THIS COURSE IS EXCELLENT. IT'S
AN OUTSTANDING OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN AND
EXPERIENCE HOW TO CONSERVE AFRICAN WILDLIFE - Practical Fieldwork on Nature Reserves on the
management and conservation of African Wildlife
These courses can be done for 2 weeks, 4 weeks, or 8-weeks
and consist of practical work on a
selection of Game Reserves where you'll learn practical conservation
skills. The information given below is based on the 8-week course.
The management and conservation of our wildlife and
the environment is very important.
Without these components, life would simply not be able to sustain
itself. It is therefore important to gain the correct insight and
knowledgeinto CONSERVATION
AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT.
"Just
two days ago we had the opportunity to see the same team of guys
capturing two White Rhino with the vet which I am sure that most of us
will never have the chance to see again.Being literally feet away from
these huge beasts is just breathtaking. Very cool."
Volunteer's Report
"The hardest part of this month has been saying goodbye to everyone.
Unfortunately we have to leave tomorrow and our attempts to get
people to adopt or marry us so we can stay have proved unsuccessful. Once
you get here you will never want to leave as it is so wonderful."
Volunteers'
Course Report
These
courses are based about 8 km outside
Alicedale and have been developed to educate people worldwide
about the importance of conservation and how to manage wildlife and its
natural environment. The courses cover many different
areas of conservation and wildlife management, depending on the length of
course you choose. For example, the 8-week course includes:
Mammal,
bird, insect, reptile and plant identification
Spoor
identification and tracking skills
Wildlife
research, data collection and scientific methodology
Animal
diseases
Game
reserve establishment and maintenance
You will
receive an African Global Conservation Academy certificate on completion
of the course
DATES FOR
2007
8-week ‘Wildlife Management & Conservation’ course: 9 July – 31 Aug
3 Sept – 26 October
29 October – 21 December
4-week ‘Introduction to
Conservation’ Course: (includes a Bush Survival course):
9 July –5 Aug
3 Sept –30 Sept
29 October –25 Nov
2-week ‘Conservation Discovery’
course: (does NOT include a Bush Survival course)
9 July –22 July
3 Sept –16 Sept
29 October –11 Nov
Brief Summary of likely Contents and Outcomes of the Course:
(If you'd like to read a detailed breakdown of the
various sections of the course, please
click here.
1. Orientation
2. General Knowledge
3. Conservation
4. Knowledge of Animals
5. Knowledge of Plants
6. Interactions and interrelationships in nature
7. Camping and Trails
The above
should give you some indication as to the contents of the course.
The experience will focus on the
practical components allowing you plenty opportunity to apply your knowledge
from the classroom and to have good fun doing so.
Local cultural involvement is a key part of the programme,
this will be achieved by assisting the local schools and communities in
their projects (students have found that bringing discarded clothes and
shoes, like trainers and school stationary are gratefully received by the
community), some eco education work at Born Free on Shamwari.
An opportunity to do an amazing Wild Coast African Heartland
trail (highly recommended) is available mid way through the programme.
Read
Volunteers' Feedback of the Course, plus a description of "A Typical
Day" - it will give you a good 'feel' of what you can learn and experience
on this very worthwhile and enlightening Course.
Certification: Although the FGASA 1
Certification is currently available, this situation will change in the
near future and it will be replaced with a similar qualification in
accordance with the South African Qualifications Authority at the
time (anticipated to bea National Qualification Framework (NQF) and the modules will count
towards a B Tech Conservation Diploma and degree (at first and second year
level).
At time
of writing, the cost of sitting these exams, the First Aid Course and
Registration is not included in the cost of the course. If you wish to
take the exams, you will need to pay for them. The current cost is R850
(about £72 or US$132, based on the exchange rate at time of writing).
Volunteers on the course, with Course
Leader Wayne Vos (left)
"On one day
we went and saw a traditional Xhosa dancing display which was
fascinating and a cultural highlight! On one of our weekends we went to
Cintsa and took a day trip to the Transkei. This was really great, we
went cliff diving, visited a traditional Xhosa village, had a taste of
some traditional stomach ache medicine which was brewed on the spot for
us by a witch doctor. We then finished off the tour on the cliffs
watching the whales and the sun set over the Indian Ocean
whilst drinking a cold beer!!"
Volunteer's Report, August 2005
Photo taken during an educational trip - one of a
selection that you may go on during the course.
HOURS OF
WORK AND TYPICAL DAY
You’ll generally be working on week days
but also sometimes at weekends. Days generally start at 08h00, finishing
roughly 18h00. The work can be quite physical at times, with hiking for
up to around 3 hours, so you need to be fairly fit and healthy.
A typical day might be something like the following, but please note
that this can and will change at different times on the course:
Up in time for breakfast at 07h15,
08h00 briefing of day’s activities,
equipment check;
08h30 leave for Reserve, checking game on
route and also learning and being tested on fauna and flora.
09h00 start work on monitoring game
movements, evaluating the type and quality of vegetation.
12h00 move to lunch site in the bush,
13h30 do anti erosion work, taking out
alien bush, packing run off zones.
15h00 start trip home doing game
spotting.
