunities through the HandsOn Network and sign up for a day of volunteer service.   The HandsOn Network organizes volunteer opportunities by state and by impact area, one of which is  "Animals and Environment."  A zip code search provides volunteer opportunities near your public library.  Next time I visit my parents in Chicago I'll plan to volunteer for a day at The Grove  in Glenview, Illinois, where I can volunteer helping the city's restoration team work on the land, and also earn a free day at Disney.

Environmental literacy is an important role for the public library; it is the library's opportunity to help educate our community about the environment.  Encouraging your library community to volunteer to work with green projects will provide library users a hands-on view of human's impact on the Earth and how one's personal decisions directly influence the Earth's future.  As a public library, we have the presence to connect interested persons with volunteer opportunities that can foster lifelong commitments to green endeavors and have a profound impact on our planet's future.