Help your students experience the many benefits to be gained through volunteering. International Volunteer Day is a United Nations effort that aims to raise awareness about the important contribution of volunteer services, both in local communities and abroad.

Service Learning is a powerful means of engaging young people in tackling development challenges. Volunteer efforts benefit both society at large and the individual.  Student volunteers gain opportunities to act on their learning, develop important skills and experience first-hand the feeling of having made a positive difference.  

• The environment movement was started by volunteers and it has thrived on volunteer effort.
• Volunteers are an important part of the response to global emergencies such as floods and earthquakes.  They play a central role in post-disaster relief and rebuilding.
• In developing countries volunteers continue to do wonderful work, conserving biodiversity, exploring alternatives to fossil fuels and biomass, educating others and developing clean water supplies and sanitation.
• Volunteer programs support capacity building at the local level where poverty reduction and delivery of basic services are most needed.
• Organizations in our own communities and those throughout the world that provide support to individuals who are most vulnerable, depend on volunteers.
• One of the greatest challenges faced by community associations and non-profit organizations is recruiting and retaining volunteers.
• More than 30,000 people in Bangladesh volunteer with the Red Cross and Red Crescent Society. Equipped with hand sirens, transistor radios, signal flags, first aid equipment and rescue kits, they are a communications channel relaying weather bulletins to 10 million people living in areas of cyclone risk.

Resources 4 Rethinking  encourages students and teachers to participate in International Volunteer Day and offers the following suggestions to support these efforts.

Other Resources

• Visit this UN website for links to videos of volunteers in action: http://www.unv.org/en/news-resources/video-resources.html
• One day on earth- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3Nj72EZZvs
• Volunteers All Around You- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p37g0tQHhds 
• Volunteer Canada- http://volunteer.ca/

For more information and activities be sure to check out the website at http://www.un.org/en/events/volunteerday/  and/or http://www.unv.org/en/news-resources/resources/on-volunteerism/doc/unv-report-to-the.html

World Wetlands Day marks the signing of The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance that took place in Ramsar, Iran on February 2, 1971. The goal of this annual international celebration is to raise public awareness of the vital functions wetlands perform and to promote wetland conservation. The theme for World Wetlands Day 2011 is "wetlands and forests - forests for water and wetlands" in cooperation with the United Nations International Year of Forests.

World Wetlands Day provides an excellent opportunity for students and teachers to explore the value of local wetlands and to take action on their behalf. Why Care about the Wetlands?

Habitat
o Wetlands provide the planet’s second most bio-diverse ecosystems.
o Most of the world’s endangered plant and animal species depend on wetlands.
o Many economically-important species thrive in wetlands.

Services- Wetlands provide:
o Flood control
o Freshwater purification
o Groundwater replenishment
o Shoreline stabilization
o Climate change mitigation
o Recreation opportunities
o Employment opportunities

Human Impact
o 90% of Canada’s urban wetlands have been destroyed
o 50% of Canada’s freshwater wetlands have been destroyed
o 65% of Atlantic Canada’s salt marshes have disappeared
o Wetland destruction continues at an alarming rate

Resources 4 Rethinking encourages students and teachers to participate in World Wetlands Day. Top R4R Picks will connect you to some excellent resources to support these efforts.

Other Resources-
Ramsar
Ducks Unlimited Canada