Earth Day Recap: 438 Volunteers Power Wildlife Conservation

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Earth Day Demand Was So Strong, We Crashed the Platform

Employee engagement shouldn't be hard. That's why Percent Pledge offers one-hour volunteer events that require no prep.

On Earth Day — Wednesday, April 22, 2026 — 438 employees from over 100 companies joined our Earth Day Community Volunteer Events across two sessions: one for US + EMEA teams, and one for US + APAC teams.

Together, they completed more than 15,000 animal classifications to support real wildlife conservation research across the globe — in just two hours of total event time.

The first session also brought a surprise: turnout was strong enough that Zooniverse — the global citizen-science platform powering the activities — slowed under the weight of Earth Day traffic from volunteers around the world.

Why Teams Chose This Remote Volunteer Opportunity

Earth Day is one of the most-celebrated cause holidays of the year. Companies want to do something meaningful — but most options take weeks to plan and only work for employees in one location.

This event delivered:

• A virtual volunteer opportunity built for distributed teams.
• A direct way to support wildlife conservation scientists.
• A shared experience across time zones that brought global teams together.

Inside the Earth Day Event

Hosted live on Zoom, the two sessions brought employees together from 84 different locations across 9 countries on 3 continents:

• 🇺🇸 United States (64 locations across 27+ states and DC)
• 🇨🇦 Canada (5 locations)
• 🇬🇧 United Kingdom (5 locations)
• 🇪🇸 Spain (3 locations)
• 🇩🇪 Germany (2 locations)
• 🇮🇪 Ireland (2 locations)
• 🇮🇹 Italy (1 location)
• 🇫🇷 France (1 location)
• 🇨🇱 Chile (1 location)

Icebreakers and Earth Day Trivia

We opened with Earth Day trivia. It was a quick way to break the ice across companies and time zones — and a lighter way to kick off a serious topic.

The Mission: Real Science for Real Conservation

Volunteers powered four active conservation research projects through Zooniverse, the citizen-science platform used by scientists worldwide.

Each volunteer chose where to focus — Land, Sea, or Sky:

• Land — Wildwatch Kenya & Ghana Pheno Pulse. Identify animals in motion-activated camera images in Kenya. Track plant growth and life cycle changes in Ghana.
• Sea — Beluga Bits. Tag belugas, jellyfish, and other objects in underwater images to support research on behavior and ecosystems.
• Sky — Woodpecker Cavity Cam. Spot and label woodpeckers and other visitors in nest box camera images to help scientists study nesting behavior.

Every classification feeds directly into research that scientists can't complete without crowdsourced help.

When Volunteer Demand Overwhelmed the Servers

The first session brought so many volunteers online at once that Zooniverse couldn't keep up. The platform — designed to handle citizen scientists from around the world — slowed to a crawl as our group flooded in alongside the rest of the world's Earth Day volunteers.

The chat lit up:

• ‍"Percent Pledge volunteers took down Google Sheets last month, time to take down Zooniverse." — Dylan @ Root Financial
• "Thank you for organizing this! It's a good problem to have that there are so many of us that we can't all get in at the same time. Glad so many people want to help!" — Maura @ Merkle
• "I mean we crashed their site but it was really joyful. I'm still very glad I joined in." — Audrey @ Infovista

It's the kind of problem every volunteer program wants. Hundreds of employees across hundreds of companies — all logging on at the same time to help. But we will be planning for such high demand moving forward! Many volunteers came back later that day or the next morning to complete their work. The classifications kept pouring in well after the hour ended — which is part of why the final total cleared 15,000.

How This Virtual Volunteer Event Made a Positive Impact

This remote volunteer opportunity:

• Engaged 438 volunteers from over 100 companies.
• Generated more than 15,000 animal classifications to advance active wildlife conservation research.
• Brought together employees across 84 locations in 9 countries on 3 continents.
• Sparked dozens of volunteers to keep classifying on their own time after the event ended.

Some standout numbers from individuals: one volunteer at Wyndham completed 429 classifications. Volunteers at US Bank, Merkle, Root Financial, and Prolaio each topped 200. Many returned the next day to keep going.

