Retaining volunteers: a case of Ceres Community Environment Park

This research project focuses on the need for environmental organisations to retain their volunteers. For these organisations, the volunteers provide significant contributions, particularly through reducing the burden of labour costs. The existing studies focusing on retaining environmental volunteers often fall into a functionalist analysis of attitudes, persuasion and motivation. This project aims to explore environmental volunteerism through the use of Practice Theory with a particular focus on retaining volunteers. This is a unique application of Practice Theory that thus far has been applied to studies of the transition towards pro-environmental lifestyles and the creation and spread of social innovations. By focusing on the practices themselves, rather than on the individuals' choices, attitudes and behaviours, Practice Theory offers an alternative to the functionalist approach. This project applies the research in CERES Community and Environment Park in Brunswick East, Australia where volunteers make a significant part of its works. It was conducted by incorporating case study and qualitative research methods. The primary data was collected through semi-structured interviews involving CERES volunteers as respondents, and through observations during which the researcher took a participatory role in the volunteering groups. Meanwhile, the secondary data was derived from sources, such as CERES Annual Report and other reports of studies conducted at CERES. Thematic Analysis was used as an analytic strategy to explore the data collected. This project finds that Practice Theory adds a new perspective to research in environmental volunteerism by focusing on how three elements of practice: competencies, meanings and materials, shape the practice. The project identifies educational, social and bodily meanings attributed by the volunteers to this practice. It also finds that prior to joining the volunteering group, having technical competencies is considered unnecessary by the volunteers. Instead, they stated that possessing learning, social and bodily competencies is more relevant. This project also identifies the materials that are not relevant to the volunteers' tasks per se but their existence is relevant to the performance of this practice. These are the volunteer spaces that have social functions. An analysis of the findings of this research recognises the important role of volunteer co-ordinators and peers in helping making the links between the elements of practice. Furthermore, this project suggests several recommendations for retaining volunteers. These are to establish a communication channel with the volunteers, to provide more program options and to address the volunteers' negative meanings towards volunteering. It is suggested that further studies could be focused on what characteristics of co-ordinator is effective for retaining environmental volunteers