Unique Eco-Friendly Volunteer Opportunities in Southern California and Nationwide

Eco-friendly volunteering is essential to protect our environment, yet there are many other ways you and your family can help out in your own community. Stay tuned, as more uniquely interesting volunteer opportunities become available.

Destination: U.S. National Forests

"USDA Forest Service Passport in Time"

The United States Department of Agriculture, Passport in Time (PIT) is a volunteer archaeology and historic preservation program of the USDA Forest Service, working under the close training and supervision of professional archaeologists and historians. Currently only two states are offering ongoing eco-friendly volunteer programs, Arizona and Louisiana, but will be adding more state projects in future years.

Travel, lodging, and meals are not included in these archaeological volunteering missions, so it will be up to you to pay for your family's expenses. You will not however be expected to pay for training, prior to service, while your family learns fascinating new skills in the field of historic preservation. Visit their website for more detailed information online at passportintime.com.

Destination: Your Own Backyard

"National Wildlife Federation's Certified Wildlife Habitat"

Create an eco-friendly sanctuary for the wildlife in your region, right in a protected area of your own backyard! Imagine attracting native bird species to keep the bugs out of your family's garden, while creating a safe haven for their young, as well as other creatures.

By certifying your newly created refuge, for indigenous birds and other native creatures in your area, you will also be protecting your family's yard, gardening rights, and water requirements, with registered signage through official channels. To qualify, register, and become a "Certified Wildlife Habitat" sanctuary, with an official yard plaque, declaring your garden refuge status, will cost a minimum one-time, tax-deductible fee of $50.00.

Additional information on their common-sense, easy-qualifying requirements, for your own wildlife habitat-for-certification refuge, visit them online at www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife.

Destination: Southern Pacific Coast

"Volunteer for Beach Cleanup in Los Angeles County, California"

If you love the beach, and live near Southern California, you should plan a trip with your family, to visit one of the beautiful beaches listed in the article (linked below) for beach cleanup. Spend an hour volunteering for beach cleanup, and then play the rest of the afternoon!

By helping clean up the beach on your next visit, you are not only protecting one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, you are also helping to protect our ocean life, and an estimated 70% to 80% of our planet's oxygen. To get specific times and locations, read more at www.associatedcontent.com.