There’s a saying that goes “If you’re good at something, never do it for free.” And yet, in such a materialistic world, you’ll be amazed to find out that the things that make you grow the most are anything but money. They are the experiences you build, the new opportunities you try out, the memories you make, the life you live, the change you make in the world. One of such life-changing experiences is eco-volunteering. Here are 5 awesome things you can learn from being an eco-volunteer:
1. How to Boost Your Skills
Any volunteering job in general can help you get to know yourself better, and hugely boost your personal, interpersonal, and even professional skills. When you sign up for a volunteering program, you’re also signing up for a boost in the following skills:
a. Leadership
Volunteering offers you the opportunity to be put in situations that you have to face, and find a solution for, on your own. It instills in you a sense of responsibility, of ownership, and brings out the leader in you. There are countless of leaders who, before their volunteering experience, had used to say “but I just can’t lead people, I wasn’t born a leader!”. Little did they know, and volunteering helped them see how leadership can be gained when faced with the needed stimulus.
b. Confidence
When you take on various tasks and realize you’re able to carry on projects you never thought you would, and deal with situations you’ve never faced before, you realize that there’s much more to your potential than you thought possible. You walk around with more confidence, and you know that there’s nothing you can’t do if you put your mind into it.
c. Interpersonal Skills
If you’re thinking that you’re an introvert and you don’t do well with people, that is going to change once you volunteer for something you’re passionate about. Volunteering helps you spread your network, and get to know others who share your passion. We’re talking about a lifetime of precious real connections you’re going to make.
d. Gain Professional Experience
Volunteering in a field you want to pursue a further career in is a great way to start that career. You’ll get insight into the work environment and build a good understanding of the work’s nature all before diving right into it.
e. Time and Self Management
Especially if you’re travelling abroad to volunteer, you’ll be miles away from your comfort zone. You’ll start to learn how to take care of yourself, by yourself. You’ll learn how to manage your time better to fit in your volunteering with everything else you’re doing in your life. That is because you believe in the cause, you’ve chosen to do that without any external obligations, and you’ll find a way to do it no matter what.
2. Learn Stories
Everyone has a story… and it isn’t narrowed to humans only. Eco-volunteering takes you into a world beyond humans, you start to realize that everything in nature has their own story. You’ll build a better understanding of the planet we live on, and realize how much we owe it. There’s no bigger experience you can learn from, for there are secrets of nature that will only reveal themselves to those who seek.
Environmental education is the foundation for progress.
3. Help Those Trying To Do Good For The Planet
There are way too many options you can try when you’re seeking an eco-volunteering program. You can sign up for a local river cleanup, work with an environmental advocacy organization, or workout environmentally-friendly solutions for waste management and underground drainage. You can also volunteer to help out in an urban farm, helping out the farm owners at the same time.
4. Paying It Forward
Volunteering isn’t limited to those who want to learn something new, it’s also a great way for those who want to pay forward their knowledge and expertise to those seeking it. You can volunteer to become a trekking guide, or teach others more about the secrets of the environment and how to preserve it better. Empowering others with the knowledge and expertise you’ve built throughout the years is one of the noblest things you can do.
5. How to Make a Difference
What is your legacy? Many people are afraid to leave this world, scared of leaving nothing good enough behind to be remembered by. Some seek fame, others seek success and money. The wiser ones though, they search for ways to leave this world a better place. What other way to do that, than to literally leave the planet a better place?
Life-Changing Experience of Eco-Volunteering
One of the amazing traits that almost all environmental volunteers have is their passion. Their passion to learn something new, their passion to grow, their passion to make a difference, and their passion to take on the whole world.
Whether you want to learn a new skill, give back to your community, arrange a sustainable beach picnic or learn more about the planet you’re living on and how to preserve it, you’ll find it all and more on your eco-volunteering experience. It’s a life-changing experience that will just have you coming back for more!
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