Volunteer work

microDiffuse

Hi everyone

The TLDR: I'm looking to do some volunteer work in the environmental field and need advice about options.

---Some background info:
I have a BSc in Geography and Environment, and currently I'm doing an MSc in Sustainable Development (while working full time and having a 5-months old in the house, so it's slow going...).
I currently work in an unrelated field. I'm studying out of interest, and with a view to maybe one day work full-time in a related role.

---The problem:
I'm having a small crisis of confidence. Basically my interest in the topic is waning, probably because I am not actively doing anything related to the subject, other than study for exams. My job has recently become more demanding, and the diaper-changing and night-feeding duties add to the pile... basically studying has become a chore - and since it is voluntary (i.e. I already have a good career and don't "need" this) it's tempting to cut it from my life.

---The plan:
I've decided to take this year off (studying, not work or being a dad ). I can defer all my exams to next year, and the way the course is structured it won't cost me any money, and actually not even delay my graduation - I'll need two more years, if I do exams this year or not.

---Where I need help:
Instead of stressing about how far behind I am, and killing myself with countless late night study sessions before the exams in autumn, I want to try and find something to do that will hopefully motivate me again.
I was wondering if you guys had some advice about options.

For example, this crowd is interesting to me:
EcoUNESCO-dot-ie (can't post URLs since I'm a new user). So far I've only taught adults, but I am very good with kids of a certain age too (5 and up).
It's just one option. I'd prefer something more research-related. I'm good at that, and writing essays, content, etc...
I can free up some time to be away from home (1-2 evenings during the week, entire days if necessary during weekends), but ideally there would be a large component of online / home-office work.

So, any ideas are very much appreciated!


Cheers!
MD

Jim Martin

Suggest you contact http://www.burrenbeo.com/! Eduction is top of the list of their priorities & if they can't accommodate you, I'm sure they'll be able to guide you in the right direction.

Macha

Sustainable development is a very broad area. If you could be a bit more specific about the subject area you're interested in or the skills you want to use (you already mentioned research), it could be easier to offer some suggestions.

Oh and what part of the country you're in.

microDiffuse

Thanks for your replies!

My interests are in environmental protection and management, which I realise is also a very broad area. I don't really prioritise within the topic, but I guess I am mostly interested in forest and marine/freshwater ecosystems. I'm good with statistics, population studies, demographics... that kind of stuff.

In terms of skills, I'm open to most things, it really depends on what is required, and what the purpose of it is in the end: research, training, content creation, booth duty at events, administrative tasks, IT support if needs be... except campaigning on the street. I would suck at that.

And I'm in Dublin.

Macha

OK so your options are basically public, private and not-for-profit. Obviously you'll get a different point of view working in each of these contexts.

For not-for-profit, I'd suggest you get in touch with An Taisce as they run a number of programmes as well as doing advocacy work. The biggest biodiversty-focussed NGO in Ireland is BirdWatch Ireland, although I think they're based in Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow. The biggest water- focussed NGO I know about is the Sustainable Water Network, based in Dublin. You can get a full list of eNGOs on the website of the Irish Environmental Network: http://ien.ie/members/?repeat=w3tc. Some are located in or near Dublin and so might be of interest. There's also CoastWatch Ireland, which is a great NGO run almost single-handedly by Karin Dubsky.

For public, your main targets are Dept of Environment or Agriculture (where the forestry section is located), a local authority or a state agency. I'm guessing the most relevant state agencies are Coillte (based in Newtownmountkennedy, Wicklow), Waterways Ireland, National Parks and Wildlife Service. I'm not sure if there's a specific agency that works on marine conservation. Another thought is the Dept of Tourism, which could be doing some interesting work on sustainable tourism.

On private sector, I'm less familiar but you could get into a place that does environmental impact assessments (EIAs) or works more generally in helping businesses comply with environmental protection laws.

Hope that's of some use to you.

microDiffuse

Thanks Macha, that's a lot of info to go one. Cheers!