The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic fundamentally changed the way U.S. residents were able to engage with public lands. From iconic national parks to local urban green spaces, physical distancing requirements meant that many public lands would not be able to host in-person outreach and community engagement events. This had a significant impact on nationally recognized events like National Public Lands Day (NPLD) — one of the nation’s largest single-day volunteer efforts.

In response to physical distancing requirements, the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) launched the NPLD virtual event sponsorship. The sponsorship was designed to support innovative virtual events that connect the public to local parks, national forests and other public lands and waters during the annual NPLD celebration. These events served as a great alternative for park professionals who were uncomfortable with in-person events; or who were not allowed to host in-person events due to physical distancing requirements in their area.

Virtual volunteering refers to volunteer activities completed, in whole or in part, using the internet and a computer or other internet-connected device, such as a smartphone or tablet. It allows anyone with internet access to contribute time and expertise to nonprofit organizations, land management agencies and other entities that utilize volunteer services.

Park professionals and land managers from across the country are beginning to turn to virtual volunteer activities to connect diverse audiences to their public land sites. This type of volunteering has helped land management agencies cultivate community support — especially in times of great disruption, such as COVID-19.

While NEEF originally launched this sponsorship opportunity to support safe and physically distant activities on NLPD, we learned that virtual volunteer events also provide an ideal opportunity to engage diverse audiences. The nature of virtual volunteer events offers a low-barrier way to engage people from communities of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community and other groups that are often underrepresented on public lands.

Read the full article about virtual volunteering by Tony Richardson at the National Recreation and Park Association.