Greater Sydney Landcare

Measuring Environmental Impact to Foster Ongoing Partnerships

By tracking and sharing impact, Landcare groups can build stronger relationships with corporate volunteers and encourage ongoing engagement.

Self sustenance - LEP23_015_LLC_9

The issue

Many corporate volunteering opportunities are delivered as one-off events. While these activities provide valuable support to Landcare groups, through on-ground works. They don't always create a lasting connection between volunteers and the environment. Without understanding the longer-term outcomes of their efforts, participants may not see the significance of their contribution, reducing opportunities for ongoing engagement and stewardship.

For Landcare groups, this can also mean repeatedly investing time and resources into recruiting and hosting new volunteer groups rather than building long-term relationships with existing partners.

The solution

Greater Sydney Landcare has focused on measuring and communicating the impact of corporate volunteering activities to foster stronger connections between volunteers, sites, and local environmental outcomes. 

This includes:

  • Capturing baseline and follow-up photos to demonstrate site changes over time.
  • Recording measurable outcomes such as amount of weeds removed, native plants established, area worked, and volunteer hours contributed.
  • Sharing impact reports and project updates with participating organisations.
  • Inviting corporate groups to return to sites and witness the results of previous activities.
  • Developing ongoing partnerships that connect volunteers with a site's restoration journey rather than a single event.

By demonstrating tangible outcomes and telling the story of environmental recovery, volunteers gain a deeper understanding of their contribution and the role they can play in long-term conservation efforts. Data has been collected through the use of Arc GIS. 

The impact

Measuring and communicating impact has helped transform volunteering from a one-day activity into an ongoing stewardship opportunity.

Corporate partners are more likely to:

  • Return to the same sites for future volunteer activities. We have 10 companies who have volunteered annually for the last 3 years.
  • Develop a stronger connection to local environmental issues. We have had groups approach us with local issues they want to help address.
  • Advocate for environmental initiatives within their organisations.
  • Invest additional time, resources, or funding into restoration projects.

For Landcare groups, these ongoing relationships provide more consistent support, increased volunteer participation, and greater certainty when planning long-term restoration projects. By helping volunteers see the lasting results of their efforts, corporate volunteering becomes a pathway to stewardship, creating benefits for both the environment and the communities working to protect it.

This approach is also broad enough that you can easily add a real example from one of your corporate partners without needing the whole case study to focus on a single site.

Author: Sabina Roe

Key facts

  • Impact measurement helps volunteers understand the difference their contribution makes.
  • Before-and-after photos, volunteer hours, and environmental outcomes provide tangible evidence of success.
  • Sharing impact with corporate partners strengthens relationships and encourages repeat participation.
  • Returning volunteers develop a deeper connection to local environmental issues and restoration projects.
  • Long-term stewardship delivers greater value for both Landcare groups and corporate partners than one-off volunteer events.