Earth Day: a global movement to create a more sustainable future

Whilst Earth Day may be just one date in your calendar, it’s environmental message that mobilises hundreds of millions of people across the globe has brought about a collective fight to regain control over our planet’s deteriorating ecosystem, which can be felt all year round. Carry on reading to discover some of the many crucial organisations that you can volunteer with to join the war against the further destruction of our one planet.

Friends of the Earth are the largest grassroots international campaigning community in the UK, with centres in over 150 locations across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. These groups are solely kept afloat by volunteers working with fellow local groups, business leaders and politicians to instill positive change in the way that we protect our local environment. Keeping local politics at their core means that small victories accumulate to create waves internationally. Get started here!

The Conservation Volunteers are all about protecting and nurturing London’s green spaces. They are working to educate people on the importance of biodiversity in the city, so that we can better grasp the developing relationship between people and wildlife in city environments. They have designed Green Gym to encourage physical activity whilst cleaning up the local area, as well as biodiversity action teams that work on woodland management, habitat creation and much more. Anyone of any background can volunteer with TCV, so click here to discover their range of programmes for yourself.

Good Gym is a self-professed community of runners who integrate getting fit with doing good. They focus on taking part in physical tasks in the local area – providing invaluable assistance to community based organisations or interacting with isolated older people by way of social visits. Their high quality reviews from well regarded press channels are an ode to the many benefits that Good Gym provides for local communities across the UK. Start your Good Gym journey today.

Whilst we rightly place much attention on the current state of our planet’s many Ocean’s, we need to be careful not to overlook the vast network of waterways that cover our countries. Thames21 is one organisation that is working to promote the importance of keeping our rivers, streams and tributaries healthy and free of litter. You can get involved by joining a river clean, whereby you will not only improve the immediate appearance of the river and the banks, but also play a crucial part in helping to keep our inner city wildlife flourishing. Fun fact: Within 3 hours, Thames21 volunteers had removed 4,350 plastic bottles from a site on the edge of east London! Join the fight today and become a volunteer here.