Organization: Citizens' Climate Lobby

About the opportunity:

To solve the climate crisis, Citizens’ Climate Lobby empowers people to use the tools of democracy to build political will for climate solutions in Congress. This 15-week Climate Advocacy Certificate Program is for anyone interested in learning and applying CCL’s methods for climate action. Participants learn how to lobby their members of Congress, use social media for climate advocacy, write and submit letters-to-the-editor, perform grassroots and grasstops outreach, and more. Those who successfully complete the program will receive CCL’s Certificate of Completion, and if they are enrolled at a school the next semester, can interview to join CCL's Campus Leaders Program to start a climate campaign or CCL chapter at their school. In addition, participants receive information about internships, events, actions, and other opportunities with CCL and partner organizations. Throughout the program, participants will:

• Attend at least nine sessions of CCL’s Core Volunteer Trainings, held Tuesday evenings at 8pm ET, and post in the discussion forum reflections inspired by that week’s training.
• Attend a CCL (virtual) conference.
• Write and submit a letter-to-the-editor or op-ed.
• Participants have the option to:
• Join their local CCL chapter.
• Participate in a lobby meeting with the office of a member of Congress.
• Join a call with a regional fellow or student engagement coordinator to discuss further involvement.
• Connect with a buddy in the program.

Anyone is welcome to join regardless of age or student status. No application or prerequisites are necessary. The program is free for fall 2023 and runs from September 12th through December 13th, 2023. The program takes about two hours a week and academic credit is possible through arrangement with the student's academic institution. Register by September 8th to participate!

Questions? Please email highered@citizensclimatelobby.org

More information can be found here.

Organization: Civic Garden Center

About the opportunity:

Join us in helping Cincinnati's local woods! Tasks will range from stream restoration, removing invasive plants, and tree planting to trail maintenance and more. No prior training is necessary to attend one of these workdays. 

Workdays take place at two different locations:

Walnut Woods of Evanston

Location: Walnut Hills High School, 3259 Sulsar St, Cincinnati, OH 45207
Time: 9am to 12pm

Withrow

Location: Withrow High School, 2488 Madison Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45208
Time: 9am to 12pm

Opportunities on Saturday, May 13 and Saturday, May 20

Find more information here.

Organization: Keep Cincinnati Beautiful

About the opportunity:

Every year, thousands of volunteers come together to improve the quality of life in their community during the Great American Cleanup. From March through November, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful provides cleanup supplies and logistical support for a wide variety of cleanup and beautification projects.

Cincinnati is the gateway to Ohio. With millions of people traveling along I-75 and I-71 every week, we need to make a good impression! Clean and beautified highways welcome visitors and encourage residents and businesses to live, work, and play in Cincinnati. Hundreds of volunteers pick up litter and beautify Cincinnati’s dirtiest roadways in our annual State Roadway Cleanup. During the State Roadway Cleanup, we partner with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and volunteers to pick up trash and debris from the sides of the most traveled highways around Cincinnati.

Here’s how it works: We all meet at a centralized location to rally before the event (ODOT Garage at 1400 Seymour Ave). Teams are assigned cleanup locations and receive safety gear. Then we carpool to those locations to pick up litter along the highway. Each team is accompanied by an Ohio Department of Transportation crew member for enhanced safety.

Find more information here.

Organization: Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

About the opportunity: 

We need your help to make our events zero waste! The zoo is working very hard to meet our goal of Net Zero Waste by 2025. To do this we are working to divert as much waste from the landfill at our events as we can. We need your help to achieve this goal and make Cincinnati a little more green!

Find more information here.

Email questions to: sustainability1@cincinnatizoo.org

Events we need your help with:

Tunes & Blooms 4/6, 4/13, 4/20, 4/27

Easter Celebration 4/8

Toast to the Wild: Bourbon Flights 5/11

Toast to the Wild: Wild About Wine 8/10

Toast to the Wild: Zoo Brew 10/12

HallZOOween 10/14-15, 10/21-22, 10/28-29

Organization: Campbell County

About the opportunity:

Campbell County's Trash for Cash Program is back! The TFC Season begins April 1st and runs through October 31st. Applications open at 9:00AM on March 1st.

Trash for Cash is a fundraising opportunity for local non-profit organizations to pick up roadside litter in Campbell County. Groups can clean a maximum of 10 road miles (both sides) with a reimbursement rate of $100 per mile. Limited spots are available. Help us keep Campbell County clean!

To apply, visit www.campbellcountyky.gov. Questions? Contact the Solid Waste Coordinator at SolidWaste@campbellcountyky.gov or call 859-547-1866.

Find more information here.

Organization: Civic Garden Center

About the opportunity:

Welcome to a community that values our natural world—and embraces the important work of caring for it. Whether you’re restoring our urban forests or propagating native plants, transforming a community garden or facilitating a school field trip, when you volunteer with the Civic Garden Center, you’re part of something bigger. Did we mention you’ll have fun, meet like-minded people, and learn a lot, too? Active volunteers can also take some of our classes for free or at a discount. (And yes, we welcome groups!)  

Choose from the following Volunteer Teams: Conservation, Horticulture, Urban Agriculture, Education, and Events & Outreach.

Find more information here.

Organization: Valley View

About this opportunity:

Spend time outside, connect with fellow nature enthusiasts and help create great visitor experiences.

Steward the Land

• Harvest food for those in need
• Remove invasive plants
• Trim the Trails
• Restore native habitat

Engage the Community

• Help with a hike
• Take pictures to share
• Lead a volunteer task
• Welcome visitors to the trails

Support our Team

• Serve on a committee
• Organize a volunteer group
• Join the annual Toast event team
• Connect people with our story

More information can be found here.

Organization: Civic Garden Center

About this opportunity:

This year, CGC IS launching a new system for organizing their volunteer program: Volunteer Teams. There are five teams broken up by interest. No prior experience or training is needed to be a part of any team—they'll provide you with training and learning opportunities throughout the season. And yes, you can be a part of more than one team!

When you sign up for a team, you'll receive updates from CGC staff specific to the focus of that team. These may include upcoming workdays led by the CGC or other Cincinnati-based organizations doing good work in our community, classes pertaining to the team's focus area, and interesting articles or podcasts on related topics that they think you might enjoy.

First thing first: Choose your team(s)! You can read more about each team on their website.

Horticulture Team – This team is focused on our grounds or propagation related activities. Nearly all workdays will happen on-site at the CGC.

Conservation Team – This team is focused on forest or prairie restoration efforts, including invasive removal and replanting with native vegetation. All workdays take place off-site.

Urban Agriculture Team – This team is focused on assisting community gardens and urban farms in maintaining their gardens. All workdays take place off-site.

Education Team – This team is focused on field trips and educational programming at and for local schools. Programs take place both on-site at the CGC and off-site at different school locations.

Events & Outreach Team – This team is focused on organizing CGC events, raising awareness about the CGC within the community, and finding ways to activate our grounds, Hauck Botanic Gardens.

Please use this form to sign up for the team(s) that interest you most. They'll be using these teams to communicate about upcoming workdays this spring, so be sure to sign up soon!

More information can be found here.

Organization: Keep Cincinnati Beautiful

About these opportunities:

Keep Cincinnati Beautiful is offering a variety of volunteer opportunities September through December. Many cleanup options are offered for neighborhoods in the Cincinnati area, including Colerain, Walnut Hills, Oakley, Camp Washington, Roselawn, OTR, Mount Adams and more. 

More information can be found here.