Given the vulnerability of older persons to environmental threats detailed by the consensus conference, conferees recommended that research on these topics be urgently promoted, both by researchers and by funding agencies.

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Interest in civic engagement focused on the natural environment has grown dramatically, as has the population of older adults. Our article explores the potential for increased environmental volunteerism among older adults to enrich the lives of volunteers while benefitting the community and environmental quality. Curiously, this convergence has been relatively neglected by researchers and program developers. We review existing literatures on trends in volunteerism, motivations, benefits, and barriers to participation, with a special focus on elements most relevant to older adults. Based on this review, we identify a number of critical areas of research, and pose key research questions.

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With regard to the identification of benthic macroinvertebrates, we evaluated the extent to which family-based information gathered by nonscientist volunteers compared to genus-level analysis by scientists. Volunteer monitors were trained in the techniques of family-level benthic macroinvertebrate analysis by scientists. The volunteers then sampled a local third order stream, identified specimens to the family level, and calculated metrics that led to a water quality rating based on the family-level data. The scientists examined all of the samples, identified the specimens to the genuslevel, and recalculated the metrics and the resultant water quality rating. Metrics of water quality based on family-level analysis did not always correlate well with those based on genus-level analysis. However, ratings of overall water quality were either identical or differed little between the family and genus levels of analyses.