In a time when environmental issues are close to the hearts of many, some companies are making it easier for individuals to make a real difference.
Here we look at four such companies that have developed different ways to help regular people help the environment. Everyone knows the simple steps we can take every day to help the environment.
Avoid using your car on journeys where you could walk, bike or take public transportation.Reduce food waste by creating a shopping list before you visit the store. Recycle whatever garbage you can.
However, for those that want to take a bigger step, there are companies who have created opportunities to take part in bigger projects that help raise money, clean up, restore, and protect the environment.
Creeklife
Creeklife offers citizens the chance to report any issues that are negatively impacting the environment. It also gives individuals the opportunity to pledge to help fix environmental issues, claim projects that you will work on and in return, you will receive financial rewards for your efforts.
An example of the trash that needs cleaning up near Bread and Cheese Creek, Baltimore County, Maryland, one project currently available on Creeklife.
Creeklife acts as a facilitator: anyone who reports an issue automatically generates a project. Anyone who wants to donate funds towards the project can do so through the interface, and anyone who wants to get involved with a project and get paid for it can find and claim those opportunities .
With projects that span the US, it is inspiring that so many people want to take control and clean up their local parks, creeks, and shorelines. The list also highlights just how many areas need help, and makes one wonder what the future would hold for these areas without the intervention of both concerned citizens and companies like Creeklife.
We The Trees
As with Creeklife, We The Trees is a crowdfunding website that helps people “Start and Support Environmental, Social Change, and Educational Campaigns.” However, unlike Creeklife, the projects are broken down into categories such as Environment, Education, and Local Food. They cover projects all over the world, from Thailand to Sweden to Detroit to Guatemala.
The opportunities to get directly involved are more limited than on other sites, but the variety of projects to help fund are vast, ensuring there is something to suit every taste and budget.
Greenvolved
Whereas Creeklife and We The Trees are traditional crowdfunding sites, Greenvolved works differently. Rather than asking for funding or time, all Greenvolved asks for is a click on any cause the reader thinks is worthy. Each click registers a vote, and when a project or cause gets enough votes, it will go on to receive funding from corporations who feel the causes are worthwhile.
While there are currently no projects in North America, there are a number of crucial causes being supported around the globe, such as saving protected species from marine debris in Australia and reforestation in Madagascar to support the dwindling lemur population.
The Green Project
Along with the national and international projects available, there are also many local projects. For many, charity begins at home and people are often far more enthusiastic about supporting projects on their doorsteps than supporting intangible needs on the other side of the world.
The Green Project, based in New Orleans, is one such example. It is predominantly a “building materials warehouse store that diverts usable materials from landfills and puts them back into circulation in the community.” Its focus is to keep materials out of landfills that can be used in other projects or by individuals at home or at work.
The Green Project opened in 1994 and has been successfully keeping viable materials out of landfill ever since.
The brilliance behind The Green Project is that every person can get involved, almost without knowing it. By purchasing their building materials from The Green Project warehouse, they are both keeping it out of a landfill and donating money to continue the work that the project does.
People can donate both money and materials to the project and also can volunteer their time to help in the environmental education of children to ensure future generations have the knowledge they need to protect what nature gives them.
Whether they volunteer with a local project or charity, or make monetary contributions through direct donations or a crowdfunding site, those who take an active interest in preserving the environment will always find a way. However, those who sit in the camp of “I want to help but I don’t know how” will have to find another excuse.
These four websites are just a few of the many that facilitate everyday people helping out on a local, national and global scale, and this is certainly a time when the more, the merrier.