Volunteer
Field scabious (Knautia arvensis) is a perennial plant that competes with forage and pasture land, and is also found along roadsides at mid-elevations of the province. Once established, it is very difficult to eradicate.
Learn moreHelp Protect British Columbia
Are you eager to get outdoors, get active, and get learning? Interested in having a real-world impact on your local community? Our youth volunteers help to protect BC from new and spreading invasive species, by gaining expert knowledge of our local environment and ecosystem, and by taking meaningful action in the field.
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Great volunteer projects
We welcome youth from all across the province to engage with this program. Whether you join us in person or online, you will quickly become an essential contributor to our volunteer program by developing resources, growing your knowledge and gaining new skills, exploring your region and preventing the spread of invasives!
BENEFITS OF BECOMING A VOLUNTEER
Our goal is to support healthy habitats and communities, keeping them free of invasive species.
With the support of an ISCBC Facilitator, like-minded youth and young adults form teams. Those teams plan and carry out real-world activities — on land, in parks and school yards, and in lakes and rivers. You’ll have the chance to get your hands dirty with fieldwork, engage in skill-building workshops, and gain community service experience by protecting healthy landscapes, habitats and communities free from invasive species.
In addition to fun and memorable adventures, volunteers gain
- Practical, hands-on work experience
- Training in habitat restoration, invasive plant management, leadership, public engagement and more
- Volunteer/service hours
- Professional references
- Rewards (i.e. branded hats, T-shirts, jackets/hoodies, gloves, educational resources such as books, etc.)
- A safe and inclusive space to feel welcome, supported, and valued
- The good feeling that comes from protecting BC’s natural habitats for future generations to use and enjoy
Volunteer Stats
50 community sites enhanced, 149 events hosted, 376 bags of weeds pulled, 433 volunteers making a difference, 14445 hours volunteered, 1 stuffed Minions™ toy rescued, 3 abandoned shopping carts returned
Your Volunteer Journey
OnBoard!
Meet one-on-one with your ISCBC Facilitator and discover how your goals, passions and interests can be matched with our diverse range of community service opportunities.
Meet Your Team!
Connect with your fellow ISCBC volunteers either in-person at local volunteer events or virtually at our ongoing volunteer meetings.
Take Action!
With support and guidance from your Facilitator, start making a difference by engaging in real-world projects and activities that are meaningful to you, your community and the environment. If you need help getting started, checkout our “50 Ways to Volunteer”.
Build Knowledge!
In addition to gaining hands on, practical experience through project work, don’t forget to take part in our free webinars, courses and workshops to receive training in habitat restoration, invasive plant management, leadership and more!
Celebrate!
Be sure to submit all hours spent volunteering with ISCBC to be eligible for our Milestone Rewards! Capture memorable photos, write blog posts, or find other creative ways to celebrate the work that you’re doing to protect BC’s natural landscapes for future generations to come.
Future Leaders
How to take action
Ready to make a difference in your local environment and community? Here are some ideas which make it easy for anyone to take action against invasive species, whether you’re ready to start your own community service project, excited to develop creative resources, or just keen to get outside and make a difference! This growing list, led by youth facilitators and volunteers, has something for everyone. Have a new idea? Let us know.
10 Hours
Complete the onboarding package
Learn about the invasive species council, watch a webinar, join the Facebook group, etc. (Youth volunteers)
1–5 Hours
Create a self-development plan
Identify your values, use those values to create goals, build timelines to describe how you will achieve those goals and use our volunteer program to help you complete your timeline. Having trouble starting? Check out the self-development plan template and tips for your first draft (coming soon).
2 Hours / Webinar
Watch a webinar
Visit ISCBC’s event page for upcoming webinars or watch recorded webinars in ISCBC’s webinar gallery.
1–4 Hours
Identify neighbourhood plants
Grab a plant ID book or download an app and start learning the basics of identifying plants! This includes names of plant features and seasonality. Record plant observations in your neighbourhood.
1–4 Hours
Participate in a bioblitz
A bioblitz is a communal citizen science effort meant to record as many species within a designated location and time period as possible. Ask your facilitator how to get started or checkout this online Bioblitz Guide for more info!
1–4 Hours
Connect with your local community
Research local communities and organizations who are taking action against invasive species. Learn about what’s already being done near you, and think about how you can learn from and build on the work that is happening! Hint: your local municipality website is a great place to start.
10–25 Hours
Neighbourhood nature inventory
Start exploring your nearby greenspaces – a park, stream or even your backyard! Identify the surrounding plants, animals, and insects in your neighbourhood, measure their abundance. Keep record of the various species and continue to monitor to find out how the biodiversity or ecosystem around you is everchanging.
2 Hours
Learn about the Species at Risk Act
How does the Species at Risk Act work? Explore the list of species that are included in the act in British Columbia. If you’re looking to work in the environmental sector, this is something that often arises in interviews and screening processes. Check out the Species at Risk Act.
1+ Hours
Check out the ISCBC volunteer reading list
Calling all bookworms! Did you know that the ISCBC has a book club? Check back soon for environmental book recommendations.
1+ Hours
Global invasives
Invasive species wreak havoc not just in BC but worldwide! Look up an invasive species in another country and share the info on social media.
1+ Hours
BC Abroad
Did you know species native to BC may be invasive in another region? Find one and share on social media.
