Disney VoluntEARs have a long history of contributing numerous hours to local communities' environmental causes.
In an effort to reforest natural areas, VoluntEARS hosted tree plantings throughout Latin America and in Hong Kong. In Latin America, more than 130 VoluntEARS teamed up with their families, friends, and local non-profit organizations to plant 295 native trees in three different locations: Vicente Lopez´s Natural Reserve in Argentina, Cerro Calán in Chile, and Ajusco Medio in Mexico. In April 2007, 100 VoluntEARS from Hong Kong Disneyland Resort worked with botanical experts from the local Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden to plant more than 300 native tree seedlings on hills of Tai Mo Shan, an area once covered by lush forests but now prone to hill fires. These tree plantings help restore lost ecosystems and attract local animal life.
The Thames is one of the most famous waterways in the UK, but much of it has been polluted by thousands of tons of litter each year that eventually flows to oceans, affecting beaches and marine wildlife around the world. VoluntEARS teamed up with Thames21, a non-profit organization that aims to transform neglected and littered waterways into areas that everyone can use and enjoy. Disney VoluntEARS helped clean-up the canal walls in the Ladbroke Grove area of the Grand Union Canal by scrubbing off or painting over graffiti and picking up trash during low tide at various locations in Hammersmith and the surrounding areas
Each year, Disney VoluntEARS from the Disney Magic join shore side Cast Members and representatives from the Canaveral Port Authority, U.S. Coast Guard, and the Ocean Conservancy in cleaning nearly three miles of beach near the ship's home terminal in Port Canaveral, Florida. In 2007, over 300 volunteers cleared 2,500 pounds of trash and litter from the coast, preserving the area for future visitors and the local community.
