“You must be the change you wish to see in the world” — Gandhi

» Getting Involved & Informed | » Volunteer opportunities | » Community resources and links


If you’ve done everything you can in your personal life to protect your urban ecosystem, you might be inspired to influence others to do the same.

Volunteers are vital to Seattle. Citizens serve on dozens of boards that advise the city on land use, urban sustainability, libraries, race and justice, historic preservation, technology, utility rates, building codes, ethics, elections and the arts. Others belong to nonprofit organizations that support job training, housing, food, literacy and the environment.

Partnerships leverage our resources and enrich our community. City agencies and civic organizations team up for neighborhood cleanups. Parks and schools use each other’s facilities free of charge. Corporations give grants and get their employees engaged in their neighborhoods. Nonprofits such as EarthCorps recruit young people, especially kids in ethnically diverse neighborhoods, to work on environmental projects.

Supporting progressive programs at the ballot box is also important. Seattleites love their parks and green spaces so much that they have voted 12 times to tax themselves to acquire and improve them.

Closer to home, neighborhood organizations provide ongoing opportunities for residents to pitch in. Seattle has more than 200 neighborhoods, each with a distinct character. The City of Seattle provides hundreds of opportunities to get informed, get involved and volunteer.

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City of Seattle
http://www.seattle.gov/

City of Seattle — Office of the Mayor
http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/

City of Seattle — Environment
http://www.seattle.gov/html/CITIZEN/environment.htm

Office of Sustainability and Environment
http://www.seattle.gov/environment/

Seattle Public Utilities
http://www.seattle.gov/util/services/

Seattle City Light
http://www.seattle.gov/light/

Seattle Parks and Recreation
http://www.seattle.gov/parks/

Department of Neighborhoods
http://www.seattle.gov/html/CITIZEN/housing.htm

Puget Sound Clean Air Agency
http://www.pscleanair.org/

Puget Sound Action Team
http://www.psat.wa.gov/

Citizens Service Bureau
http://www.seattle.gov/CitizenService/
Call (206) 684-CITY

Seattle Channel — cable television channel 21 or 28
http://www.seattlechannel.org

City of Seattle Event Calendar
http://www2.cityofseattle.net/events/

City Council Legislation
http://www.seattle.gov/council/legdb.htm

City of Seattle Boards and Commissions
http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/boards.htm

Your government — Get involved
http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/html/boardsportal.htm

Bicycle Advisory Board, City of Seattle
http://www.cityofseattle.net/sbab/

Board of Park Commissioners
http://www.cityofseattle.net/parks/parkboard

Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission
http://www.cityofseattle.net/light/environment/SEEC/

Pedestrian Advisory Board
http://www.cityofseattle.net/spab/

Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority
http://www.cityofseattle.net/neighborhoods/preservation/pikeplace.htm

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Even with all the opportunities provided by the City of Seattle to get involved, you may want to look for other ways to exercise your activism. Hundreds of nonprofit organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are looking for volunteers and funding to achieve their specific goals.

A list of Seattle-area non-profits can be found at:
http://www.seattleataglance.com/list_nonprofits.htm.

A more focused list of Seattle area environmental groups is available at
http://www.iloveseattle.org/ils/groups-main/environment.html.

To volunteer: Adopt-A-Street
http://www.seattle.gov/util/Services/Garbage/Reduce_Garbage_&_Litter/...

Animal Foster Care and Seattle Animal Shelter Volunteer Program
http://www.seattle.gov/animalshelter/fostervolunteers.htm

Environmental Grants
http://www.seattle.gov/util/Services/Drainage_&_Sewer/...

Neighborhood Matching Fund
http://www.cityofseattle.net/parks/projects/nmf/

P-Patch Program, Department of Neighborhoods
http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/ppatch/volunteer.htm

Seattle Parks Foundation
http://www.seattleparksfoundation.org/jobs_volunteers.htm

Parks and Open Spaces
http://www.seattle.gov/parks/Volunteers/index.htm

Recycling — Volunteer to Increase Recycling
http://www.seattle.gov/util/Services/Recycling/...

Seattle Public Utilities
http://www.seattle.gov/util/About_SPU/Management/...

Storm Drain Stenciling
http://www.seattle.gov/util/Services/Drainage_&_Sewer/...

Traffic Circle Program
http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/traf.ccircles.htm

Tree Steward Program
http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/outreach.htm

Urban Creeks Stewards
http://www.seattle.gov/util/Services/Drainage_&_Sewer/...

Woodland Park Zoo
http://zoo.org/zoo_info/involved/volunteer.htm

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City of Seattle
http://www.seattle.gov

Seattle Aquarium
http://www.seattleaquarium.org

Saving Water Partnership
http://www.savingwater.org

Natural Lawn & Garden Hotline
206-633-0224
info@lawnandgardenhotline.org

King County Solid Waste Division
http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd

Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County
http://www.govlink.org/hazwaste

Seattle-King County Health
Department Hazards Line
(206) 296-4692

Washington State Department of Ecology
http://www.ecy.wa.gov

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
http://wdfw.wa.gov

U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR Program
http://www.energystar.gov

Puget Sound Clean Air Agency
http://www.pscleanair.org

Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation
http://www.rbrc.org

Center for Invasive Plant Management
http://www.weedcenter.org

Seattle Audubon Society
http://www.seattleaudubon.org

Industrial Materials Exchange
http://www.imex.com

Computer Take Back Campaign
http://www.computertakeback.com

Built Green™
http://www.builtgreen.net

American Solar Energy Society
http://www.ases.org

Solar Washington
http://solarwashington.org

Burn Smart, Burn Clean
http://www.burningclean.com

Global Footprint Network
http://www.ecofoot.net

Puget Sound Online
http://www.ecovian.com/seattle

Ecovian green city guide for Seattle
http://www.psat.wa.gov

Green Roof Resource Page
http://www.greenroofs.com

Northwest EcoBuilding Guild
http://www.hadj.net

Washington Toxics Coalition
http://www.watoxics.org

Washington Native Plant Society
http://www.wnps.org

EarthCorps
http://www.earthcorps.org

IvyOUT
http://www.ivyout.org

Second Use Building Materials
http://www.seconduse.com

International Society of Arboriculture
http://www.treesaregood.com

Forest Stewardship Council
http://www.fsc.org/en/

Sustainable USA Network
http://www.sustainableusa.org

Northwest Product Stewardship Council
http://www.productstewardship.net

Earthwise
http://www.earthwise-salvage.com

American Plastics Council
http://www.plasticsresource.com

Reusablebags.com
http://www.reusablebags.com

Direct Marketing Association
http://www.dmaconsumers.org

Consumer Research Institute
http://www.stopjunk.com

Flexcar
http://www.flexcar.com

National Clean Boating Campaign
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/nmc/clean.htm

Puget Sound Clean Cities Coalition
http://pugetsoundcleancities.org

Northwest Biodiesel Network
http://www.nwbiodiesel.org

Seattle Biodiesel
http://www.seattlebiodiesel.com

EarthCorps
http://www.earthcorps.org

Woodland Park Zoo
http://www.zoo.org

Wildbirds.com
http://www.wildbirds.com