Volunteers plant grasses to restore shoreline at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. Photo credit: NOAA Volunteers remove invasive algae in Waikiki, Hawaii. Photo credit: NOAA

Welcome to the Volunteerism section of the NOAA Restoration Portal! This site provides resources and links for, and about, volunteers and volunteerism.

Why is volunteerism an important section in this Portal? Volunteers are critical to the success of many ecological restoration activities. Volunteers provide the human capital that we, as a global community, need to effect positive changes in the environment.

On-the-ground habitat restoration is labor-intensive. It is fairly safe to say that no nonprofit organization or coalition of organizations could effectively carry out habitat restoration through paid labor alone. As a consequence, habitat restoration is growing at a local community level through the active participation of dedicated volunteers.

Volunteers also serve as conduits for environmental messages. Many hands-on habitat restoration activities involve education. Some argue that educating volunteers is "preaching to the choir." However, volunteers at habitat restoration events invariably bring with them friends or family members who are new to habitat restoration. These new participants then have the opportunity to learn and possibly become environmental advocates themselves!

Thank you for paying us a visit. We hope you find the information on this site to be useful. Please check in with us occasionally for updates and additions. If you have any recommendations for additional links or information, please contact us at HC.Webmaster@noaa.gov.

Volunteer Resources