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There are opportunities both locally and nationally to do voluntary work protecting the environment. These include one-off activities as well as regular commitments. There is a national database of volunteering opportunities which includes the category 'environment' at www.do-it.org.
Campaigning organisations regularly use volunteers. Sustrans recruits volunteer rangers to monitor sections of the National Cycle Network for potholes and other hazards. Friends of the Earth and the Women's Environmental Network use office volunteers for administrative work and campaign research.
Many towns and cities have volunteer-staffed charity shops which support re-use and recycling by selling second-hand goods. Green Dragon sell used books to fund conservation projects where volunteers plant trees and restore hedgerows: www.greendragon
woods.org.uk.
woods.org.uk.
You can combine holidays with environmental action. The British Trust for Conservation Volunteers and ResponsibleTravel.com organise working holidays on conservation projects, although transport to distant eco-tourist destinations leaves large carbon footprints.
Community Service Volunteers support short-term Action Earth projects each year, providing grants to groups running volunteer-based environmental activities. Volunteers can join their year-round environmental projects in Birmingham and Bristol.
Many housing estates have gardening clubs which enable resident volunteers to transform neglected areas of their estates into green spaces, attracting wildlife. But voluntary work on your estate should not be at the expense of demanding that the council meets its environmental obligations.
