This study is to analyze and evaluate volunteer programs of two environmental non-profit organizations that focus on the environmental protection of local urban rivers. The project is to propose suggestions for improvements on data quality, educational achievements, and volunteer engagement. The two organizations that we will work with are The Huron River Watershed Council in Ann Arbor and The Protect the Environment Together Association in Beijing. The Huron River Watershed Council (HRWC) is southeast Michigan’s oldest environmental organization dedicated to river protection. It is a coalition of residents, businesses, and local governments. The volunteers in HRWC help with monitoring environmental conditions in the Huron River and its tributaries, with restoration projects, and provide and engage in public education. The Protect Environment Together Association is a non-governmental organization which just got established in 2014. It collaborates with the Changping District Science and Technology Commission of Beijing, and the volunteer activities mainly include monitoring the river ecosystem health of the Chaobai and Yongding Rivers and their tributaries in Beijing and conducting educational programs in schools to drive more people towards environmental stewardship. By comparing these two volunteer programs which are inserted in different cultures and that are in different stages of development, we seek to provide suggestions to improve data quality, educational achievements, and volunteer engagement of their projects.