Program Overview
The International Conservation Volunteer Exchange (ICVE) is a volunteer and internship program for international participants who wish to collaborate with American environmental professionals on natural resource projects on public lands throughout the American West. ICVE is based on the philosophy that international understanding and goodwill can be achieved through cooperating on the shared goal of improving the environment. By attracting a corps of conservation-minded volunteers, ICVE contributes to the breakdown of cultural barriers while advancing ecological awareness on a global scale.
As a cross-cultural exchange between young men and women from all corners of the world, ICVE focuses on the idea of global citizenship through conservation-based service projects. ICVE allows like-minded individuals from around the globe to utilize their collective passion for the environment on projects across the Great Basin Region. This opportunity to discover new cultures, protect sensitive wilderness and make new friendships that last a lifetime, are just a few of the valuable facets of ICVE. By using conservation-based projects as a means to cross cultural thresholds, ICVE enables the growth of international understanding while highlighting the rugged beauty of the western United States.
ICVE offers well-supported service opportunities in some of the most spectacular landscapes in the United States. As such, ICVE members discover the many rewards of volunteerism while being a part of a world class program. Some members enjoy the physical demands of performing the work, and take pleasure in the sense of accomplishment that comes with completing difficult environmental projects. For others, volunteering offers a chance to learn first hand the varied practices of natural resource management and gain skills in field techniques that enhance their chosen career. Most crew members find that, despite whatever challenges of the work, they welcome the field experience of camping with people who work with purpose to conserve some of the most beautiful regions of the American West.
Since 2004 ICVE has collaborated with dozens of international environmental exchange programs, attracting over 600 students and young professionals from 45 countries and six continents around the world to serve on conservation projects throughout Nevada and the mountainous West.
Types of Projects
Trail Building and Maintenance
Forest Fuels Reduction andTimber Stand Improvement
Exotic Species Eradication
Arid Land, Fire and Riparian Restoration
Wildlife and Habitat Monitoring
Locations
Located in the mountainous American West, Nevada lies east of California and north of Arizona. Nevada’s landscape is the most mountainous and geologically diverse in the United States. The Lake Tahoe Basin, Great Basin, Mojave Desert and Sierra Nevada Mountains are where the majority of ICVE’s field work takes place. Participants will have the opportunity to work and live in some of the most beautiful wilderness locales in the world. From mountain peaks over 13,000 feet above sea level to desert eco-systems 282 feet below sea level, the regions in which ICVE serves are diverse environments that harbor some of the most sensitive and fragile species of flora and fauna found in North America.
Program Duration
Volunteer sessions range from seven to fourteen weeks with the majority of placements in the summer months. A typical work week consists of 4 days in the field, working ten hour days and three days off in which the participant is free to explore. Because of remoteness, some projects may require eight days in the field with six days off.
Internship sessions range from three to twelve months and are typically available year round, with the majority of placements in the summer months. The duration of each internship depends largely upon specific project demands and funding.
Accommodations
While in the field, participants will camp in either primitive wilderness areas or in developed campgrounds near their project sites. On days off, participants are provided with lodging – free of charge. The lodging facilities are located in and around Reno, Nevada. Whether across the street from the University of Nevada and in walking distance to downtown Reno, or 8,000 feet above sea level on Mount Rose, ICVE housing facilities offer limitless opportunities for exploration and recreation.
The provided lodging is similar to a dormitory as it contains multiple bunk beds per room, shared living areas, a kitchen and bathroom facilities. The lodging environment creates a great atmosphere in which participants are immersed with cultures from all over the world: at any given time, participants may be housed with people from up to a dozen other nations. Participants will have the opportunity to foster life-long friendships with folks from around the world during their tenure with ICVE.
“The most frugal investment our nation can make in the development of youth is to support international exchange programs.”
- Madeleine Albright
“Wilderness needs no defense, it just needs more defenders.”
- Edward Abbey
