Climate Call to Action

This list of volunteer opportunities is focused on the Triangle Area of North Carolina, although it includes many statewide and nationwide resources. Many of the programs are designed for adults but are also suitable for young adults.

You can also search for volunteer activities by organization and subject at the North Carolina Center for Non-Profits.

This list of opportunities is a living document, and we welcome any additions you may know of. Please contact us at icctriangle@gmail.com if you have information to add.

Municipal Governments

City of Raleigh: Volunteer Opportunities

Town of Cary: Environmental Volunteer Opportunities

Local Litter Clean Ups: Check with your town to learn more about their litter clean-up programs.

• Cary: Contact Emily Barrett, Sustainability Manager (919-469-5125)
• Durham County: Contact Keep Durham Beautiful about their annual “Big Sweep”

Wake County Government
(Other counties have similar programs)

Wake County Big Sweep
Stream/river litter clean up – spring and fall; Contact Sheila Jones (919-250-1065)

Animal Rescue Centers
Volunteers fill a variety of essential roles at the Wake County Animal Center. From dog walkers and cat cuddlers enriching the lives of animals in the shelter, to photographers capturing their personalities for the adoption gallery, our volunteers help thousands of animals each year find loving homes. Our volunteer fosters do everything from opening their hearts and homes to animals, to bottle feeding kittens in the center who are too young to care for themselves.

Wake County Parks
Volunteers support Wake County Parks in a variety of ways, from helping with nature programs and assisting with special events, to maintaining and constructing trails and keeping our parks clean.

The Great Backyard Birdcount is an annual event in our parks every February (sponsored by Cornell Ornithology Program).

State of North Carolina

Department of Environmental Quality 

• NC Stream Watch
  Water quality monitoring requires some training, but is very easy to learn. Pick a river or stream near you and monitor water quality by using organisms that live in the stream and measuring pH, temp, nitrates etc.
• Turn Off Your Engine
  The NC Department of Environmental Quality’s “Turn Off Your Engine” program is aimed at distributing signs and materials to partners interested in reducing unnecessary idling in their parking lots and pick-up areas.

Department of Transportation

• Litter Sweep
  Scheduled for the last two weeks of April and September, Litter Sweep is the N.C. Department of Transportation’s biannual statewide roadside litter removal initiative, in which residents throughout North Carolina help clean up North Carolina’s roadways.
• Adopt a Highway Program
  Adopt-A-Highway is made up of civic and community groups — including schools, religious, professional and social organizations — as well as individuals and families. The Department of Transportation asks volunteer groups to commit at least four years to a 2-mile stretch of roadway. Litter cleanups should happen at least four times a year.

North Carolina State Parks

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
The museum offers a diverse range of opportunities to volunteer; youth opportunities include Citizen Science, junior curator and junior volunteer

USA Government

The National Park Service offers a variety of volunteer opportunities for individuals and groups as part of the Volunteers-In-Parks program.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

• USEPA Idle-Free Schools Toolkit includes information needed to run an effective idling reduction campaign to reduce student exposure 
• USEPA School Air Quality Flag Program

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Numerous volunteers are needed for shoreline cleanup, trail maintenance and much much more. While this link is specific to Falls Lake,  the Corps has programs in other locations throughout the state. 

Alliance for Climate Education 
The Alliance for Climate Education teaches young people the knowledge and skills to be confident climate leaders. The North Carolina Fellowship works with the national organization and with other partners. Video: The Secret to Talking About Climate Change.

The Center for Human-Earth Restoration

• This Wake County organization provides youth and adult programs to enhance our relationship with the natural world. Works with schools to get kids in touch with nature, as well as involved in service projects. 
• Their award winning Neighborhood Ecology Corps program gets teams of students involved in assessing the condition, assets, and needs of their shared neighborhoods and Includes eco-restoration activities.

NC Coastal Federation
Organizes shoreline cleanups along the entire coast. Volunteers also monitor and/or maintain rain gardens, stormwater projects, wetlands and oyster restoration projects, oyster-shell reefs, and coastal properties and easements.

NC Wildlife Federation
Volunteers can help out with many different programs including planting milkweed gardens for the NC Butterfly Highway (to save the Monarch butterfly from extinction), creating certified wildlife habitats in their yards, creating schoolyard habitats, and helping to manage deer populations in rural.

Audubon North Carolina
Audubon North Carolina welcomes volunteers to protect and conserve birds, with many activities across the state, from performing annual bird surveys, to maintaining buildings, to participating in the Beach Bird Stewards program.

Eno River Association
Dedicated to preserving the Eno River Basin and its heritage, with education, advocacy, and conservation.

Triangle Land Conservancy
Builds and repairs trails, and conserves land on their land preserves. Youth volunteers are welcome; it is a great way to experience nature at its best.

Keep NC Beautiful

Sound Rivers
Sound Rivers is a nonprofit organization that guards the health of the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico river basins. Sound Rivers coordinates with the River Keepers non-profit, and three full-time Riverkeepers monitor our region’s waterways. NC Riverkeepers by County – NCDOI

Community Food Gardens
Interfaith Food Shuttle welcomes volunteers to work at the following locations:

• Food Shuttle Farm
  2300 Dover Farm Rd in Raleigh (off Tryon Rd)
• Camden Street Learning Garden
  315 Camden Street, Raleigh, NC
• Geer Street Learning Garden
  110 Geer Street, Durham, NC

The Society of St Andrew 
Often uses students to harvest or package produce like sweet potatoes, collards, etc.

First Fruits Farms 
Owned by former NFL player Jason Brown;  invites volunteers to help on their farm in Louisburg NC, to provide relief from hunger to those in need.

Farm Church 
This Durham “church that meets on a farm” seeks volunteer help with gardening.

Start or improve a paper, can, and bottle recycling program
Feed the Bin – a public school recycling program funded by Wake County

Create a no-idling carpool zone
The NC Dept of Environmental Quality Turn Off Your Engine program
US Environmental Protection Agency Idle-Free Schools Toolkit

Start composting food waste in your cafeteria
Every Tray Counts: working toward a sustainable lunchroom

Start an anti-litter campaign
Take the pledge and get free swag at 86it.com

Create a school vegetable garden

Create a pollinator garden

Create a milkweed garden for Monarch butterflies

Create a schoolyard habitat
Get certification from the North Carolina Wildlife Federation

Create a school air quality monitoring program
Join the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Flag program

Create energy efficiency
Apply for a Solar+ Schools grant from NCGreenPower.org
Energy Savings and Efficiency from Duke Energy / Progress
Take the My Energy Kit challenge – earn money for your school and get free energy-saving kits

Green Schools.Net
This website focuses on opportunities for kids to take action to reduce the impact of their school on the environment. The Green Schools Initiative ceased operations in 2016 and the website is no longer updated. The pages, resources, and links may still provide valuable information and resources to support your efforts.