Conservation Course

Ratings
Overall
1
Impact: 1
Support: 1
Fun: 2
Value: 1
Safety: 3
Review

I took part in their conservation course. It's a scam. There were only 10 lectures (that could have been done in a weekend) lasting about 30mins to an hour stretched out over 4 weeks probably so they can milk you for extra cash..

we only did two assignments: a social media post and hung some bags of poop in a tree for a presentation both extremely juvenile. As someone who grew up in and is currently involved in research and conservation in Africa, its not a good place to learn.

They cant complete a basic biological survey (all the data was guessed and fields left blank), tree wrapping was a failure (elephants still knocked them over), dehorning rhino resulted in more poaching and the anti poaching k9 units are afraid of gunfire. They also spread misinformation and fear mongering about bats, blaming them for COVID 19 as well as Ebola. Recent investigations have failed to reveal Ebola virus or circulating Ebola RNA, indicative of active Ebola infection, in a bat. I could go on about the failings and incompetence of this organisation.

If you want to play dress up, grab some photos with sedated animals, have a feel-good experience and leave thinking you made a difference and helped the animals, go for it.

If you want to learn go else where. All their awards are in tourism not conservation, they sell an experience nothing else. I got no response from wildlife act when I made my grievances known during and after the course.

Don't fall for the mass tourism eco- volunteerism. It's a scam.

Would you recommend this program?
No, I would not
Year Completed
2024