16h00 return to accommodation, discuss
the day and what was learnt and forewarned of what might happen
tomorrow.
Supper at 18h30
Then off to local pub,
play pool, email, or relax. You can go to bed
whenever you want, but your Course Leader will
recommend a
suitable bed time based on what the next day’s activities
will be.
"We had an even
better experience watching a herd of over 50 elephants with newly born
calves!"
YOUR
ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation will
vary, depending on the activities and also on other circumstances on the
ground, but will likely be as follows for periods during the course:
As befits an African
Wildlife course, you will be camping out in the bush in tented
accommodation, but these are no ordinary 2-man pup-tents. They are large and
fairly luxurious, with proper beds and small verandas out front where you
can sit in the evening and look out at the beautiful views.
You’ll
share a tent with 1 to 3 other people and there is a shower and ablutions
block on the site, as well as a kitchen.
The camp is situated
in a small valley with ridges on either side. There is a river running
through and the site is very African and beautiful. It is very rustic with a
mixture of tents and thatched stone buildings for the lecture room, kitchen
and ablution block.
The camp is located
on a working farm, part of which is given over to wildlife as a conservation
reserve. This means that you
could be woken up in the morning to the sounds of cattle lowing, or you
could stroll around and see buck and other smaller wildlife roaming in the
bushes close to your camp.
As our
September/October volunteers said, "Living
in this truly wilderness camp is wonderful (although the road into it is a
tad bumpy). Waking to the sound of birds singing and nothing else is bliss.
Having the opportunity to see the night sky in all its glory without the
light pollution is an opportunity seldom presented in the UK. A visit to the
5 star lodges in Shamwari Game Reserve was great but they are not as special
or private as our wilderness camp. Food on camp is splendid! Our wonderful
cooks Violet and Nozuko will prepare delicious meals through the week and
their cake and bread is to die for!"
Food:
All meals will be provided( and
we have had comments from previous volunteers that the cook is very good!).
Meals will usually consist of light breakfast, lunch/packed lunch and supper
is the main meal. Food will usually be typical Western food. During
practical outings, packed meals will be provided.
You will have access
to the kitchen while in the camp so that you can make yourself a hot drink
and/or snacks.
Laundry:
There is a laundry service in
the village which will cost you about R20 a week, but some people choose to
do their washing in the basin on site.
Activities:
Given that this is a camp site, there are no city-type amenities like TV,
etc., but there are facilities in
Alicedale (a very small town about 8 km away), such as
Internet, swimming pool, café, shops, etc., ... and
Louis' Pub!
Communication:
There is no land-line in the camp site but you will have limited access to
email facilities. Cell phone communication is normally available but while
you’re in camp, you will need to climb to the top of the ridge in order to
get reception.
Location:
The location of the campsite is
close to the rapidly-developing small town of Alicedale, in the Eastern
Cape. Alicedale is 90 km (approx 70 miles) from
Port Elizabeth and 20 km
from the university town of Grahamstown. Shamwari Game Reserve is fairly
close by, as is Burchills and Bushman Sands.
TRAVEL:
You have the option to arrange your
own flights or we can assist you with your flight arrangements. If you would
like us to do this for you, we will liaise with you regarding available flights
and dates to suit you. All arrangements for your flight bookings/payments will
be fulfilled by Murray Rogers Travel Ltd., ATOL No. 6856. (Read more about Murray Rogers Travel Ltd.)
Where possible, we arrange for two or more people to travel on the
same flight and we will let you have the names and telephone numbers of other
volunteers on your flight, so that you can chat to each other or even meet up
before leaving for your placement.
Where possible, all flights we
arrange for you have changeable return tickets because many of our volunteers
choose to extend their stay once they are in their destination country.
Changeable return tickets enable you to do so, within the limits of your visa
and the level of your air ticket, of course. If you choose to book your own
flights, you should endeavour to get a changeable ticket. We meet you at the
airport regardless of whether you make your own travel arrangements or not.
You will fly into Port Elizabeth where you'll be met
at the airport and taken to the site.
You'll also be taken to your accommodation, where you'll be
welcomed and introduced to everyone.
Darting from a helicopter during a game capture in order to
tag the game for monitoring
VISAS:. In countries where
visas or immigration documents are required, we'll send you all the necessary
forms and information and make the process very easy for you.
We can also arrange your flight
dates to give you additional time at the end of your project for travelling
around and sightseeing - this is a fascinating and wondrous country!
To read about the extensiveSupport & Backup we provide in our countries,
please click here.
PRICES:
To see the Prices of this project and all
our other projects in South Africa, please
click here
Prices
include
Food & accommodation while on your project,
unless otherwise stated,
2 T-shirts, if required
for your project
All support and backup
during your programme
Meeting you at the
nearest airport, where appropriate, but exclude international travel.
Translocating a rhino - this was a
very rare opportunity to experience transportation of animals between
Reserves - not part of the project but a wonderful experience that
happened to arise during the time of the course!
Volunteers re-enacting periods South Africa's history,
during their cultural heritage lesson. Seen here portraying different
costumes of different tribes and periods in history
.
+44 01903 502595
