Environmental volunteering
Wilson and Musick (1999: 141) defined a volunteer as, “someone who contributes time to helping others with no expectation of pay or other material benefit to herself. Van Til (1988: 6) defined volunteering as a, “helping activity that is engaged in not primarily for financial gain and not by coercion or mandate”. Non-profit and voluntary organisations are often referred to as the “third sector” in society, in relation to the private and public sectors (Salamon and Anheier 1997: 2). Baines and Hardil (2008: 307-308) discuss how the importance of volunteering to UK society is widely acknowledged, and how it has historically been based on two traditions of behaviour: philanthropy and mutual aid. Stebbins (1996: 213) …show more content…
Altruistic volunteering, is where the volunteer participates in the volunteering activity for the benefit of others, while self-interested, or egoistical, volunteering is for the benefit of the volunteer. Volunteering therefore covers a broad range of activities that can be undertaken for a variety of activities, but share the principles of providing an uncoerced service without the expectation of material or financial gain or profit. Environmental volunteering can be defined as, “a non-activist form of pro-environmental behaviour”, that allows those who participate in environmental volunteering to, “participate in civic actions with ecological implications” (McDougle, Greenspan and Handy 2011: 327). They also discuss the unique character of environmental volunteering, in that the results or benefits of environmental volunteering activities, such as habitat restoration, can take much longer to become visible than other types of volunteer activities (ibid). In summary, environmental volunteers are individuals who participate in some form of volunteer activity that is based on providing a positive …show more content…
They describe how motivations behind environmental volunteering can be connected to four broad themes prevalent in the general volunteering literature: contributing to the community; social contact; personal development; and pursuing personal interest (ibid: 540). They then propose six motivational factors that specifically relate to environmental volunteering: contributing to the community; social interaction; personal development; learning about the environment; a general ethic of care for the environment; and an attachment to a particular place (ibid). The study consisted of interviews, followed by focus groups, with members from both research sites (ibid: 544). The key motivation that was identified was a general ethic of care for the environment which was identified by all participants in both sites (ibid: 545). Attachment to place was also identified by all participants in the Bass Coast group, and by half of the participants in the Sydney group (ibid). Contributing to the community was also highly identified by both groups, while social interaction was only rated highly in the Bass Coast group
Wilson and Musick (1999: 141) defined a volunteer as, “someone who contributes time to helping others with no expectation of pay or other material benefit to herself. Van Til (1988: 6) defined volunteering as a, “helping activity that is engaged in not primarily for financial gain and not by coercion or mandate”. Non-profit and voluntary organisations are often referred to as the “third sector” in society, in relation to the private and public sectors (Salamon and Anheier 1997: 2). Baines and Hardil (2008: 307-308) discuss how the importance of volunteering to UK society is widely acknowledged, and how it has historically been based on two traditions of behaviour: philanthropy and mutual aid. Stebbins (1996: 213) …show more content…
Altruistic volunteering, is where the volunteer participates in the volunteering activity for the benefit of others, while self-interested, or egoistical, volunteering is for the benefit of the volunteer. Volunteering therefore covers a broad range of activities that can be undertaken for a variety of activities, but share the principles of providing an uncoerced service without the expectation of material or financial gain or profit. Environmental volunteering can be defined as, “a non-activist form of pro-environmental behaviour”, that allows those who participate in environmental volunteering to, “participate in civic actions with ecological implications” (McDougle, Greenspan and Handy 2011: 327). They also discuss the unique character of environmental volunteering, in that the results or benefits of environmental volunteering activities, such as habitat restoration, can take much longer to become visible than other types of volunteer activities (ibid). In summary, environmental volunteers are individuals who participate in some form of volunteer activity that is based on providing a positive …show more content…
They describe how motivations behind environmental volunteering can be connected to four broad themes prevalent in the general volunteering literature: contributing to the community; social contact; personal development; and pursuing personal interest (ibid: 540). They then propose six motivational factors that specifically relate to environmental volunteering: contributing to the community; social interaction; personal development; learning about the environment; a general ethic of care for the environment; and an attachment to a particular place (ibid). The study consisted of interviews, followed by focus groups, with members from both research sites (ibid: 544). The key motivation that was identified was a general ethic of care for the environment which was identified by all participants in both sites (ibid: 545). Attachment to place was also identified by all participants in the Bass Coast group, and by half of the participants in the Sydney group (ibid). Contributing to the community was also highly identified by both groups, while social interaction was only rated highly in the Bass Coast group