Our world, our future, our responsibility to cultivate Sustainability.
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs predicts the world population will hit 10 billion by 2056, which is up 33 percent from our current population of 7.5 billion and a robust 257 percent from the 2.8 billion people who inhabited the earth in 1956, a hundred years prior to that projected milestone.
People are living longer—for instance, a recent study published in the Lancet predicted that there’s a 56 percent chance that the life expectancy of a South Korean woman born in 2030 will be an unprecedented 90 years—and using more and more natural resources than ever. When you see statistics like this one from Point Park University saying “1 ton of 100 percent recycled paper saves the equivalent of 4,100 kWh of energy, 7,000 gallons of water, 60 pounds of air emissions and three cubic yards of landfill space,” it really makes you ask not what the environment can do for you but what you can do for the environment.
That’s why Spherions feel so strongly about Sustainability and why we’re hosting our first Sphera Sustainability Day on June 14, 2017. And we want you to participate!
To get you thinking about Sustainability, here are six cool ideas you can use to find volunteer opportunities to give back to your communities and, of course, Mother Earth.
Six Cool Ideas on How to Volunteer for Sphera Sustainability Day
- 1) Ideally, Not Idly: idealist offers hundreds of volunteer opportunities in various parts of the world, and many of them speak directly to Sustainability, such as conservation efforts in Costa Rica or volunteering to run the compost and recycling program at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C.
- 2) A Perfect Match: VolunteerMatch.org has lots of great volunteer gigs available. One thing that caught our attention: If you like to dive (experience is required), the California Academy of Sciences offers a volunteer program where you get to feed the fish and keep the habitat sustainable for the sea creatures that populate the Philippine Coral Reef tank.
- 3) Let It Grow, Let It Grow: The American Community Garden Association offers a great list of locations that have community gardens. Ready to put that green thumb to work? See what opportunities are available in your area. If you want to take your volunteering efforts to the next level, the WWOOF (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) organization offers opportunities to volunteer on organic farms around the world.
- 4) Mi Casa Es Su Casa: Habitat for Humanity has been advocating for people to be better stewards of the land since the Jordan and England families got together to found the Koinonia Farm in Americus, Georgia, in 1942. What better way to promote sustainability than using our natural resources for a good cause: building a home for someone in need.
- 5) Now You’re Cookin’: Food is a huge component of a Sustainable world, so it might make you a bit queasy to learn that Americans waste a whopping 40 percent of their food each year. So why not volunteer your time working with an organization that, since 2001, has been helping prepare and deliver food that would otherwise be wasted to people who need it most? The Campus Kitchen Project can be found at 60 campuses across the United States.
- 6) Day at the Beach: With the weather warming up in the Northern Hemisphere, millions of people flock to beaches each year anyway, so why not spend some time cleaning them up? ThankYouOcean.org and the Alliance for the Great Lakes both offer great opportunities to make the beaches in your area look pristine and as pretty as a postcard.
There are many more volunteering opportunities available as well. So how will you volunteer your time for Sphera Sustainability Day?
