A great way to get involved and to meet people who share the same values as you — even if you are only visiting the area for a short time —is to volunteer. Put yourself out there and get to experience life changing events all surrounding education and advocating for a more sustainable future and environment. Volunteer or attend any event for one or even multiple of the many nonprofits and organizations that focus on sustainability.
Keep Austin beautiful
A great place to start if you are looking into volunteering is the Keep Austin Beautiful program. The program hosts volunteer opportunities almost daily and their schedules and activities can be found on this website. The activities could range from clean up days to even a simple community donation for people or organizations in need. The group’s mission is to inspire and educate Austin locals and visitors to volunteer together, bring back the natural beauty of the environment by “beautify[ing] green spaces, clean[ing] waterways, and reduc[ing] waste every day. Overall the group holds strong to their mission and encourages all Austin locals and visitors to fight for a better tomorrow by consistently giving back to the community in every way possible. Shoal Creek Conservancy
Another great volunteer option is to join the Shoal Creek Conservancy on their mission to restore the fishable and swimmable waters of the Shoal Creek. Their goal is to make areas like the beautiful Shoal Creek Trail safer, more accessible, and a more desirable and inspiring place to visit and see the natural beauty that our environment holds. The group holds weekly volunteer opportunities that can be found on their website and also accept and thank those who donate to their cause to fight for a better environment for the future that is soon to come. Capital Area Master Naturalist
The Capital Area Master Naturalist hosts volunteer opportunities nearly every day making activities very accessible to the public. While single day volunteers are welcome, to become a permanent member of the club, training classes are required. The club’s overall mission is to “develop a corps of well-informed volunteers to provide education, outreach, and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas within their communities”. If you are looking to volunteer in the Austin area, the Capital Area Master Naturalist is a great organization to look into. You can visit their website for more information about their organization and opportunities they hold for Austin locals and visitors. Native Plant Society of Texas
If you are a plant person and have a green thumb, the Native Plant Society of Texas would be the perfect volunteering experience for you. The society publishes quarterly magazines to promote local and native Texas plants and to bring awareness to their importance with our ecosystems. Volunteer opportunities are presented throughout the year but are more spaced out meaning it is important to keep up with their efforts and possible activities through the society’s website. If they are not hosting a project while you are in town, don’t worry, you can support them in other ways by reading the quarterly magazines and seeing what you can do from home in order to promote the safety and restoration of Texas native plants. Austin Parks Foundations
If you are looking to volunteer and get a little bit of sun while doing it, the Austin Parks Foundations is a great place to look. The foundations host volunteer work about once a week and have a major focus on cleaning and even sometimes renovating local parks within the Austin area. The foundation's mission is based on the hopes that their efforts will advance lives by making parks, trails, and green spaces better through the use of volunteer work, innovative programs, advocacy for the natural world, and financial support. If you are interested in helping preserve the park of the Austin area, keep up with the foundation’s website for more information on how to get involved. Hill Country Conservancy
The Hill country Conservancy is yet another great organization to conduct volunteerism through. The organization is dedicated to protecting large stretches of open space that are imperative to critical water features, wildlife habitats, and even recreational access. The organization holds volunteer opportunities once a month in order to clean the local environments that are detrimental to the Austin area. Even if you can’t serve on one of their volunteer activities, you can still give to the organization through their donation acceptance, but make sure to keep up with their website for ways to get involved or how to give back to the Austin community. Tree Folk
The local group called Tree Folk is a group with a condensed and simple mission of planting trees in order to limit carbon emissions and ultimately slow the rising climate crisis and effect of pollution. The group works based off of a donation system where for every $3 donates, 1 tree is planted. The group hosts volunteer opportunities year round where members plant trees through money donated to the Tree Folk. If you believe in this mission and want to make a change, visit the Tree Folk’s website to find volunteer opportunities or where to donate.
Festival Beach Food Forest
Last but not least the Festival Beach Food Forest has transformed ⅔ of an acre of the local city park into an edible forest garden where locals and visitors can openly search for fresh produce on the shores of the famous Lady Bird Lake. The organization offers volunteer opportunities every Tuesday and Thursday (and some Saturdays) from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. If you are looking to volunteer or simply like to plant and garden, make sure to keep up with their website to find out how to get connected and find the right volunteer work for you.
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