We asked people to tell us why their group or organization does stewardship work and 312 people answered. They mentioned a range of motivations related to improving their local community, taking responsibility to care for the environment, and fulfilling personal goals.

The responses to this question are hard to summarize and count so here is a sample of what people said and a word cloud that shows the words they used most frequently:

“Why? I'm just built this way. How can you walk past a neighbor in need and look away? I cannot. I must solve problems, I cannot ignore them.”

“Living in the city does not provide much opportunity for people to reconnect with the earth, and youth who have grown up in urban settings their entire lives need an opportunity to interact with the earth, learn about its relevance to their lives, and gain cultural insights from older generations.”

“We want to restore some semblance of the local natural beauty, peace and power that was destroyed during development. We want to create a place where people feel peaceful and happy.”

“We believe trees, flowers and clean open space are essential to the well-being of our community. There is a shortage of public green space in our densely-populated neighborhood and we wish to protect and improve our little park for all to enjoy.”

“Stewardship is critical for the long term success of our country. Our organizations bring history, farming and the environment together as they are inseparable and must be understood to maintain the heritage of freedom in our country, its blessings of natural resources and its agricultural bounty.”

“We do stewardship to create and promote green infrastructure. We try to work with nature in solving issues such as groundwater infiltration, stormwater management and cleaning, and erosion control.”

“We believe we are responsible for nurturing the earth and leaving it better than we found it.”

“Our primary purpose is to empower our students and families to care for their school and neighborhood environment through education and stewardship. Our neighborhood is fairly high crime, so student outdoor experiences are limited.”

“We believe that social justice, economic security, and community political participation is strengthened when community members are empowered and have access to land for the purpose of growing food.”

“Some of us get school credit for community service. We learn the names of plants that grow in the area and protect habitat so killdeer can raise families.”

“We are not primarily an environmental group, but we partner with others to improve nutrition by increasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables and to increase physical activity by making sure there are safe and inviting spaces to play and move.”

“Our group does stewardship work because the community needs people who care about the green areas within our city.”

“[At the beach where we work,] people who want a flat, bug-free, sun-filled beach have plenty of space and we have a habitat for flora and fauna. Even people who love to play volleyball at the beach understand how beautiful and appropriate our restoration project is.”

“The world that we received from past generations is not of the same quality as the world we are passing onto the next generation. We have lost the knowledge that how we are living on the land is negativity affecting the natural ecosystems of the planet.”

“Our engagement in this work help connect and/or reconnect children with nature and encourage attitude of caring plus good stewardship as they experience the awe and wonder of God's creation, natural communities in their local place.”