Interested in protecting New Zealand’s beautiful beaches from plastic pollution and other litter? International Volunteer HQ’s Coastline Conservation and Education Project enables volunteers to spend time outdoors assisting with a wide range of activities that help to make a real difference to the issues facing New Zealand’s incredible coastal and marine environment. Volunteers gain experience and knowledge in running large-scale beach clean-ups and awareness-raising events and campaigns, facilitating education programs and training workshops, and providing important support for local initiatives that work to keep New Zealand’s coastlines and marine wildlife healthy.

What to expect and how you'll make an impact

Coastal and marine litter negatively impacts our environment, the health of our wildlife, and our own well-being. New Zealand holds the undesirable global ranking of 15th highest generator of plastic waste per capita. Waste escapes from our rubbish bins, and gets washed into stormwater drains and rivers, and ultimately ends up on our beaches and in our ocean. The beautiful country is also the most dangerous place in the world to be a seabird when it comes to plastic ingestion, with a 2015 study predicting that 99% of our seabird species will be ingesting plastic by 2050. To address the litter challenge long-term, we need to influence widespread behaviours around the production, consumption and disposal of waste.

As a Coastline Conservation and Education Project volunteer, you’ll be working with a local team to:

Facilitate nature-based learning experiences for schools, community and corporate groups
Lead litter data collection activities and litter data collection training workshops
Plan and run large-scale beach clean-up and awareness-raising events
Facilitate behaviour change workshops with schools, corporate and community groups
Train and support a network of citizen scientists to run New Zealand’s only nationwide beach litter monitoring program

You’ll meet and work with a diverse range of audiences and participants including school, corporate and community groups, and in a variety of settings, mostly outdoors and at the beach, and in some of New Zealand’s most beautiful coastal environments within the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. You’ll be part of an amazing team of local facilitators and will have opportunities to develop your facilitation, outdoor leadership, data collection and event management skills as you help the project achieve its intended impact of a 60% reduction in coastal litter in New Zealand by 2030.

Why do Coastline Conservation and Education volunteering in Auckland with IVHQ?

When you volunteer in New Zealand you’ll be adding value to the local community, while also developing personally and professionally by:

Supporting local initiatives that protect the coastal and marine environment
Developing your communication and facilitation skills
Gaining conservation experience
Immersing yourself in the New Zealand way of life
Exploring New Zealand’s untouched natural environment

Volunteer requirements

Volunteers under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, provide IVHQ with parental consent in order to participate on the program, and may be asked to provide additional document to the local team.

Volunteers aged 16 or 17 on their start date, if unable to obtain a criminal background check, can provide two character reference letters instead, and will be required to provide IVHQ with parental consent in order to participate on the program, and may be asked to provide additional documents to the local team.

Volunteers aged over 18 on their start date are required to provide a criminal background check to IVHQ before departure.

All volunteers must speak English and have adequate volunteer travel insurance.

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Who is going?

Group video calls

Once you have secured your place, join regular video calls to meet your Program Manager and other volunteers before your trip.