LB 6-50 - The Future of Ecologists Without Borders (EcoWB): creating a volunteer-model to support community-scale restoration, conservation, and resource management projects

Environmental degradation, climate change, and biodiversity loss are disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities least equipped with resources to manage and adapt. Effective collaboration with volunteers can help build community resilience, wheras top-down approaches to environmental sustainability often fail. Ecologists Without Borders (EcoWB) is a non-profit, service-orientated, volunteer-driven organization that is building resilient communities and healthy ecosystems through international collaboration. EcoWB accepts project proposals from any entity on a rolling basis, which are peer-reviewed. Our aim is to leverage available knowledge, capacity, and talent of ecologists and related disciplines to achieve sustainable solutions for community-scale actors in need. Therefore, matching capable volunteers to sound and trustworthy projects remains our greatest challenge to solve.Considering this challenge and increasing third-party interest, EcoWB has undergone rapid organizational development to better meet the future needs of stakeholders. In 2022, we began a strategic planning process to engage a dozen volunteers in deciding how EcoWB should adapt and grow. During virtual workshops we completed a SWAT matrix analysis, assessment of Sustainable Development Goals alignment, a 2030 and 2050 Vision Chart, and a Milestone Gantt action plan, resulting in a long- and short-term strategy. This effort also included steps to systemize our project development process. We present key outcomes from our development, highlighting ways for ecologists of all backgrounds and levels of experience to participate.Our strengths include an open model for receiving projects and a diverse organization composed of purpose-driven volunteers who fill a compelling niche, and one that is well-aligned with SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals. Our lack of organizational funding and our nascent operational policies pose challenges to smooth onboarding of high-quality projects and connecting volunteers to suitable opportunities. To address these limitations in ways beyond fundraising, we have developed an open eco-project standard for evaluating projects, and models for managing project recruitment during the early phases of a project. We are also expanding our pro-bono professional network by exploring partnerships with consulting firms that offer compensated employee time and funding opportunities. Finally, we are taking on-going steps to further establish our model, which includes standards revision, recruitment, volunteer safety policy, efficient distribution of micro-tasks, and more. Active participation by many volunteers from professional and academic ecology disciplines will be needed for us to realize our vision of empowering a global community of change makers equipped to solve ecological problems..