What about Community Service? Environmental Concerns

Today we will look at some of the volunteer opportunities that are available for home schooled kids and teens that involve the environment or animal well being. Here is a sample of available opportunities near our home. No doubt there are many near your home as well.

• Help clear, maintain and renovate trails in a 1200 acre county park - used by hikers, equestrians and bicyclers
• Volunteers needed to work with Master Gardeners and people with disabilities to maintain gardens. Willingness to get dirty and have fun.
• Work with staff from Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center or Pyramid Mountain on programs and events, leading hikes or operating the visitors centers.
• Volunteers will be trained on how to assist marine mammals that have become beached. Individuals will learn basic skills to assist the staff of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center.
• We are desperately seeking foster homes for Beagles coming into our rescue program.
• Help the environment in your community. Typical tasks include: sprucing up flower and shrub beds, clearing fence lines, painting benches and litter cans, removing non-native weeds.
• Help the environment by documenting and removing debris from the shores of your favorite ocean, river, estuary, sound, lake, pond, or stream.

The website below has a variety of different choices of things to do with the unique hook of three time frames: how to make a difference in 15 minutes, a couple of hours, or on a volunteer vacation. Obviously, a lot of these would not qualify as community service, but you can use these ideas to brainstorm your own family project.