Local Environmental Organizations

UNR Organizations

Academy for the Environment (UNAE)

The Academy for the Environment, established in 2004, is an interdisciplinary institute at the University of Nevada, Reno, whose mission is to develop, enhance and coordinate environmental teaching, research and service at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Desert Research Institute

The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is the nonprofit research campus of the University and Community College System of Nevada (UCCSN).

ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment

ISLE is the official journal of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE).

ISLE depends on its volunteer staff for nearly all aspects of its production. The editorial assistants at ISLE have the opportunity to learn all aspects of creating an academic journal, from clerical and computer work to proofreading and working with book publishers.

Reno and Nevada Organizations

Animal Ark

Animal Ark is a 38-acre wildlife sanctuary and nature center northwest of Reno. This facility’s rural setting provides an ideal place to house non-releasable wildlife and allows the public a unique opportunity to view these animals in natural habitat exhibits through glass viewing areas.

Volunteer opportunities at Animal Ark include being an animal keeper, giving tours, working in admissions, serving as a grounds keeper, doing construction / maintenance, fund raising, and working in behavioral enrichment.

Citizen Alert

Citizen Alert works to assure public participation and government accountability on issues that affect the land and people of Nevada.

Volunteer opportunities with Citizen Alert include many forms of grassroots activism and organizing. Office help is also appreciated.

Environmental Leadership

Environmental Leadership is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in Northern Nevada through environmental education.

Friends of Nevada Wilderness

Friends of Nevada Wilderness is dedicated to preserving all qualified Nevada public lands as wilderness, protecting all present and potential wilderness from ongoing threats, educating the public about the values of and need for wilderness, and improving the management and restoration of public wild lands.

Volunteer opportunities with FNW include wilderness stewardship, wilderness restoration, wilderness monitoring, and Leave No Trace trainings. FNW also appreciates photographs of Nevada wilderness areas to post on the web site.

Great Basin Bird Observatory

Great Basin Bird Observatory (GBBO) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats in the Great Basin and the northern Mojave Desert.

Volunteer opportunities with GBBO include point count surveyor, bird banding assistant, birding trip coordinator, data entry, data processing, and other office tasks.

Great Basin Institute

The Great Basin Institute is an interdisciplinary field studies organization that promotes environmental research, education, and conservation throughout the West. The Institute advances ecological literacy and land conservation through educational outreach and direct service programs.

GBI was founded and is directed by Jerry Keir, a PhD candidate in the L&E program.

GBI offers international volunteer opportunities.

Great Basin Resource Watch

The Great Basin Resource Watch is a non-profit organization that seeks to "protect the land, air, water and wildlife and the communities that depend on them from the adverse impacts of mining."

Lahontan Audubon Society

The Nevada chapter of the National Audubon Society meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month, September through May, at the South Valleys Library.

Volunteer opportunities with LAS include point count monitoring in cooperation with the Great Basin Bird Observatory. The chairperson also welcomes queries about other kinds of volunteer work.

League to Save Lake Tahoe

The League to Save Lake Tahoe has been working for over 45 years to "Keep Tahoe Blue."

The League offers many volunteer opportunities.

The Nature Conservancy, Nevada Chapter

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is working to protect natural lands in Nevada. Currently it is focusing on our rivers and on the Great Basin/Mojave areas.

Volunteer opportunities in the Reno office include clerical tasks, and TNC welcomes queries about other kinds of volunteer work.

Nevada Outdoor School

Nevada Outdoor School is part of Hands on the Land (HOL), a network of field classrooms stretching across America from Alaska to Florida. Lessons taught in the Nevada Outdoor School encourage students to identify local environmental justice problems while having them work to produce creative solutions.

Sierra Club, Great Basin Group

The Great Basin Group of the Toiyabe Chapter of the Sierra Club has monthly meetings and leads many hikes and trips.

Volunteer opportunities with the Great Basin Group include leading hikes and getting involved in the local chapter programming and meetings.

Tahoe Institute for Natural Science

The Tahoe Institute for Natural Science (TINS) is a nonprofit organization seeking to advance the natural history, conservation, and ecosystem knowledge of the Tahoe Region.

Local Environmental Organizations

UNR Organizations

Academy for the Environment (UNAE)

The Academy for the Environment, established in 2004, is an interdisciplinary institute at the University of Nevada, Reno, whose mission is to develop, enhance and coordinate environmental teaching, research and service at the University of Nevada, Reno.

The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is the nonprofit research campus of the University and Community College System of Nevada (UCCSN).

ISLE is the official journal of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE).

ISLE depends on its volunteer staff for nearly all aspects of its production. The editorial assistants at ISLE have the opportunity to learn all aspects of creating an academic journal, from clerical and computer work to proofreading and working with book publishers.

Reno and Nevada Organizations

Animal Ark is a 38-acre wildlife sanctuary and nature center northwest of Reno. This facility’s rural setting provides an ideal place to house non-releasable wildlife and allows the public a unique opportunity to view these animals in natural habitat exhibits through glass viewing areas.

Volunteer opportunities at Animal Ark include being an animal keeper, giving tours, working in admissions, serving as a grounds keeper, doing construction / maintenance, fund raising, and working in behavioral enrichment.

Citizen Alert

Citizen Alert works to assure public participation and government accountability on issues that affect the land and people of Nevada.

Volunteer opportunities with Citizen Alert include many forms of grassroots activism and organizing. Office help is also appreciated.

Environmental Leadership is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in Northern Nevada through environmental education.

Volunteer opportunities with FNW include wilderness stewardship, wilderness restoration, wilderness monitoring, and Leave No Trace trainings. FNW also appreciates photographs of Nevada wilderness areas to post on the web site.

Great Basin Bird Observatory (GBBO) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats in the Great Basin and the northern Mojave Desert.

Volunteer opportunities with GBBO include point count surveyor, bird banding assistant, birding trip coordinator, data entry, data processing, and other office tasks.

The Great Basin Institute is an interdisciplinary field studies organization that promotes environmental research, education, and conservation throughout the West. The Institute advances ecological literacy and land conservation through educational outreach and direct service programs.

GBI was founded and is directed by Jerry Keir, a PhD candidate in the L&E program.

GBI offers international volunteer opportunities.

The Great Basin Resource Watch is a non-profit organization that seeks to "protect the land, air, water and wildlife and the communities that depend on them from the adverse impacts of mining."

The Nevada chapter of the National Audubon Society meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month, September through May, at the South Valleys Library.

Volunteer opportunities with LAS include point count monitoring in cooperation with the Great Basin Bird Observatory. The chairperson also welcomes queries about other kinds of volunteer work.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe has been working for over 45 years to "Keep Tahoe Blue."

The League offers many volunteer opportunities.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is working to protect natural lands in Nevada. Currently it is focusing on our rivers and on the Great Basin/Mojave areas.

Volunteer opportunities in the Reno office include clerical tasks, and TNC welcomes queries about other kinds of volunteer work.

The Great Basin Group of the Toiyabe Chapter of the Sierra Club has monthly meetings and leads many hikes and trips.

Volunteer opportunities with the Great Basin Group include leading hikes and getting involved in the local chapter programming and meetings.

The Tahoe Institute for Natural Science (TINS) is a nonprofit organization seeking to advance the natural history, conservation, and ecosystem knowledge of the Tahoe Region.