Green Volunteers in Czechoslovakia: The Youth Magazine Mladý svět and its Environmental Campaign, 1970s-1980s

Concern with environmental degradation was one factor contributing to the discontent preceding the revolutions of 1989 in East-Central Europe. This article identifies the trajectories of environmental activism in Czechoslovakia, one of the most industrialized countries of the post-1945 socialist bloc. Analysing the media representation of environmental volunteers during late socialism, the examination focuses on the youth magazine Mladý svět, which prominently discussed environmental issues and became home to the Brontosaurus youth movement. During the so-called ‘normalization’ era of the 1970s and 1980s, which is often characterized as a time of stagnation, this movement for environmental volunteering provided young people with opportunities for self-realization and alternative lifestyles. While the movement shared several features of the New Social Movements of the 1970s, Czechoslovak green volunteerism took an ambivalent position within formal socialist youth structures, shedding light on the complex relationship between what is considered ‘alternative’ or ‘oppositional’ in late socialism.

Why Do Muslim Youths Participate in Environmental Volunteering?

Understanding youth environmental volunteering participation is a crucial strategy for building a citizenry that can contribute to environmental conservation efforts. Thus, this research investigated the environmental volunteering values orientation held by Malay Muslim youths in Malaysia that motivated them to engage in environmental volunteering programmes. This study started with semi-structured interviews which were then followed by a survey. The interviews were conducted with 10 participants who are environmental volunteers. Based on the interview findings, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to 267 Malay Muslim environmental volunteers. The results revealed there are four values highly held by the Malay Muslim environmental volunteers that motivated them to participate in environmental volunteering, namely religious, biospheric, altruistic, and egoistic values, in that order. For this reason, there is a need to integrate religious values in environmental volunteering program to encourage communities to jointly engage in environmental conservation efforts.

The Potential Win-win Strategy for Healthy Aging and Environmental Protection: Environmental Volunteering

Purpose To explore the physical activity level of community environmental volunteering (CEV) participants and the differences in physical functions and daily activity patterns between the older adults who engaged in intensive CEV (≥15 hours/week) and non-intensive CEV (<15 hours/week) groups. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Three recycling stations in Taiwan. Sample In total, 113 community-dwelling older adults who regularly participated in CEV. The response rate was 53%. Measures The ActiGraph wGT3x-BT accelerometer for the percentage of sedentary, light, and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) of CEV time and awaken time; the Jamar hand dynamometer for grip strength; and the MicroFET3 muscle testing dynamometer for knee extension strength. Analysis Analysis of covariance with the baseline characteristics as covariates. Results Overall, MVPA, light, and sedentary activities accounted for 53.73%, 41.10%, and 5.23% of CEV time, respectively. The intensive group (n = 61) displayed greater dominant handgrip strength ( P = .004) and higher MVPA percentage in daily life ( P = .044) than the non-intensive group (n = 52). Conclusion CEV provides sufficient opportunities for older adults to perform physical activity. Intensive CEV is related to greater handgrip strength but not lower limb strength. Further study is needed to establish the causal relationship between CEV and health variates.

DEVELOPMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL VOLUNTEERING IN EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Рассмотрены проблемы развития экологических добровольческих практик в общеобразовательных организациях. Обосновывается предположение, что вовлечение обучающихся в создание и реализацию социально-значимых экологических проектов способствует формированию гражданской позиции школьников и становится эффективным инструментом их социализации. Эмпирическую базу статьи составляет исследование, проведенное Федеральным центром дополнительного образования и организации отдыха и оздоровления детей. Материалы данного исследования вводятся в научный оборот впервые. This article is devoted to the problems of the development of environmental volunteer practices in educational organizations. The assumption is substantiated that the involvement of students in the creation and implementation of socially significant environmental projects contributes to the formation of the civic position of schoolchildren and becomes an effective tool for socialization. The empirical basis of the article is a study conducted by the Federal Center for Continuing Education and Organization of Recreation and Recreation of Children. The materials of this research are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time.

Environmental Awareness and Plastic Recycling Behaviour of Nigerian Undergraduates

Several prior studies globally have linked education with environmental awareness and behaviour, however there is a need to address the research gap in developing countries on the impact environmental education can have on pro-environmental awareness and in promoting pro-environmental behaviours (PEB) especially among university students. This paper takes into account the influence of social norms on PEB such as plastic recycling and promotes the notion of sustainable education in Higher institutions of learning in Nigeria. Recommendations for policy makers and universities are also reflected upon as Nigerian universities are urged to take pro-active steps towards adapting their curriculums and environmental volunteering activities. Furthermore, the study suggest sustainability literacy tests are incorporated into Nigerian university educational policies in other to promote pro-environmental behaviours among students.

Exploring Environmental Volunteers’ Perceptions of Health to Design a Health-Related Impact Measurement Tool

This article aims to explore the use of the user-centered design (UCD) method, mental model approach, of those who engage in environmental volunteering to work toward the development of a health-related impact measurement tool. It reports a case study which explores the use of one UCD method, a mental model approach. This is an understudied area of research that would be considerably valuable for practitioners in the voluntary sector who wish to create their own health-related impact measurement tool. Focus group interviews are used to explore how volunteers perceive the term health, their conceptual understandings, terminology used, and the attributes to measure it. This study is reported from the perspective of U.K. environmental charity, The Conservation Volunteers (TCV). Findings from this article can be used by other voluntary organizations and charities to help shape their own health-related impact measurement tool and the ways in which these tools can be tailored to suit their individual needs.

Using digital platforms for environmental management

The article discusses the possibility of using digital platforms for environmental management. The aim of the research is to determine the directions of using digital platforms for environmental management. To preserve the environment, increase energy conservation and sustainable development of territories, effective management is always important. Digital innovation allows citizens to engage, develop environmental volunteering, improve environmental literacy, collect more environmental data, and improve governance. The work identified the types of digital platforms depending on the subject of management, the main types of digital platforms and the main type of activity based on the chosen platform. The article considered the main digital platforms for environmental management in the field of ecology and the environment of the Russian Federation, highlighted the main functions of the platforms, problems and development directions. It is necessary to create such hybrid systems of environmental supervision in the field of water resources protection, to detect the facts of illegal construction and violation of construction parameters, remote control over the intended use of land, deforestation, and the environmental situation in water and air.

THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL VOLUNTEERING TO PATRIOTIC EDUCATION OF STUDENTS IRGUPS

The article discusses environmental volunteering as a form of patriotic education of students, features of environmental education, the formation of ecocentric consciousness. The development of environmental volunteerism in the student environment is highlighted on the example of the positive experience of the Irkutsk State Transport University, where students are active participants in the "green" movement in the city of Irkutsk and the Irkutsk region.