Why planting trees feels so good.
Volunteers are coming from all over NSW to plant trees at our events & we wanted to know more about what motivated them to volunteer their time.
Community Participation - LEP23-035_MLLG-04
The issue
A great deal of time is taken up in organising & marketing events, many of which require the recruitment of volunteers for a spot of tough, manual labour.
Mid Lachlan Landcare is currently undertaking a volunteer-heavy project, planting habitat for the Glossy Black Cockatoo on 6 properties. I took the opportunity, during our first two plantings to ask our volunteers more about what they were getting out of this experience, in particular how taking part made them feel/ affected their sense of wellbeing.
My challenge was to better understand what motivates people to participate in tree planting with the aim of using these insights to improve future messaging and events.
The solution
To answer this question I interviewed our volunteers during the tree planting events. To do this I had to be involved as a coordinator rather than participant so we made sure the role of project officer was being covered elsewhere. Interviews were conducted as relaxed & casual conversations rather than formal questions and answers & were conducted while the event was going on as they engaged in the activity so as to capture their feelings more so than their thoughts (somatic engagement rather than intellectualised).
Being able to observe the activity from one step removed also allowed me to see how the group naturally interacted with each other, organised themselves & problem solved.
The impact
These conversations have led me to have a deeper understanding of what volunteers value about tree planting days & how these activities make them feel. Key take-home's:
* The opportunity to make new friends & strengthen existing friendships. Collegiality is highly prized.
* Many participants were motivated by the direct bird connection & the opportunity help build a better birding future
* Desire to feel useful & work towards a common goal.
*Many expressed pride and a sense of fulfilment at the opportunity to put their skills and knowledge to use in a meaningful way.
* Feeling wonderfully grounded & connected from the physical work & getting ones hands in the soil
* Giving back is heart warming
Key facts
- Many volunteers join projects to work together rather than alone. Creating events that facilitate this boosts volunteer satisfaction & encourages ongoing participation.