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Identifying the motivations of environmental volunteers

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  • Brett Bruyere
  • Silas Rappe

Abstract

The natural environment benefits greatly from the work of volunteers. However, little is known as to why people are willing to volunteer their time to such programs. The study participants were 401 volunteers from six natural resource organizations. The study identified and assessed motivations of volunteers within the conservation and natural resources arena. The results suggest that there are many volunteer motivations, although 'helping the environment' clearly emerged as most important. Second-tier motivations included 'improving areas that volunteers use for their own recreation', 'expressing their values', 'learning about the natural environment' and 'socializing with people with similar interests'. Managers need to consider these motivations, developing programs in order to provide volunteers with an experience that meets their motivations. By developing programs with volunteer motivations in mind, managers will better be able to recruit and retain volunteers within their organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • Brett Bruyere & Silas Rappe, 2007. "Identifying the motivations of environmental volunteers," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(4), pages 503-516.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jenpmg:v:50:y:2007:i:4:p:503-516
    DOI: 10.1080/09640560701402034
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    Cited by:

    1. Kuckertz, Andreas & Wagner, Marcus, 2010. "The influence of sustainability orientation on entrepreneurial intentions -- Investigating the role of business experience," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 524-539, September.
    2. Tomazos, Kostas & Butler, Richard, 2012. "Volunteer tourists in the field: A question of balance?," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 177-187.
    3. Lyhne, Ivar & Aaen, Sara Bjørn & Nielsen, Helle & Kørnøv, Lone & Larsen, Sanne Vammen, 2018. "Citizens’ self-mobilization, motivational factors, and the group of most engaged citizens: The case of a radioactive waste repository in Denmark," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 433-442.
    4. Sari F. Madsen & Flemming Ekelund & Niels Strange & Jesper Sølver Schou, 2021. "Motivations of Volunteers in Danish Grazing Organizations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-14, July.
    5. Brites, Alice Dantas & Morsello, Carla, 2018. "Effects of Economic Dependence and Cooperative Behavior Over Participation in Monitoring the Impacts of Natural Resource Trade," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 365-372.
    6. Mel Galbraith & Barbara Bollard-Breen & David R. Towns, 2016. "The Community-Conservation Conundrum: Is Citizen Science the Answer?," Land, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-16, October.
    7. Kekezi, Ana, 2018. "Government’s deficiency of communication and the impact on stakeholder’s (Case of yellow waste WtE in Albania)," MPRA Paper 120250, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Kim, Chung Hee & Amaeshi, Kenneth & Harris, Simon & Suh, Chang-Jin, 2013. "CSR and the national institutional context: The case of South Korea," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(12), pages 2581-2591.
    9. Paul R Armsworth & Lisette Cantú-Salazar & Mark Parnell & Josephine E Booth & Rob Stoneman & Zoe G Davies, 2013. "Opportunities for Cost-Sharing in Conservation: Variation in Volunteering Effort across Protected Areas," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(1), pages 1-7, January.
    10. Hossein Vahidi & Mohammad Taleai & Wanglin Yan & Rajib Shaw, 2021. "Digital Citizen Science for Responding to COVID-19 Crisis: Experiences from Iran," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-34, September.
    11. Angelina Ilievska & Naum Ilievski, 2020. "Priming Matrix - Collective Nonconscious Programming," European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 5, ejms_v5_i.
    12. Lo, Ada S. & Lee, Candy Y.S., 2011. "Motivations and perceived value of volunteer tourists from Hong Kong," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 326-334.
    13. Valentine Seymour & Mike King & Roberta Antonaci, 2020. "Exploring those characteristics which may help to foster and support people’s social-ecological resilience: an environmental volunteering case study," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 10(4), pages 438-456, December.
    14. Natalia I. Gorlovа & Zulfiya A. Troska & Larisa I. Starovojtova & Tatiana E. Demidova & Anna G. Akhtyan & Aleksandra S. Shcheglova, 2019. "Restoration Volunteering as a Social Phenomenon of Modern History," Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Richtmann Publishing Ltd, vol. 8, July.
    15. Silvia Puiu & Mihaela Tinca Udriștioiu, 2023. "Environmental Volunteering Projects Management: A Multivariate Analysis of Volunteers’ Perspective on the Knowledge and Skills Gained, Their Involvement in Community Life and the Role of Environmental," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-15, July.
    16. Shehnaz Tehseen & Syed Arslan Haider, 2021. "Impact of Universities’ Partnerships on Students’ Sustainable Entrepreneurship Intentions: A Comparative Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, April.
    17. Kyle M. Woosnam & Marianna Strzelecka & Gwendelyn S. Nisbett & Samuel J. Keith, 2019. "Examining Millennials’ Global Citizenship Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions to Engage in Environmental Volunteering," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-18, April.
    18. Joanna Sanecka & Stephan Barthel & Johan Colding, 2020. "Countryside within the City: A Motivating Vision behind Civic Green Area Stewardship in Warsaw, Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-16, March.
    19. Bahadur Ali Soomro & Ikhtiar Ali Ghumro & Naimatullah Shah, 2020. "Green entrepreneurship inclination among the younger generation: An avenue towards a green economy," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(4), pages 585-594, July.
    20. Pan, Tze-Jen, 2012. "Motivations of volunteer overseas and what have we learned – The experience of Taiwanese students," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1493-1501.
    21. Chen Ding & Michael A. Schuett, 2020. "Predicting the Commitment of Volunteers’ Environmental Stewardship: Does Generativity Play a Role?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-18, August.
    22. Marisa R. Ferreira & Teresa Proença & João F. Proença, 2011. "An Empirical Analysis about Motivations among Hospital Volunteers," FEP Working Papers 418, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.

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