How can you build a strong environmental network through volunteering?

From my personal experience, do not directly settle for one specific area of focus right in the beginning. If you have the opportunity explore a bit. I believe saying yes to opportunities that come your way is a way of learning and identifying areas of interest. I had the opportunity to work with waste management, conservation and doing some research in plastic waste/alternatives. This helped me build my research, communication and public speaking skills. And I learnt alot and had fun along the way.

There is always something you are passionate about. And 'just' start by doing something or talking about it to friends, colleagues, neighbors etc. While talking about it you find what you want to contribute. You might get tips to join a group or just start experimenting. E.g. the happy stone concept started like that and many more. Just never give up on the things you are passionate about! And if it is a lot, just start with one.

I will recommend a holistic approach to this. Be open to explore all aspect from advocacy, implementation, and policy. Volunteering is one sure way of gaining insights and appreciating the various aspects. Volunteering in clean up campaigns, community durbar, health walks, community monitoring deepened my interest and set me on a course to help address Environmental issues with our various communities.

I really appreciate that there are many reasons people volunteer it often comes down to how well they identify with the identifiable goals and whether it makes sense to affiliate these with their own ideas, concerns and or challenges. A reference to this is when our community received many evacuees on behalf of the city’s own effort we made it possible to confirm this would be a way that we would be greatly appreciated if we could engage with their activities outside of the shelters that accepted them for the weeks they could not go back to their homes besides there were many who have been affected or displaced by the flooding or other changes in their communities.