Volunteering, an act of service, is a powerful action to enhance feelings of connection and fulfillment. While prioritizing environmental health this month, consider how volunteering in your community could bolster this area of your well-being.
Opportunities
There are many options to volunteer in your local environment, especially outdoors! For example, projects like:
- Clean Up
- Conservation
- Beautification (painting, planting flowers, etc.)
- Community Gardens (some community produce gardens share with local food banks, too!)
- Parks, Nature Centers (from trail preservation to leading education sessions)
Opportunities like these make an immediate impact or improve the area around you. So, while you’re passing through your community, you can appreciate it’s beauty. Be sure to pause and take pride in a place that you have made safer, more accessible, or more beautiful for others to enjoy as well.
Consider searching online for “outdoor volunteer opportunities”, “parks/community garden volunteer” in your county or city, or ask around! Volunteers are always needed, and opportunities change with the seasons.
The Return
We know the benefits of volunteering and helping others. It fills your heart and gives you a sense of purpose and connection. And, if you’re able to take that volunteer opportunity to improve the physical environment, even better! Signing up to volunteer is a fun way to try new activities or explore new places. It creates accountability. It’s an opportunity to connect with others who have similar interests and live within your community.
If you are able to get outside on a volunteer opportunity, you reap the benefits of nature. You boost your vitamin D, lower blood pressure, and improve mood and feelings of well-being. In essence, you are serving the outside environment, while enriching your own internal environment.
Written by: Stephanie Anklan, Registered Dietitian
