Interest in civic engagement focused on the natural environment has grown dramatically, as has the population of older adults. Our article explores the potential for increased environmental volunteerism among older adults to enrich the lives of volunteers while benefitting the community and environmental quality. Curiously, this convergence has been relatively neglected by researchers and program developers. We review existing literatures on trends in volunteerism, motivations, benefits, and barriers to participation, with a special focus on elements most relevant to older adults. Based on this review, we identify a number of critical areas of research, and pose key research questions.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AchenbaumW. A. (2008). From “Green Old Age” to “Green Seniors”: A Synoptic History of Elders and Environmentalism. Public Policy & Aging Report, 18(2): 8–13.
2.
AdvantAge Initiative. (2003). AdvantAge Initiative 2003 National Survey of Adults Aged 65 and Older. Retrieved from www.vnsny.org/advantage/survey.html
3.
American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). (2008). More to give: Tapping the talents of the baby boomer, silent and greatest generations. Washington, DC: AARP.
AmsdenB. (2007). Using Photographic Methods to Assess Sense of Place on USFS Lands in Alaska. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Rural Sociology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA.
6.
AmsdenB. L.StedmanR. C., & KrugerL. E. (2011). The creation and maintenance of sense of place in a tourism-dependent community. Leisure Sciences, 33(1), 32–51.
7.
AmsdenB.StedmanR. C., & KrugerL.. (in press). Making place: The creation and expression of volunteer place meanings. In WilliamsD. R. & StewartS. I. (Eds.), Place and Decision-Making. New York: Springer.
8.
BaltesP., & BaltesM. (1990). Psychological perspectives on successful aging: The model of selective optimization with compensation. In BaltesP. & BaltesM. (Eds.), Successful aging: Perspectives from the behavioral sciences (pp. 1–24). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
9.
BeckerP. (2001). Religious involvement and volunteering: Implications for civil society. Sociology of Religion, 62, 315–335.
10.
BrehmJ.EisenhauerB., & StedmanR. (2008, June). A comparative analysis of the nexus of place attachment and behavior. Paper presented at the 2008 International Symposium for Society and Natural Resources, Burlington, VT.
11.
CatanzaroC., & EkeanemE. (2004). Home gardeners value stress reduction and interaction with nature. Acta Horticulturae, 639, 269–275.
CutchinM. P. (2001). Deweyan integration: Moving beyond place attachment in elderly migration theory. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 52(1), 29–44.
14.
DePietroL. (2001). Physical activity in aging: Changes in patterns and their relationship to health and function. Journals of Gerontology, 56A, 13–22.
15.
DickinsonJ. L. (2009). The people paradox: Self-esteem striving, immortality ideologies, and human response to climate change. Ecology and Society, 14, 34. Retrieved from http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/articles/2849.html
16.
EndresT. (2006). RespectAbility in America: Promising practices in civic engagement among adults 55+ (Final Report). Washington, DC: National Council on Aging.
17.
EriksonE. H. (1974). Dimensions of a new identity. New York: Norton.
18.
EvansC.AbramsE.ReitsmaR.RouxK.SalmonsenL., & MarraP. P. (2005). The neighborhood nestwatch program: Participant outcomes of a citizen-science ecological research project. Conservation Biology, 19(3), 589–594. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00s01.x
19.
FreedanM. (2007). Encore: Finding work that matters in the second half of life. New York: PublicAffairs.
20.
FrumkinH. (2001). Beyond toxicity: Human health and the natural environment. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 20, 234–240.
21.
GanaK.AlaphilippeD., & BaillyN. (2004). Positive illusions and mental and physical health in later life. Aging and Mental Health, 8, 58–64.
22.
GlynnM. A. (2000). When cymbals become symbols: Conflict over organizational identity within a symphony orchestra. Organization Science, 11(3), 285–298.
23.
GoochM. (2003). A sense of place: Ecological identity as a driver for catchment volunteering. Australian Journal on Volunteering, 8(2), 23–32.
24.
HardyD.LaroseS., & RoseB. (2003). Long trail guide (25th ed.). Waterbury, VT: The Green Mountain Club.
25.
HayR. (1998). Sense of place in developmental context. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 18, 5–29.
26.
HendricksJ., & CutlerS. (2004). Volunteerism and socioemotional selectivity in later life. Journal of Gerontology, 59B, S251–S257.
JanoskiT.MusickM., & WilsonJ. (1998). Being volunteered? The impact of social participation and pro-social attitudes on volunteering. Sociological Forum, 13(3), 495–519.
29.
KaplanR. (1992). Health and aging in the Alameda County study. In SchaieK.BlazerD., & HouseJ. (Eds.), Aging, health behaviors, and health outcomes (pp. 69–88). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
30.
Kleinspehn-AmmerlahnA.Kotter-GruhnD., & SmithJ. (2008). Self-perceptions of aging: Do subjective age and satisfaction with aging change during old age?Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 63B(6), P377–P385.
31.
