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Volunteerism In Environmental Education - Malathi Raghavan Malathi Raghavan is doing her Ph.D. in Veterinary Epidemiology. She decided that Epidemiology would be the field that would use, incorporate, and validate her formal academic pursuits, Veterinary Medicine and Conservation, and also her varied other interests, such as social issues, human-animal interactions, and communication.

America is a land of contradictions, and I am probably not the first person you have heard this sentiment from. So let me elaborate on that sentence and put it in context of this editorial today, which is about the contribution of environmental educators in this highly industrialized nation, and about their missions, roles, and accomplishments amidst all this resource-consumption.

Since I wrote a thesis on environmental education for my master's program, I have more than a passing interest in environmental education projects and initiatives. I often hear about or meet with individuals from diverse backgrounds who take an inter-disciplinary approach to environmental awareness. I hear about schoolteachers attending summer workshops at the Audubon Society where they learn how to incorporate ecological and environmental principles in their regular class curriculum. I hear about children attending summer 4-H camps. I hear about hunters attending a public hearing by New Hampshire Fish & Game department on the effects of increased deer and moose population. In other words, to me it appears that here is a nation, or at least a part of a nation, that is attempting to move toward the path of inquiry and retrace currently prevalent value systems and consumption patterns.

Now it may be argued by some that this attempt to "begin to set things right" is a hypocritical, belated, dip-in-the-ocean effort by a section of the American society. And perhaps it is so. Yet I prefer to see all this activity as a belated blessing and salvation. American households do not have to recycle, but nevertheless some do, despite the absence of material reward for the extra-effort. In other parts of the world, families diligently recycle clothes, bottles, and paper, among other things because the monetary returns and savings are pretty substantial even to a middle-class family budget. In contrast, there are parts of America where one has to pay for recycling service, and curiously enough, people buy this opportunity to recycle! Now, if that's not sincere dedication, then what is?

During my visits to numerous environmental education centers for research purposes, I met with hundreds of volunteers who donated their time and efforts and were a substantial part of their centers' activities. They considered the concept of volunteerism in environmental education as meaningful not only to the society but also to their own lives. The organizations that benefited from the volunteers' input were mostly non-profit; more often than not, they lacked the resources to hire full-time employees. The attraction of volunteerism in environmental education probably lies in the fact that a person holding a career-path that is compatible with one's education, training, interests, and economic requirements, can have the opportunity to learn, share, and help others understand ecological principles and environmental issues in his or her spare time alone.

However, volunteerism in environmental education gets little recognition outside of the environmental field. Environmental volunteers and specifically environmental volunteer-educators are fewer in numbers than volunteers in other sectors probably due to the relative youth of the environmental movement. As yet, there are no comprehensive books on volunteerism in environmental education despite the fact that numerous environmental education centers, wildlife rehabilitation centers and natural resources departments are benefiting from the services of volunteer-educators. Literature and research on volunteerism talk about volunteers in social service, health sector, religion, and youth development primarily, but pay little attention to volunteers in environmental education. Thus, volunteerism in environmental education remains young, unexplored and very much in need of recognition.

As part of my research, I conducted an in-depth study on a particular volunteer group, 'The Marine Docents Program.' I mailed out surveys, observed the group's training programs, sat in on their educational outreach endeavors, and interviewed some of the volunteers to get their perspectives, all in a quest to understand the mechanisms of the program. Briefly, here are some of the things I learnt about them: 'A docent is a person with an inquisitive mind who is interested in helping others understand and appreciate the beauties of nature' says their handbook, which is provided to all incoming docents. These docents come from all walks of life and all levels of experience and they do not necessarily have a science or marine-related background. There are about 90-100 active docents each year and they reach an audience of about 20,000 people with their educational programs annually. A new incoming docent goes through a 5-month training period (meeting once or twice a week). In the year 1997, about 30% of the docents had remained in the program for about 5 years and another 20% had been active for 10 or more years, showing that a 5-month training period invested by a volunteer-coordinator could pay off in substantial ways. An average of 6-9 hours of educational outreach in a month is contributed by each active docent. When asked what was rewarding about being a docent, about 95% said that it was the learning experience and the opportunity to gain knowledge. Social interaction was also quoted as a benefit to volunteering, among other reasons. It is interesting to note that about two-thirds of the docents were in the age group of 60-80 years. It is equally interesting to note that two-thirds of the docents were females.

Now, what did I have in mind when I decided on this topic for the editorial? The hope that this editorial will be instrumental in enhancing the pride that Americans have in their unique and valuable human resource-volunteers, and especially those in the field of environmental education. I also hope that it will inspire a few vision-oriented people in other nations where the volunteer sector has not yet realized its maximum potential, thus encouraging them to plan and take up under-funded programs to accomplish certain noble goals.

Let me take the liberty of ending with the words of a volunteer coordinator, who had this to say to me, "Education for environmental literacy is an imperative worldwide for a sustainable human relationship with our earth. And volunteerism in environmental education in schools is a proven success in working around budgetary constraints and lack of teacher training (or resistance to it). By integrating the curriculum and working with all modes of learning environmental education is a powerful force for good education. And the kids love it! This is what their world is all about. It validates their curiosity and their interests." So what else are we waiting for?

Until we connect again....

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