MAKING THE DESERT BEAUTIFUL FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Natalia Smith. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Natalia Smith always loved to be outside. But a random email request from an organization looking for volunteers to work outdoors catapulted her life of service into high gear. Back in 2017, Natalia was at work in her professional role when Natural Restorations submitted a request for volunteers through her company portal. The organization works to remove trash and graffiti from outdoor recreation and wilderness areas, revitalize natural areas through replanting projects and enrich the lives of military veterans and other community members. After one day of participation, Natalia was hooked.

From picking up trash and debris to clearing away invasive species that grow after wildfires, Natalia got to better the world for the next generation while embracing her love of the great outdoors.

Natalia views her volunteer work as a way to lead by example and inspire others. While she originally saw picking up trash as something minimal, she describes it now as a drop of water that accumulates together and becomes something much larger. She also finds tremendous solace by investing in a strong work/life balance, since being in nature provides her with restorative benefits for the mind and body. She encourages anyone who finds that restorative feeling through volunteer work to pursue the pathway that provides it.

While Natalia has found great success in her volunteer work thus far, she’s only just getting started. After seven years as a volunteer, she’s hoping to get even more involved with Natural Restoration’s work by helping the organization fundraise and write new grants. She’s even expanded her sights beyond the organization, becoming a volunteer lead with the Tonto National Forest Mesa Ranger District. They have a River Rangers program, and in 2024 asked Natalia to lead their volunteer group. In that role, Natalia is literally guiding the next generation of environmental volunteers into action. Her experience is a strong example of just how far a volunteer can grow if they’re willing to step outside of their comfort zone.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative?

Growing up, spending time outdoors with my family and friends was an inexpensive way to go out and have fun and explore the natural world around me. I’ve always enjoyed outdoor recreation, like hiking, biking, wildlife and being out in nature. I completed an environmental science degree in 2013 and started my environmental health and safety career at Salt River Project (SRP), where I work. I was looking for opportunities in my community that would match my passion for the environment and outdoor recreation and my skill set. Natural Restorations sent a request for volunteers through our company portal, and they did such a good job of organizing the event. It wasn’t completely 100% work. You still could listen to the birds and see the wildlife and make connections with other community members out there, but they were steadfast with the determination of getting these areas cleaned up and keeping them scenic and having an impact.

What inspires you to volunteer?

I think it just comes from the fact that I can. The tasks that I do aren’t really any more difficult than what I would do in my day-to-day life. Picking up trash seems like a dirty job, but it’s as simple as just seeing it there and taking care of it, and wanting to have some kind of positive impact. It’s the instant gratification of seeing an area that looked kind of messy beforehand. Just getting that stuff cleaned up, you turn around and see it’s so much better for the people that are going to come after you.

Tell us about your volunteer role with Natural Restorations.

We do a multitude of things. The bulk of what I do with natural restorations is go out to outdoor recreation areas, either public lands, state trust lands or natural forests, and clean up trash and debris. That is the main goal of what we do. We go in and clean up trash and debris that shouldn’t be there and should be out in dumpsters. We’ve also moved into doing invasive vegetation removal and replanting of native desert species like saguaro cactus in areas that have been scarred by human-caused wildfires on the forest service land. We’ll go in, clear an area of invasive, non-native grasses that would promote wildfire, and then we’ll plant native saguaro cactus.

Also, I do a lot of promotion with my company, SRP, so I try to encourage my coworkers to come out and join the volunteer events. I share my experience, like how my employer has a grant program that’s based on employee volunteer hours. Depending on how many hours I spend with that organization, I can get them grant funding to continue to support their mission of doing the cleanups and restoration.

What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?

To get more involved. We’re in Arizona, so with this type of outdoor work, the limitations are always that the weather here gets pretty warm. I just always want to share their mission and support them, as well as engage with other folks in my community. I’d like to help them with their fundraising and educate the community, which is also part of what they do by making real positive differences and inspiring people to be good stewards of these areas that should be protected. We should pitch in and be responsible with outdoor ethics and how we go out and adventure, and make sure that we leave these areas in a condition that other people will enjoy for future generations.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

I would say interacting with community members that may not be there for the event. Maybe they’re just out there doing their thing, fishing or whatever. They don’t know anything about it. But then they see us out there working, and they ask us what we’re doing, and they see that we’re just picking up trash and trying to tidy up the area, and they join in. With the right gloves, trash grabber and bags, they’re willing to jump in and help out. Of course, the kids are always my favorite, because they get to spend time with their family and friends and other youth volunteers that are out there. They get to see their peers out there doing the same thing, and I’m hoping that it inspires those future generations.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?

Changing conditions and adapting to challenges. We’re in an outdoor environment, so sometimes there’s weather, and sometimes there’s wildlife interactions. It can all change. Getting to interact with different members of my community, and being able to talk to them and engage them in a way that makes them want to join in, has been a good learning experience. I’ve had a lot of opportunities and now can network with additional organizations that have the same goals of environmental stewardship, ecosystem health and responsible recreation through these volunteer events.

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?

There are lots of resources available. You can just go to Google and search. It was always intimidating for me initially. What could I do? I thought I didn’t have the experience, but there are a lot of organizations that are very welcoming to volunteers with varying skill sets. Then you find that organization that matches your passion. I find it very rewarding to have my work and then this other thing that I do, and sometimes they cross paths and mesh together. But I’ve also met a lot of really great people and built relationships and now friendships, and it’s all surrounding this positive impact on our community.

What do you want people to learn from your story?

There are lots of opportunities. Sometimes you just have to be the one to go out and initiate it. Take that first step. Reach out to your friends and family. Maybe the first one you choose isn’t the right one, but then you keep looking at other options and exploring your local municipalities or what your friends and family do. There’s likely an organization or nonprofit that could really use assistance and your skill set and another set of hands to help with the lifting and spreading the information and engagement with our community.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Natalia? Find local volunteer opportunities.