Benefits, motivations, and barriers related to environmental volunteerism for older adults: developing a research agenda.

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.

Environmental sustainability in an aging society: a research agenda.

OBJECTIVE: This article presents the results of a multidisciplinary consensus conference held to recommend a research agenda on the relationship between aging and environmental sustainability and conservation. The intersection of these two topics has important implications for the health and well-being of older persons but it has thus far received little scientific attention. METHODS: The consensus conference was conducted with gerontological experts from various disciplines and environmental scientists. Using a structured methodology, participants achieved consensus on recommendations for a research agenda on aging and environmental sustainability. RESULTS: Eight major recommendations for research are detailed in this article as well as cross-cutting research themes affecting all areas, including racial and economic diversity, geographical region, cohort, and intergenerational linkages. DISCUSSION: Given the vulnerability of older persons to environmental threats detailed by the consensus conference, conferees recommended that research on these topics be urgently promoted, both by researchers and by funding agencies.

Creating affordable Internet map server applications for regional scale applications.

This paper presents an overview and process for developing an Internet Map Server (IMS) application for a local volunteer watershed group using an Internal Internet Map Server (IIMS) strategy. The paper illustrates that modern GIS architectures utilizing an internal Internet map server coupled with a spatial SQL command language allow for rapid development of IMS applications. The implication of this approach means that powerful IMS applications can be rapidly and affordably developed for volunteer organizations that lack significant funds or a full time information technology staff.