ISV - Volunteer Conservation Projects in Australia

When an ISV rep came into my class freshman year at university talking about how great this program is, I never thought it was something I could actually do. I looked into it a bit more on my own and became certain that it was in fact something I could and should do. If you're debating whether or not you should take this opportunity, I recommend that you do it. The people I met will no doubt be a part of my life forever, as will the memories and experiences I took away from this trip. If you're looking for a spring break party drinking fest, this is not the trip for you. If you're looking for a cultural exchange with students of all ages and backgrounds from around the world, for a chance to travel while giving something back and doing something meaningful at the same time, then this is the program for you. Every day is a new experience with this program, from replanting coastal rainforests, to providing food for beautiful endangered species, no two days were the same but every day was memorable and meaningful.

This was an incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience. The volunteer project gave me some incredible hands-on animal experience I was able to include on my job resumes. The adventure your was equally as excellent, if not better. There were some understandable difficulties that required an open mind. Sometimes things were not as I was expecting and a little more "roughing it" than I had assumed. But it in no way took away from the experience. If I had the time and money, I would absolutely go on another trip in a heartbeat. Great job ISV!!!

This trip was a dream come true. I had always wanted to go to Australia since I was little. To be able to go there, and make a positive impact on the environment while I was there was life changing. This was the best trip I've ever been on.

I went for 2 weeks to volunteer and had so much fun doing so. We were a few hours outside of Sydney, in cabins surrounded by subtropic rain forests. When we weren't planting trees or eradicating invasive species of plants were were exploring the towns near us. I got to see some of the culture and talk to the locals.We visited small towns, ate at restaurants, explored local nature wonders. It was truly an eye opening experience.

The trip made a huge impact on me as a person. While there we focused on learning how to be more sustainable, and how need need to protect the earth. Coming home I tried to keep the those lessons in mind, to this day I am still trying to live that out! Our Cabins were small, and roomed 4 people each, and did not have a heater. I didn't mind this, because we used Hot water bottles to warm us, it really wasn't that bad. In the main cabin area with the kitchen and room to hang out in we had to start a fire to warm it. We also took showers with rain water that had been collected. These all gave me a different perspective on how we live, and the changes we can make to be more environmentally friendly.

My group had 7 students in it, from Europe, Canada, and The USA, as well as 2 Tour guides, one an Australian local, one from New Zealand. It was interesting to learn about each others cultures and share experiences with each other. One night we all roasted marshmallows together, and another day we made pancakes with maple syrup in them (American and Canadian traditions) which were fun to share with the group.

We didn't really have lot of internet connection.I liked this because it forced me out of my comfort zone, and made me more present in the moment. I'm thankful for it now because it allowed me to put all m focus in to enjoying the moment while I was there.

Bottom line this was one of the most memorable, influential, impacting adventures I have ever been on. The people I got to interact with, the experiences we shared, will carry on with me throughout life. I hope to travel with ISV again, as soon as I am able to.

I traveled to Australia with ISV in 2011, and ever since my return my life has not been the same. In fact, the first thing I did when I got home was get on the computer and sign up to become an ISV student representative at my school.

The first two weeks of the trip I spent volunteering in the outback on a wildlife preservation ground called Calperum station. During these two weeks, you stay with about 8 people in one location, working during the day with a couple breaks in between. Volunteering for an experience like this is the best thing you can do for yourself. Our group became so close in those two weeks. In our down time we made countless videos (one of which we pretended to be in a horror movie), taught our group leader Parkour and even created a make-shift training room, gave each other nicknames, threw a thank you/going away party for one of the local workers at the preservation who became a memorable part of the team, planked on clifftops, had our own 4th of July celebration by the campfire, and sort of adopted a pet goat we found. Imagine waking up to an Australian outback sunrise, with kangaroos hopping around literally just feet away from you. I know, none of this sounds like work; this was just our down time. But we made even our work fun as well. We became so close and it felt great to know we were creating a positive impact on the environment we'd be unfortunately leaving behind us. Let me just say, all of us knew that these two weeks we were working and we had two more weeks of play ahead of us, yet we still had an extremely hard time leaving our volunteer site. The bus driver who came to pick us up at the end of it must have thought we were insane.

However, the following two weeks came at a whole different pace! We suddenly found ourselves with 50 other people we had briefly met in an airport fourteen days prior, in a hostel in Sydney, with a very fast-paced itinerary ahead of us. And every moment of it was both incredible and unforgettable. After getting to know 8 people very well, it was fun to branch out and see what other groups were like. Not to mention our free day in Sydney (during which I climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge), surfing in AWESOME hippie-town Byron Bay, ocean rafting, white water rafting down the Tully River, scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef, and bungee jumping in Cairns just to name a few. ;) These two weeks were full of adventure and risk-taking, overnight bus rides and city-exploring.

I went into this project knowing that the month would go by incredibly fast, so I decided to make every moment count. By the end, leaving felt surreal. I can talk about my experiences forever, but the best way I can describe it to you is that it was the best thing I ever did for myself. If you travel with ISV, and if you travel to Australia, I promise you that home will never be the same. And trust me, when you see what the world has to offer out there, you won't want it to be. You'll want your home to be the horizon.

Australia and ISV was the most life changing experience I've ever had. I made the most amazing friends that will be my friends for life. These people will never leave you and you get a whole new outlook on the world. I grew up traveling since I was a little kid and still I honestly believe this is the best way to travel.

I traveled to Australia with ISV in 2009 with a group of 13 like minded individuals, whom at the time I had no idea would end up being my friends for the rest of my life! Together we planted over 7,000 eucalyptus and tea trees to rehabilitate a cattle grazed field and eroded river bank that was preventing certain species of kangaroos to cross resulting in inbreeding - putting them in danger of extinction. The location was incredibly beautiful- a valley of the Blue Mountains. Our project leader was amazing, she kept us motivated - providing us with information we needed to fully understand the goals of the project! It felt great to see what we had accomplished in such a short period of time- a true testament to what teamwork and inspiration can do! At the end of the two week project we continued on to the adventure tour- an adrenaline junkies paradise on steroids! We got to see such an incredible amount of the country- stopping at only the best selected activities along the way. You name it- we did it, bungee jumping, sky diving, scuba diving, snorkeling, surfing, white water rafting, shopping, rappelling, aboriginal dancing and instrument playing! One must obviously go to get the true experience and perhaps you will understand why it is so difficult to explain in words!

Our work was in an Australian Wildlife Park. We started with a tour of the park, getting to meet the animals before starting our work. We cleared out frog ponds to repaint it's waterproof base, we worked on the erosion around the park's protective perimeter fance, cleared a waterfall, put up bat boxes and built a brand new pond for the dingoes. All of this was done with the animals all around us, and it was an amazing experience to get upclose and personal with the animals. The accomodation was basic, but the experience as a whole was well worth it.

I personally had a great experience with ISV and would recommend them to everyone. The first two weeks are spent volunteering in smaller groups of about ten doing some kind of conservation work. In those first two weeks my group bonded so much and we had a blast every day. A lot of our work was habitat restoration and removal of invasive species (aka weeding) but it also included trail maintenance as well. We stayed in two very different houses that were both beautiful in different ways. What I loved most was that we got to see a part of Australia that tourists don't normally see, I mean we went to Sydney and Cairns but we got to see Pretty Beach, Murrurundi and other beautiful places that you won't normally find foreigners. The second two weeks are the adventure tour which is a lot of fun but it's also a lot of traveling too. Overall I think if you wanna see Australia and make a difference too, ISV is the way to go!