Companies represented across both sessions included Merkle, Dentsu, BioMarin, Edelman Financial Engines, Root Financial, NRG Energy, Palo Alto Networks, U.S. Bank, Shutterstock, Customer.io, GRAIL, Vectorworks, Identity Digital, DRW, Wyndham, Logitech, Planet, Hunter Industries, Magnite, Couchbase, Datasite, EVgo, Progress, Via, Armis, AAAS, GlobalGiving, Danaher, Terumo BCT, Kellogg's, and dozens more.

This is what our virtual Community Volunteer Events are built for. Bring together a large, global group of volunteers. Make an immediate impact in just one hour. Celebrate a cause holiday in a way that's accessible from anywhere.

"I'll Definitely Be Back" — Volunteers Keep Going

What made this event special wasn't just the headcount. It was what volunteers did after the hour ended.

• ‍"I'll put a block on my calendar for later — and recurring now that I know how easy this is!" — Mary Thomas
• "This is such a cool concept. I will definitely come back to do on my own." — Latisha @ Terumo BCT
• "I left a lot more curious about the other projects and I can't wait to hop back on!" — Dalia @ NRG Energy
• "I'm gonna try and sell a 24H-watch guard in the company. We're based worldwide — that'd be 48 volunteers for a 1/2H each. Doable, no?!" — Audrey @ Infovista
• "I really enjoyed this project and will continue to work on classifications. 10/10 for flexible, fun, and convenient way to celebrate Earth Day!" — Katy @ WK Kellogg
• "This was so perfect. It sucks sometimes feeling like since I don't live near a national park or an ocean or something that there's nothing I can do to volunteer and give back to the environment. It's so awesome that we can actually help virtually." — Jessie @ dentsu

That's the goal of every Community Volunteer Event: not just one hour of impact, but a habit. Many volunteers logged hundreds of classifications after the event window closed.

Volunteer Testimonials: Joy, Calm, and Real Impact

• "It was literally so much fun. I wish I could do this every day." — Nathaniel @ Hunter Industries
• "Now this playlist is EVERYTHING. We can jam to this all day as we do our part to SAVE PLANET EARTH." — Steven @ Terumo BCT
• "It was very relaxing and fun!" — Dominique @ Grow Financial
• "It was great, easy and a nice break from the work day." — Molly @ BioMarin
• "Quite fun, cathartic, and addictive." — Primrose @ Rockwood Capital
• "Really great way to get involved with conservation efforts, and also to learn something about a totally new species." — Annabel @ Vectorworks
• "Great experience! I had never heard of this type of volunteer work to help research. I will be back!" — Tammy @ Merkle
• "It was wonderful! Such a fun and enjoyable activity — especially after a long day at work." — Sarah @ Prolaio

Why Community Volunteer Events Work for ERGs and Remote Teams

Percent Pledge hosts Community Volunteer Events every month. Each one aligns with a different Heritage Month or Cause Holiday — making them perfect for ERGs and distributed teams.

Unlike traditional programs that take hours to plan, these events are:

• Ready-made. Fully designed and facilitated. Zero lift required.
• Virtual and scalable. Built for hybrid and remote teams.
• Inclusive. Ideal for ERGs, VTO programs, and any team looking for accessible ways to give back.
• Consistent. Events run monthly to keep momentum going.

For HR and CSR leaders, this model turns employee engagement into something easy to deliver and easy to show. Customers with our volunteer management software get unlimited access to our monthly Community Volunteer Events.

Easy Employee Engagement for HR, People, and Impact Leaders

HR and Social Impact or CSR leaders choose Percent Pledge because we make it easy to engage employees.

With each event, leaders get:

• Built-in facilitation and logistics.
• Easy scheduling in just one hour.
• Scalable programs for any size team.
• Clear impact and engagement data to share with leadership.
• Strong alignment with DEI, ERG, and ESG goals.

If you're short on time but want high impact, this model works. Learn how our volunteer management software simplifies remote volunteering.

One Hour. Many Teams. A Planet Worth Showing Up For.

This Earth Day event showed how much one hour can do — and how much more happens when employees can't stop after the hour ends.

Employees connected, learned, and gave back in a meaningful way. Companies saw record participation with zero planning required. And wildlife conservation scientists received over 15,000 classifications they can use to advance research across land, sea, and sky.

One hour can make an impact.

👉 Request a demo of our volunteer software

👉 RSVP and invite your team to join our next ready-made Community Volunteer Event.

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• AAPI Heritage Month — May
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