Motivations for volunteers to participate in ecological restoration: a systematic map

Abstract

Volunteering is a central means by which communities become engaged in ecological restoration projects and understanding what motivates volunteers is a core preoccupation of researchers because it may help recruit more people. This study addresses the question: what are the motivations and barriers to participation in ecological restoration projects? The systematic literature map method was used to answer this question. The results revealed a typology of motivations that consists of 15 categories. A co‐occurrence network analysis of those categories revealed five core motivations that co‐occur most in the literature: having a positive environmental impact, acquiring and sharing knowledge, caring for the environment, social interactions and community, and human health and well‐being. Barriers to volunteering and the demographics of volunteers were also mapped in the literature, as they appeared frequently alongside motivations. The five core motivations represent a set of widely studied and well‐understood motivations which can inform the design of volunteer programs. The literature indexed by the systematic map can form the basis of further systematic reviews and meta‐analyses. This study highlights three major areas for future research: extrinsic motivations, demographics of volunteers who participate in ecological restoration, and project organization as a motivation.