Making Volunteer Labor Worth the Effort
As many of you know firsthand, using volunteers to help out-either with a specific project or with ongoing work-can be rewarding for both sides. Beyond providing labor that you might not otherwise be able to afford, it offers a chance to connect with the community and educate the public, something that’s particularly important for many NPDES Phase II programs.
There are downsides to using volunteers, too, though. It takes a lot of time and effort to organize them and teach them what needs to be done. Volunteers come from all over: school groups from grade school to college level, scout troops, senior citizens’ groups, members of homeowners associations, and individuals who have time and inclination to volunteer either on a regular basis or just on the occasional weekend. Some start enthusiastically but aren’t committed for the long haul, and you can’t always count on them having the specific skills you need to best serve your project or program.
The easiest scenarios in which to use volunteers are perhaps those involving discrete tasks that can be explained to a large group all at once-for example, how to plant a particular species of tree in a given area, or how to apply “No Dumping-Drains to River” markers on local storm drains. The people or groups who show up to work on the weekend you’re planting trees might be one-time volunteers, but you can demonstrate what to do to everyone at once and then supervise them as they do it.
The best case, of course, is when both sides get something from the effort-you get much-needed help with a project at little or no cost, and your volunteers learn something they didn’t know before about tree planting or water sampling or preventing erosion.
Many organizations around the country have effective volunteer programs, and the number will certainly grow as budgets shrink. The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, in conjunction with other organizations, trains “urban eco-stewards” to do what it terms “low-tech” erosion control work, such as placing logs to stabilize slopes and planting native trees. Once trained, the eco-stewards come back for project after project. Some of them are college students who also receive credit for the work they do. The Los Angeles, CA, stormwater program has a highly organized volunteer program, LA Team Effort, for which individuals and groups can find out online about upcoming events-trash cleanups, educational presentations, tree-pruning sessions, you name it-and choose those that fit with their schedule and interests.
Then there are the countless groups dedicated to protecting and preserving a specific natural area or body of water; they are often known as the “Friends of the (fill in the name of a lake, river, or nature preserve),” and they can be very effective, particularly at drawing attention to problems and bringing political pressure to bear to help solve them. These groups often have members who are committed for long periods of time and can take on more complex duties; in Virginia, for example, members of the Lake Iroquois Association regularly gather algae samples from the lake and deliver them to labs for testing, among other jobs.
Have you used volunteers on any of your projects? What were the particular challenges, and do you have plans to create more volunteer opportunities? We’d like to feature some of your stories: you can send them to me at [email protected], or leave a comment below.
Janice Kaspersen
Janice Kaspersen is the former editor of Erosion Control and Stormwater magazines.