Marcelle Domingo and fellow colleagues from AUT’s ‘Outside the Square’ in collaboration with The Whau River Catchment Trust have come together to promote “World Habitat Day”.
Marcelle explains below how volunteering not only helps our local community but also the benefits it has on workplace wellbeing. “Our modern work lifestyle is busy, bustling and most of all stressful. Whether you spend your workdays sitting at a desk, doing physical labour or dealing with people, there seems to be a never-ending list of things for us to do. Plus, these day-to-day burdens have been multiplied by the Covid-19 pandemic, as financial struggles and mental health problems add to people’s stress levels. Now more than ever we need to keep a healthy work-life balance, and with the help and example of the Whau River Catchment Trust, we can achieve this right here in Rosebank.”
“One such way we can achieve better work-life balance is through volunteering and caring for our local Rosebank area. Volunteering provides a perfect avenue in which we are not only doing something good for others, but also for ourselves. Studies have found that negative feelings like stress, anger, and anxiety can be allayed by helping others and making a difference to one’s local environment. Through volunteering and acts of charity, we can also attain a sense of personal satisfaction and self-fulfilment.”
“Spending time outside is another great way to alleviate stress and improve mental health. Sun exposure in healthy doses has been proven to increase serotonin, known as the ‘happy chemical’ in the human body. Thus, the importance of distancing ourselves from technology, taking in the environment and breathing in the fresh air, even for half an hour a day, is an effective and natural way of relieving stress.”
“We can also improve our work-life balance by getting more active. With many businesses in the Rosebank area being office jobs, there is a tendency by the end of the day to feel a bit lousy, unproductive and down. This can likely be attributed to a lack of endorphins, the chemical our body produces which relieves stress and boosts self-esteem. A common way to increase our endorphins is through exercising and getting active a few times a week.”
“These three channels to improve our mental health and reduce our stress levels can be easily actioned through helping local Rosebank charity, The Whau River Catchment Trust. The Trust’s goal is to clean up the beautiful Whau River waterway and foster native habitats along the coastline. However, The Trust cannot do so alone and welcomes volunteers to get active out in the sun on their restoration and planting days. We encourage workers in the Rosebank area to volunteer with the Trust and reap the mutual benefits for our mental health and our local environment.”
To get in touch to volunteer, please contact [email protected]