Examples of Green Volunteer Positions
Find examples of volunteer position recruitments below that could be used for your festival. Many other volunteer positions could make up your “Green Team”, but these are a good place to start!
Job Title: Recycling and Compost Attendant
Purpose: Volunteers working in the position of Recycling and Compost Attendant will have a key role in an important waste diversion program. These volunteers will be contributing their time to minimize the amount of waste that goes to the landfill, which will greatly improve the environmental sustainability of the festival. We would love to eventually have a zero waste festival, and you can help get us there!
Key Responsibilities:
- Learn what products can properly be recycled and composted within the municipality
- Oversee a waste diversion station that has separate garbage, recycling and compost bins
- Answer any questions that festival-goers have about what bin each product should properly go in
- Assist festival-goers to correctly sort compost, recycling and waste to ensure that no recycling or compost is accidentally getting sent to the landfill
- Educate festivalgoers about the benefits of recycling and composting at the festival
Managers: It is advised that each volunteer is provided with information before the festival about what stream all products goes in. This could be done at a training session, through emails, or however it seems appropriate to do so. As a festival manager you need to make sure your volunteers know exactly what goes where to minimize contamination. For example – if your festival has compostable plates and cutlery, make sure volunteers know they should go in the compost! If styrafoam can be recycled in your municipality, make sure volunteers know that! Some of this may seem obvious, but it isn’t always!
Qualifications:
- Have an interest in being a part of a volunteer team that is making a positive change
- Be dependable, and have a good attitude
- Have the ability to easily engage with the public and successfully educate festival-goers
What You Get: [Fill in this information for your own festival. This could include volunteer hours for high school students, free admission to the festival, a t-shirt or water bottle, etc. This is up to you.]
How to Apply: [Fill in this information for your own festival]
Job Title: Sustainable Transportation Assistant
Purpose: Volunteers working in the position of Sustainable Transportation Assistant will be giving festivalgoers the opportunity to ride their bikes to the festival and know that they are safe and secure. These volunteers will be contributing their time to ensure people have an option for sustainable transit. A reduction in people driving to the festival will help to reduce the carbon footprint generated by the event.
Key Responsibilities:
- Oversee the secure bike parking valet area
- Park and lock the bikes for festivalgoers in a secure area
- Distribute numbered tickets that correspond to each bike, which will be used for identification when the festivalgoer returns
- Provide information to festivalgoers about sustainable transportation and other sustainability initiatives at the festival
Qualifications:
- A desire to make a difference and learn more about sustainable festivals
- Be dependable, trustworthy, and responsible
- Have the ability to engage in a discussion with festivalgoers about sustainable transportation
What You Get: [Fill in this information for your own festival. This could include volunteer hours for high school students, free admission to the festival, a t-shirt or water bottle, etc. This is up to you.]
How to Apply: [Fill in this information for your own festival]
Other volunteer positions could include:
- Free Water Station Attendant (a volunteer to fill reusable water bottles for guests at festivals going water-bottle free and providing a water tank)
- Green Team Waste Technician (a volunteer that physically sorts through the garbage to ensure that it is not contaminated)
- Campsite Support Worker (a volunteer who interacts with the campers to tell them the importance of leaving their site the way they found it, checking on the waste collection sites, providing extra recycling or compost bags, getting feedback)