Why: Developing community

“Developing community” is one of those things you hear as a benefit of volunteering. And it’s been my experience that bringing people with a mutual interest together can lead to community and friendships that reach beyond the original interest (in my experience, this has been most true in sf fandom, but I’ve seen many other examples of it).

But there are many instances of restoration work going beyond just the people of mutual interest and bringing together people that were previously antagonistic. For instance, the Yainix Ranch on the Klamath River brought together ranchers and Native Americans, groups that had previously been in conflict over restoration efforts. Elan Shapiro, in his contribution to Ecopsychology, talks about the Mattole River project, which brought together shareholder groups with widely varying agendas. I think this is an important aspect of restoration work.

Mirrored from Nature Intrudes. Please comment over there.