Volunteering on vacation can be a way to connect with the land you are visiting. In between beach days and museum tours, consider signing up to help a local environmental organization. Spending a few hours pulling weeds or cleaning trails will show you a new side of your destination. Here are five free volunteer opportunities that put the planet first.
Help reforest Honokowai Valley with Maui Cultural Lands in Hawaii
In Maui, reforestation efforts are underway to boost native plants
The work done by Maui Cultural Lands is rooted in the Hawaiian values of aloha (deep love and compassion), malama (properly caring for something) and kuleana (to be responsible). This nonprofit is dedicated to the reforestation of the Honokowai Valley, and volunteers can help by weeding invasive species and planting native plants and trees in their place. Every Saturday morning, volunteers get down in the dirt and participate in Honokowai Valley maintenance projects.
Build trails with the Truckee Donner Land Trust in California
The Truckee Donner Land Trust builds and maintains trails near Lake Tahoe
The Truckee Donner Land Trust in California aims to protect "open space for nature, for people, forever," and you can be part of its efforts. Volunteers sign up to spend part of the day doing trail work, like removing brush and making repairs, with tools provided. Over the last three decades, the land trust has preserved more than 40,000 acres of open space in the Truckee Donner region near Lake Tahoe.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Pick up trash with Keep Bermuda Beautiful in Bermuda
Keep Bermuda Beautiful relies on volunteers for its monthly cleanups
Keep Bermuda Beautiful teaches people ways to reduce waste and organizes monthly trash cleanups across the island, blending action with education. Once a month, volunteers can sign up to pitch in at one of those cleanups, with Keep Bermuda Beautiful equipping everyone with trash and recycling bags, litter pickers and disposable gloves. The organization also assembles two major annual events: the Great Big Bermuda Clean-Up during Earth Week in April and the International Coastal Cleanup in November.
Monitor coral reefs with CoralWatch in Australia
Citizen scientists can help experts keep track of coral bleaching events
Multitaskers, this is your chance to shine. While snorkeling, scuba diving or reefwalking in Australia, you can also gather scientific data on coral bleaching and send it to CoralWatch, a citizen science program out of the University of Queensland. The organization sends volunteers charts that show the colors of bleached and healthy corals, with the swatches then compared to actual coral. The data is collected on a sheet and later submitted through CoralWatch's website. The process is as simple as it is helpful.
Clean up litter with Trash Hero in Southeast Asia and Europe
Trash Hero chapters remove thousands of pounds of trash every year
Trash Hero, an organization dedicated to eliminating plastic pollution, has more than 100 chapters across Southeast Asia and in Europe that regularly remove trash on beaches and streets. Volunteers just have to register in advance, and show up on the big day — the chapters take care of cleaning materials. Anyone can join the Trash Hero movement, which calls on people to waste as little as possible while reusing as much as they are able.
-
Homo Floresiensis: Earth’s real life ‘hobbits’Under the Radar New research suggests that ‘early human pioneers’ in Australia interbred with archaic species of hobbits at least 60,000 years ago
-
Homes by renowned architectsFeature Featuring a Leonard Willeke Tudor Revival in Detroit and modern John Storyk design in Woodstock
-
Looming drone ban has farmers and farm-state Republicans anxiousIN THE SPOTLIGHT As congressional China-hawks work to limit commercial drone sales from Beijing, a growing number of conservative lawmakers are sounding an agricultural alarm
-
May your loved ones eat, drink and be merry with these 9 edible Christmas giftsThe Week Recommends Let them eat babka (and cheese and licorice)
-
Step into a fairy tale at San Ysidro RanchThe Week Recommends This historic Californian hideaway is pure magic
-
10 concert tours to see this winterThe Week Recommends Keep cozy this winter with a series of concerts from big-name artists
-
6 gripping museum exhibitions to view this winterThe Week Recommends Discover the real Grandma Moses and Frida Kahlo
-
Pull over for these one-of-a-kind gas stationsThe Week Recommends Fill ’er up next to highland cows and a giant soda bottle
-
The 8 best sci-fi series of all timethe week recommends Imagining — and fearing — the future continues to give us compelling and thoughtful television
-
The 8 best action movies of the 21st centurythe week recommends Thrills come in many forms, from assassins and spies to regular people fighting for justice
-
6 optimal digital nomad destinations: Pack your laptop, your visa and a sense of adventureThe Week Recommends See the world — but do it in a conscientious manner