KrugerJ.BuchnerD. M., & ProhaskaT. R. (2009). The prescribed amount of physical activity in randomized clinical trials in older adults. The Gerontologist, 49(S1), S100–S107.
32.
KuoF. (2001). Coping with poverty: Impacts of environment and attention in the inner city. Environment and Behavior, 33, 5–34.
33.
KuoF. E., & SullivanW. C. (2001). Environment and crime in the inner city. Environment and Behavior, 33, 343–367.
34.
LarsonE. B.WangL.BowenJ. D.McCormickW. C.TeriL.CraneP. (2006). Exercise in people age 65 years and older is associated with lower risk for dementia. Annals of Internal Medicine, 144, 73–81.
35.
LibrettJ.YoreM.BuchnerD., & SchmidT. (2005). Taking pride in America's health: Volunteering as a gateway to physical activity. American Journal of Health Education, 37, 8–13.
36.
LogsdonR. G.McCurryS. M.PikeK. C., & TeriL. (2009). Making physical activity accessible to older adults with memory loss: A feasibility study. The Gerontologist, 49(S1), S94–S99.
37.
LouvR. (2005). Last child in the woods: Saving our children from nature deficit disorder. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books.
38.
LubellM. (2002). Environmental activism as collective action. Environment and Behavior, 34, 431–454.
39.
McHughK. E., & MingsR. C. (1996). The circle of migration: Attachment to place in aging. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 86(1), 530–550.
40.
MoenP.FieldsV.MeadorR., & RosenblattH. (2000). Fostering integration: A case study of the Cornell Retirees Volunteering in Service (CRVIS). In PillemerK.MoenP.WethingtonE., & GlasgoN. (Eds.), Social integration in the second half of life (pp. 247–264). Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins Press.
41.
MontepareJ. M., & LachemanM. E. (1989). You're only as old as you feel: Self-perceptions of age, fears of aging, and life satisfaction from adolescence to old age. Psychology and Aging, 4, 73–78.
42.
MoodyH. R. (2008). Environmentalism as an aging issue. Public Policy and Aging Report, 18(2), 1, 3–7.
43.
NerbonneJ. F., & NelsonK. C. (2004). Volunteer macroinvertebrate monitoring in the United States: Resource mobilization and comparative state structures. Society and Natural Resources, 17, 817–839.
44.
PfefferM. J., & WagenetL. P. (2007). Volunteer environmental monitoring, knowledge creation and citizen-scientist interaction. In PrettyJ.BallA.BentonT.GuivantJ.LeeD.OrrD. (Eds.), The Sage handbook of environment and society (pp. 235–249). London: Sage.
45.
PillemerK., & WagenetL. P. (2008). Taking action: Environmental volunteerism and civic engagement by older people. Public Policy & Aging Report, 18(2), 23–27.
46.
RoweJ. W., & KahnR. L. (1998). Successful aging. New York: Random House.
47.
RubinD. C., & BerntsenD. (2006). People over forty feel 20% younger than their age: Subjective age across the lifespan. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 13, 776–780.
48.
SilverbergK. E. (2004). Understanding American parks and recreation volunteers utilizing a functionalist perspective. In StebbinsR. A. & GrahamM. (Eds.), Volunteering as leisure/leisure as volunteering: An international assessment (pp. 87–110). Willingsford, Oxfordshire, UK: CAB International.
49.
SkocpolT. (1997). The Tocqueville problem: Civic engagement in American democracy. Social Science History, 21(4), 455–479.
50.
StedmanR. C. (2001). Toward a social psychology of place: Predicting behavior from place-based cognitions, attitude, and identity. Environment and Behavior, 34(5), 405–425.
51.
StedmanR. C. (2003). Is it really just a social construction: The contribution of the physical environment to sense of place. Society and Natural Resources, 16(8), 671–685.
52.
StedmanR. C.AmsdenB. L., & KrugerL. (2006). Sense of place and community: Points of intersection with implications for leisure research. Leisure/Loisir, 30(2), 393–404.
53.
Survey Research Institute (SRI). (2008). Codebook: Cornell National Social Survey. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University.
54.
TanE. J.RebokG. W.YuQ.FrangakisC. E.CarlsonM. C.WangT. (2009). The long-term relationship between high-intensity volunteering and physical activity in older African American women. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 64B(2), 304–311.
55.
TuanY. F. (1977). Space and place: The perspective of experience. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
WeberE. P. (2000). A new vanguard for the environment: Grass-roots ecosystem management as a new environmental movement. Society and Natural Resources, 13, 237–259.
59.
WellsN. (2000). At home with nature: Effects of “greenness” on children's cognitive functioning. Environment and Behavior, 32, 775–795.
60.
WellsN., & EvansC. (2003). Nearby nature: A buffer of life stress among rural children. Environment and Behavior, 35, 311–330.
61.
WilsonE. O. (2006). The creation: An appeal to save life on earth. New York: W. W. Norton and Company.
62.
WindsorT.AnsteyK., & RodgersB. (2008). Volunteering and psychological well-being among young-old adults: How much is too much?The Gerontologist, 48, 49–70.
