In honor of Earth Day, volunteer to help environment [United Way column]

In a typical year I drive across Pennsylvania at least four or five times on various trips, and as I’m ticking down the miles as I drive along the turnpike, I have time to notice the fields, mountains, forests and rivers that define the physical environment of our Commonwealth.

About 60% of the state is covered with trees, and forests cover large swaths of the state. Pennsylvania has more than 83,000 miles of rivers and streams, including the Susquehanna River, which is the major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay contributing almost half of the bay’s freshwater.

Our day-to-day lives are shaped by our environment, and the health of Pennsylvania’s natural environment is directly connected to our own well-being.

We benefit from efforts to clean up toxic sites and waste, to restore and maintain wild spaces, and to preserve our rivers, streams and groundwater. Monday is the annual observance of Earth Day, which was established in 1970 to promote environmental protection by mobilizing people around the country and across the world. Earth Day reminds us of the importance of caring for our environment every day and the role that volunteers play in promoting environmental conservation.

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Environmental volunteering

There are many ways to get involved with volunteering to support conservation and our environment. Here are a few ideas to help get you started.

Conservation volunteers work on projects and initiatives that contribute to the conservation and sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems. In our area, the Lancaster Conservancy works to save important natural places for people and wildlife by preserving, protecting and maintaining habitat in its natural state.

The conservancy regularly relies on volunteers to support its work. One way to serve is to participate in volunteer workdays, which are focused on specific preserve management projects, like invasive plant removal, trail work or litter removal. Upcoming workdays are listed on the conservancy’s website: tinyurl.com/LancConsVol.

Volunteers also play important roles in helping to preserve and maintain waterways in our area. The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay mobilizes volunteers to aid efforts to restore and protect the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed lands, creeks, rivers and streams, including waterways in Lancaster County. Interested community members can get involved by joining in an upcoming volunteer event.

Recent projects in our area include planting trees to create riparian forest buffers, which help protect water quality by filtering and intercepting pollutants and sediments before they enter the water system. Visit the Bay alliance website to see upcoming volunteer events: tinyurl.com/AllianceBayVol.

Another conservation-focused way to serve is by volunteering with gardening-related projects. Lancaster Compost Co-Ops is a volunteer-led and -run cooperative organization that aims to make composting and its benefits accessible to all residents in the city of Lancaster.

The Compost Co-Ops enable residents to divert and reduce landfill waste, create high-quality compost and build community.

There are composting sites located at many parks around Lancaster, and volunteer members can take home finished compost to use in their own gardens and yards.

Visit the co-ops’ website to find out more tinyurl.com/LancCompost.

For deeply invested gardeners, the Penn State Extension’s Master Gardener volunteers program trains and equips volunteer gardeners to educate the public, answer horticultural questions, work with youth, engage in outreach, work in demonstration gardens and more. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/PSUGardener.

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Find more volunteer opportunities

Visit the United Way of Lancaster County’s Get Connected volunteer site at uwlanc.galaxydigital.com.

At the site you’ll find a variety of volunteer opportunities from around the county, and you’ll be able to sign up to receive updates when new opportunities are posted.

n Joel Janisewski is director of the volunteer center and community listening for United Way of Lancaster County.