‘Doing Something Positive’: Volunteers’ Experiences of the Well-Being Benefits Derived from Practical Conservation Activities in Nature

Abstract

There is a strong tradition in Britain of volunteering involving a wide range of activities and organisations. Increasingly volunteering is seen as a way of benefiting health and building sustainable communities. In a study in 2007 we aimed to address the research questions: what are the motivations for, barriers to, and benefits of formal practical environmental volunteering for those individuals involved? Qualitative and quantitative data collection was undertaken while spending a day each with ten volunteer groups as they undertook their practical conservation activities. In this paper we focus primarily on the physical, mental and social well-being benefits that volunteers derived from their activities. Our research involved 88 people volunteering regularly in a range of places from scenic natural landscapes to urban green spaces in northern England and southern Scotland. Respondents described a range of benefits they gained from their involvement including improved fitness, keeping alert, meeting others and reducing stress levels. We suggest that practical environmental volunteering has flexibility in the types of activity available and the time scale in which activities are undertaken and therefore can provide a range of physical, social and mental well-being benefits to people with very differing abilities and from different socio-economic backgrounds.Résumé la Grande-Bretagne bénéficie d'une forte tradition du bénévolat impliquant un large éventail d'activités et d'organisations. Le bénévolat est de plus en plus considéré comme un moyen de profiter à la santé et de créer des communautés durables. Dans une étude de 2007, nous avons cherché à répondre aux questions de recherche: quelles sont les motivations, les obstacles et les bénéfices de la pratique formelle du bénévolat environnemental pour les personnes concernées? Une collecte de données qualitatives et quantitatives a été effectuée au cours d'une journée passée avec dix groupes de bénévoles tandis qu'ils menaient leurs activités concrètes de conservation. Dans cette étude, nous mettons principalement en évidence les bienfaits du bien-être sur le plan physique, mental et social que les bénévoles retirent de leurs activités. Notre recherche a concerné 88 bénévoles réguliers dans différents lieux, allant des paysages naturels pittoresques aux espaces verts urbains, situés dans le nord de l'Angleterre et le sud de l'É cosse. Les personnes interrogées ont décrit divers bienfaits qu'elles retiraient de leur participation, notamment une meilleure condition physique, le maintien de la vigilance, les rencontres avec les autres personnes et la réduction des niveaux de stress. Nous avançons que la pratique du bénévolat environnemental permet une certaine flexibilité dans les types d'activités proposées et dans les délais pour réaliser les activités, et qu'elle peut donc apporter divers bienfaits en termes de bien-être sur le plan physique, mental et social pour des personnes aux compétences très différentes, issues de milieux socioéconomiques variées.Zusammenf...

Recruiting and Retaining Participants in Citizen Science: What Can Be Learned from the Volunteering Literature?

“…It is important to note that barriers to participating in projects can be real or perceived (Unell and Castle 2012). For example, O'Brien et al (2010) researched barriers to environmental volunteering and found time pressures to be one of the most important. Lack of time is an important perceived barrier for many people, who believe that volunteering requires more time than they have to give (Unell and Castle 2012), although it is possible to design tasks within projects which require only small time commitments.…”

“…O'Brien et al (2010) identify lack of information on opportunities for volunteering and a lack of understanding of what volunteering involves as key barriers to environmental volunteering. It is therefore vital to consider how potential participants will become aware of the opportunity.…”

“…From their study of environmental volunteering in the UK, O'Brien et al (2010) suggest several ways of motivating and rewarding people, including thanking people (verbally, or through newsletters, award schemes, and social events) and providing incentives such as long service badges or volunteer discount cards for stores or cafés. Some participants may appreciate being involved in decision making relating to the project or organisation.…”

“…As time constraints are often a barrier to participation (O'Brien et al 2010), this could include providing roles which require small amounts of time commitment. Figure 1 summarises the recommendations we have made throughout this paper based on the literature we have read.…”

Conserving biodiversity through Parks Canada’s volunteer programme

“…Numerous studies have examined park-based and conservation-oriented volunteer tourists (e.g., Cassie & Halpenny, 2003;Douglas & Rollins, 2007;Halpenny & Cassie, 2003;Measham & Barnett, 2008;O'Brien, Townsend, & Ebden, 2010;Ryan, Kaplan & Grese, 2001;Savanick Guiney & Oberhauser, 2009;Wearing & Neil, 2001). …”