Conservation Volunteer Alliance (CVA)
The Environment Agency of Iceland, a predecessor of the Nature Conservation Agency of Iceland, was a member of the Conservation Volunteers Alliance (CVA).
Established in 1999, CVA was a non-profit association of European environmental volunteering organisations registered in the United Kingdom. It represented more than one million volunteers across Europe who worked within their local communities to conserve, restore and improve the natural environment. CVA ceased its activities in 2015.
In partnership with CVA, the Environment Agency of Iceland organised the Big Green Weekend every October from 2011 to 2014. In 2015, the Agency introduced Græna helgin (Green Weekend), a continuation of the initiative involving Icelandic secondary school students and their teachers. The event has traditionally taken place in late August or early September.
Information about volunteering opportunities has also been published on Environmentjob.co.uk.
Collaboration with Lebanese Conservation Volunteers
In 2015, the Iceland Conservation Volunteers (ICV) programme, then operated by the Environment Agency of Iceland, hosted a volunteer from Lebanon.
In 2016, the volunteer began working for Arcenciel, a Lebanese non-governmental organisation, where he established the Lebanese Conservation Volunteers (LCV) programme. Inspired by the Icelandic programme, LCV focuses on nature conservation through the restoration and maintenance of hiking trails.
Two experienced ICV volunteer leaders subsequently supported the Lebanese programme by training local volunteer leaders and advising managers of natural areas on practical methods for repairing and maintaining trails.
European Volunteers in Parks
Grundtvig – Learning partnership project
Launched in 2008, this project brought together eight European partners and was coordinated by EUROPARC Germany. The participating organisations represented Iceland, Latvia, Romania, Lithuania, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany.
The project aimed to establish an international network connecting staff and volunteers through workshops, exchanges and shared learning experiences.
One of its main objectives was to improve the management of volunteer projects by encouraging participating organisations to exchange knowledge, experience and best practices.
The Environment Agency of Iceland participated in the project as part of its international cooperation on environmental volunteering.
Leonardo da Vinci – Transfer of innovation project
The Environment Agency of Iceland received funding through the EU's Leonardo da Vinci programme to develop training, support and assessment materials for environmental conservation within the framework of the European Qualifications Framework.
The project focused on bringing together existing educational resources, adapting materials and developing new tools to enable participating organisations to provide recognised and accredited training for staff and volunteers.
Leonardo da Vinci – Community vocational training action project
Launched in 2005, this project was coordinated by the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) and funded through the EU's Leonardo da Vinci programme. Partner organisations came from Iceland, Estonia, Bulgaria, Greece and the United Kingdom.
The project aimed to recognise the skills and experience gained through environmental volunteering by creating opportunities for volunteers to have their work formally assessed, validated and accredited.
In Iceland, the Environment Agency focused its development work on hiking trail design and maintenance, as well as training in volunteer team leadership.
Socrates programme
The Socrates programme marked the Environment Agency of Iceland's first involvement in a European cooperation project focused on environmental volunteering.
The partnership ran from 2003 to 2005 and aimed to promote lifelong learning through informal educational opportunities and practical experience in environmental conservation.
Grey4Green Erasmus+ project
Grey4Green is an international initiative promoting active ageing and climate action by encouraging older adults to participate in nature conservation volunteering.
The project creates opportunities for senior citizens to make meaningful contributions to environmental sustainability while also providing training and resources for professionals working with older adults.
Through its e-learning platform, Grey4Green provides participants with the knowledge and practical tools needed to take part in conservation activities. Its online observatory also helps connect older adults with volunteering opportunities in nature conservation.
The Erasmus+ project brought together partners from five countries: Denmark, Cyprus, France, Iceland and Portugal. Through this collaboration, participating organisations exchanged knowledge, experiences and best practices in environmental volunteering.
Project materials are available in the five languages of the participating countries.
For further information, visit the Grey4Green website.