Lisa: Hello, Jim. How are you?
Jim: Hi, Lisa. I'm well. I just got back from two weeks at Lake Baikal.
Lisa: Really? What were you doing there?
Jim: I was a volunteer with Greenpeace.
Lisa: That sounds interesting. What kind of work did you do?
Jim: We cleaned up part of the Baikal shore. There was a two-kilometer stretch that had lots of garbage because that's where people come to swim and have picnics.
Lisa: Are you saying that people left their trash around after they left the shore?
Jim: Seems that way. Not everyone is responsible, you know. Some people leave bottles, ice cream sticks, cans, food wrappers, newspapers and magazines right by the water. It accumulates into piles of rubbish, and that's when volunteers come to clean up. There are several teams of us. Each team takes a few metres of the shore, rakes the sand, picks up the garbage and puts it into bags or containers. It's not that much fun, really, but it is very meaningful work, I believe.
Lisa: You know, Jim, I've actually always wanted to be a volunteer, but I'm not sure how to begin. How did you become a volunteer?
Jim: It's quite easy, Lisa, let me tell you. You can choose the type of work you want to do, then look up on the internet an organisation that does this work and contact them about joining. That's how I found Greenpeace, because I've always been concerned about the environment. I started searching on the internet for an organisation that had projects to protect the environment, animals and plants.
Lisa: By the way, how old do you have to be to become a volunteer?
Jim: Well, it really depends on the project and the organisation. For example, in my case, for the Baikal project, I had to be at least 14 years old because it involved travelling quite far and living in tents for two weeks. We even cooked our own meals on the fire some days. We took turns, of course, but all teens had to know how to cook. But I believe some local projects take kids as young as 10 years old. I've seen that in some organisations.
Lisa: I see. Thank you for the information, Jim. I'm very interested in volunteering at the Children's Hospital because I have a heart for kids, so I'm going to research organisations that do this kind of work and contact them. I'm 15, so this should be old enough, right?