LOS ANGELES CLIMATE ACTION GUIDE

Volunteering for environmental causes is a great way to spend an evening or weekend having an impact, with fun activities and maybe even the outdoors thrown into the mix! 

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Finding volunteer opportunities is surprisingly difficult, though. Searching the internet for ‘environmental volunteering’ or ‘volunteer for the climate’ doesn’t always pull up what you’re looking for or represent the full range of possibilities. You often have to try multiple search terms and sift through opportunities that vary widely in what activities they focus on, what skills they require, and their time commitment.

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When I first got started after moving to LA, I poked around the internet and signed up for volunteer events here and there. Over time, I found more organizations through email lists, links from one organization to another, and introductions.

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To make the process of getting started easier, I’ve put together a list of organizations and volunteer resources in LA.

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The two main types of volunteering related to the environment are Advocacy and Nature. Advocacy is about communicating and building support for policies and social change. Nature volunteering is about interacting with ecosystems and tends to be outdoors: planting, observing, and teaching about organisms and habitats.

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You don’t have to pick just one between Advocacy and Nature! They complement each other, and I’d suggest trying a bit of each, and finding the mix that works for you.

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Before we start, here are some notes on how to use this website:

• This list is under construction! I will add resources as I find them. It’s not meant to be exhaustive, nor can it be.

• I recommend using this list by signing up to hear directly from the organizations you are interested in: join their email list or connect on social media. Then, try out a few opportunities until you find one or more organizations to commit to.

• I only have direct knowledge and opinions about some of the groups listed. The rest are included as starting points to jumpstart your own research. 

• While I make every effort to refresh the information here, it can only be so up-to-date. Please interact with each organization directly for timely information about their events.

 

Now, let’s get to the organizations. There are three sections below. The first is Places to Look (namely, databases of organizations I looked through when making this resource, that you can refer to directly), followed by selected organizations focused on Advocacy and Nature respectively.

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