I volunteered as a sales assistant at my local Oxfam shop in North London in 2010 for nearly four months. It was a fairly typical charity shop, selling things such as clothes, shoes, CDs, books and accessories. I would go in a few times a week to work for a couple of hours.

My main job was to keep the shop floor tidy, man the till and help customers with any queries. In the stock room, I would organize incoming stock (mainly clothes and shoes), cleaning them occasionally.

My responsibility as a volunteer for Green Initiatives in Shanghai has been very different. I moved to China in September 2014 to work as a teacher in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, a neighboring city of Shanghai. I also wanted to pursue my interest in the environmental sector, so I reached out to a number of environmental NGO's based in Shanghai.

In early September, I met Nick and Nitin, founders of Green Initiatives, at one of their events and, because of my teaching background, they decided that I would be a good fit for their student outreach program, an environmental education-cum-training program for high school students in Shanghai.

I was tasked with creating their student modules and since then I have put together four higher-level student modules, which introduce key

Yasmin Parkes. The writer is a 22-year-old British volunteer of Green Initiatives - a Shanghai-based NGO that works to help protect the environment.

environmental issues such as food waste, recycling and sustainable consumption. I am also currently working on another two modules focused on energy conservation.

It involves a lot of research, and I usually end up spending around 10 to 15 hours a week searching through science textbooks, online articles and government websites to find relevant and accurate information.

I find the research enjoyable because I get to find out about what new concepts and technologies are being developed to deal with environmental problems. Compared to working in a shop, I feel like I am learning something along the way.

I also attend many of the Green Initiatives events and, so far, have visited one external event as a representative for Green Initiatives. The events are one of the best things about volunteering because I get the opportunity to network and meet interesting people who have ideas about how to make Shanghai 'greener.'

When I am at the events, I get the feeling that I am a part of a scene that is exciting and on the verge of really influencing the way urban communities think. We often have Chinese speakers, and so the events have also been an interesting cultural experience for me.

One of the biggest differences between my experience volunteering at Oxfam and Green Initiatives is the motivations of the people you meet and work with. At Oxfam, the motivations were varied. People were there to 'do their bit for charity,' to earn a living, or simply because they could only afford the things we sold.

Speaking to people in China, motivations are also varied but the main driver is the environmental degradation, such as air pollution, which affects, or at least concerns, many of these people in their everyday lives.

The stance that the Chinese government is now taking to tackle the country's environmental problems is definitely reflected, and perhaps driven by, discussions happening at the local level.

In fact, commuting into Shanghai for the events and for meetings is one of the highlights of volunteering because it's such a vibrant city.

As the student modules are coming to an end, I am looking forward to being involved in the upcoming projects in Shanghai, especially when the sun comes out and we can host more outdoor events.