2–4 Hours
Host a discussion group
Pick a topic of interest and do some background research. Identify current issues (example: the impacts of herbicides on bees) and invite people to debate or discuss this idea.
4–5 Hours
Become Plantwise!
Read about our Plantwise program and discover how you can prevent the spread of invasive species in your own backyard. Share your newfound knowledge with friends and family so that they too can become Plantwise and help reduce the spread!
20+ Hours
Local park stewardship
Start by identifying a local park that needs attention. Reach out to your facilitator for guidance on planning:
- how to perform a nature inventory
- creating a proposal for your parks board
- how to work in the park effectively and safely
- how to recruit more volunteers to help you
- how to document and share the work you’ve completed.
20+ Hours
Neighbourhood garbage pickup
Start by identifying a local space that needs attention. Reach out to your facilitator for guidance on planning:
- how to adhere to the rules of your municipality
- how to get safety equipment including gloves, trash bags, etc.
- how to recruit more volunteers to help you
- how to document and share the work you’ve completed.
2–6 Hours
Create an invasive species info sheet
Design a document that helps people identify an invasive species and provides recommendations for what to do if you encounter the species. Use online programs like Photoshop and Canva, or take a stab at freehand!
4+ HOURS
Build a plant press
Create your own plant press! By preserving plants, we can help conserve plant biodiversity and expand our plant identification knowledge. To get started, checkout our “Plants Under Pressure” how-to video to get started!
3+ Hours
Reflect
Grab a paper and pen and start writing out a personal reflection. Focus on any past experiences you’ve had with habitat conservation, what motivated you and the impact that you were able to make. If you’re comfortable, share with your facilitator! Reflections help you understand yourself better and prepare yourself for future action.
2–6 Hours
Design a colouring sheet
Design an invasive or Indigenous species colouring sheet for children to enjoy. Need some inspiration? Checkout our current gallery of colouring sheets and other educational resources to get your creative juices flowing.
1–5 Hours
Design an invasive-free garden for your local area
Enjoy gardening? Research your local growing conditions, read up on our Plantwise program and start designing your very own invasive free garden!
1–5 Hours
Make an invasive species poster
Design an engaging poster that educates people about an invasive species issues in your area.
1–20 Hours
Neighbourhood map
Describe the location of different features in your neighbourhood. This can be artistic or scientific. A nature inventory can help you make a more accurate map and you can share this with your volunteer team to help others identify their neighbourhood ecological features.
5+ Hours
Get cooking
Did you know you can eat your weeds? Share an invasives recipe with the volunteer team, friends and family. Check out Eat the Invaders for ideas!
2–7 Hours
Create a scavenger hunt
Plan a route through your neighbourhood that includes native and invasive plants. Create clues to help people locate the plants. Hide small indicators (like a painted stone) at each stop. Promote the scavenger hunt to your neighbours or the community.
2–5 Hours
Write an invasive species song
Use musical expression to communicate your knowledge of invasive species.
2–5 Hours
Write a nature poem
Flex your creativity and express yourself.
20+ HourS
Make a herbarium
Pick, identify and press a number of plants (invasive and natural) in your area to keep as an identification tool.
1 Hour
Share invasive species info on social media
Write a post that inspires action about an invasive species in your area. Share on your own social media (but don’t forget to tag us!).
5+ Hours
Start your own blog
Start your own blog, posting about topics that are important to you.
5+ Hours
Paint invasives
Grab your brushes and started painting. Checkout our past webinars on “The Art of Painting Botanicals” to get started!
5+ Hours
Start a podcast
Love to talk? Start your own podcast on invasives or other conservation topics that are important to you. This is a great way to share your knowledge and get creative while doing it.
5+ Hours
Get crafty
Help protect your environment by getting crafty with zero waste, environmentally friendly projects such as beeswax wraps and fabric bags!
3+ Hours
Write a story
Put your writing skills to the test and start writing your own narrative surrounding the theme of environmental conservation.
10+ Hour
Plant propagation for planting
Read this article to learn how to grow your own plants from clippings!
1–2 Hours
Report invasive species
Download the Report Invasives app and go looking for invasive species to report in your neighbourhood.
4–10 Hours
Start a vermicomposter
Make a worm bucket. Adopt some pet worms and feed them food scraps to reduce your carbon footprint and receive rich organic compost for your garden.
2–8 Hours
Plan an interpretive walk
Select a local area of interest. Identify natural features you’d like to highlight. Plan a nature walk for your fellow volunteers!
2–8 Hours
Invasive weed pull
Spend the day identifying and removing invasive species at a local park or recreation site.
3–8 Hours
Garbage clean-up
Identify a local area near you that needs some love. Grab some trash bags, gloves, a mask and get cleaning!
Volunteer News & Events
Volunteer Voice
Volunteers Protecting Lower Cougar Creek From InvasivesISCBC volunteers are removing invasives from Lower Cougar Creek, one of Delta’s most important salmon-bearing waterways.
Volunteer Voice
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Volunteer Voice
Volunteer Spotlight: Joey EgelandPublished: June 24, 2021 Joey Egeland is 21 year-old student and has been volunteering with the Kamloops youth team since July 2019. Joey is passionate about preventing the spread of…
Youth Summit 2021
ISCBC’s Youth Summit 2020 was held on May 1 and 2, 2020. This amazing event is now packaged into an online series!