African Wildlife Photography And Conservation Detail
- £1495
- $2695
African Wildlife Photography And Conservation
This project is ideally situated on the fringes of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park in St Lucia, a beautiful area that was declared as South Africa’s first Natural World Heritage Site by UNESCO, and which is called by many “Africa’s premier bush-and-beach destination”. Encompassing almost half a million acres, it is a stunning and ecologically diverse area, where five different eco-systems join, and where you find savannahs, wetlands, swamps, beaches, and a great wealth of wildlife. The area is home to the Zulu tribe, a group of people with a very lively and colourful culture. It is within this impressive setting that we offer you the opportunity to improve your photography skills, to photograph the phenomenal wildlife in the area, and to help raise awareness in the local community about the importance of conservation.
The project will run for 4 weeks and begins on the following dates in 2010:
10th January | 7th February | 7th March | 4th April | 2nd May | 30th May | 27th June | 25th July | 22nd August | 19th September | 17th October | 14th November
This project has a number of long-term aims to raise awareness and help preserve the precious African environment:
1) CREATING A PICTURE DATABASE
In association with the Green Vision Foundation, African Impact aims to create a complete photographic database, and use it for educational purposes. The aim is to document and preserve iSimangaliso as a key heritage site of Southern Africa. As a volunteer you will contribute to this goal by taking photos of the different species of flora and fauna, some of the 526 species of birds that exist in the Wetlands area, local conservation issues, and the unique eco-systems of the area. On this project we provide a varied programme of bush walks and game drives in order to maximise photo opportunities.
Alongside the Green Vision Foundation, African Impact has also identified that in order to preserve indigenous plant life and wildlife, it is essential to get local communities involved. What is lacking in current educational syllabi is a detailed photographic database of the wildlife in the St. Lucia area. As a volunteer, your photographs will be put towards a database of wildlife, landscapes and environmental issues to help educate local schools about nature and the precious environment that surrounds them.
This project is a unique opportunity to encounter some of Africa’s most beautiful animals on a daily basis, to improve your photography skills, as well as to contribute to conservation efforts.
2) PHOTOGRAPH OF THE MONTH / YEAR
Every month, a jury of professional wildlife photographers will review all the volunteers’ best photographs and select the best picture. The winner of the Photograph of the Month will be framed and put on our picture wall in the volunteer house. In addition, it will be put on the African Impact website. At the end of each year the same jury will select a picture of the year with a prize given to the winning photographer.
3) COMMUNITY AND MEDICAL PROJECT DATABASE
To track progress of the fantastic community work volunteers on our education and medical projects are doing, you will sometimes be given the opportunity to join other projects for half a day to capture images of the volunteers at work. This provides a good opportunity to practice different types of photography techniques and helps us keep a visual database of progress on our projects in the surrounding communities. You can of course also join in playing with the children or painting a building!
4) CONSERVATION EDUCATION AND ACTIVITIES
In partnership with the local village chief (Induna) and the National Parks, volunteers will be assisting in a number of exciting conservation initiatives in surrounding areas:
a) Conservation Education in Schools – As a volunteer, you will visit the local high school each week and deliver a class / workshop about the reason for, and methods of conservation to the children in the after school Conservation Club. You will also, along with a conservation education syllabus, use our photography database to do this.
b) Conservation Field Trips - In addition, you may take local school children into the bush on field trips. By experiencing the World Heritage Site and its wildlife for themselves, the children will learn to appreciate the area they live in, and get a better understanding of why these efforts are being made. It will also provide them with a fun and relaxing day out; something they don’t experience often!
c) Conservation in Action – Volunteers To enhance awareness of UNESCO’s objectives and methods, as well as conservational efforts in general, it is vital to involve and educate St. Lucia’s local community. Volunteers will be involved in a number of activities such as regeneration of the local village back to its natural state, planting of indigenous trees, clearing the pan (natural pond) to encourage indigenous species back to their original habitat and assisting with the local conservation efforts at the nearby crocodile centre.
Environmental Awareness, Wildlife Photography Course & Wildlife Safari, St. Lucia Wetland Park
The highlights
- Improve your photography skills in a 3 day intensive course taught by an experienced professional wildlife photographer
- Spend many hours in the bush, taking pictures of the Big 5 on game drives
- Learn and photograph smaller species of flora and fauna on bush walks
- Help to create a photo database for awareness and educational purposes
- Help raise awareness in the local community about the importance of conservation
- Get involved in local conservation projects within a World Heritage Site
- Immerse yourself in the local Zulu culture
- Make friends for life
Optional activities and excursions
- Game drives in the beautiful Hluhluwe and Umfolozi National Parks
- Visits to the beach, and snorkelling at Cape Vidal
- Whale, dolphin and sea turtle viewing (seasonal)
- Deep sea fishing
- Boat cruises on the St. Lucia Estuary
- Weekend trips to the stunning Phinda Private Game Reserve
- Weekend trips swimming with dolphins in Mozambique
Where will I sleep?
During your placement, you will stay at our large and comfortable project house situated in St. Lucia located a 10 min walk to the beach. It is a fully furnished house with a large lounge, satellite television, barbeque area, garden, swimming pool, and a jacuzzi. The house is staffed with cooks and laundry / cleaning ladies. All bedding is provided, so you will not need to bring a sleeping bag with you, although sometimes it is useful in the colder months (June – September). You will be sharing a bedroom with one to four people. Members of our African Impact team will be staying on the same property, so that they are always available to assist you with any questions or issues you may have.
We find that volunteers living together and working closely together with their volunteer coordinators is the surest way of ensuring their safety, and of being able to attend to their most pressing needs. For this reason, we expect all volunteers to stay only in the accommodation provided for them and do not allow volunteers to spend nights away in the town or nearby villages, unless they are away on pre-arranged sightseeing excursions.
Project Meals:
You will be provided with three meals a day. Breakfast is on a help-yourself basis and usually consists of cereals, toast, tea and coffee. Lunch and dinner are full meals, and will be cooked for you by one of our chefs at your volunteer house.
Note: If you leave early in the morning for your photography project, which is often the best time for good pictures, you will be given a packed breakfast.
How do I get there and travel around?
The nearest airport to St. Lucia is Richards Bay Airport, which is about a forty five minute drive from St. Lucia. There are daily flights from Johannesburg to Richards Bay and these can be booked online at www.flysaa.com
You will be picked up from the airport by one of your project managers.
What does the cost include?
- The project fee entails financing that goes directly back into the project that you are involved with. It facilitates funding for items such as educational materials for the schools and tools for conservation work
- Transport between Richards Bay Airport and St. Lucia
- Orientation program, including a photography course administered by an experienced wildlife photographer
- All daily transfers to and from your projects during your stay
- Full board and lodging, which includes 3 meals a day at our volunteer house
- Laundry service during your stay
- Assistance at your projects by African Impact staff and volunteer coordinators
- Any visits to other African Impact programmes based in St. Lucia
Excludes:
- Personal travel insurance for the duration of your placement (expected to include cover for repatriation)
- All transport by air or bus to Richards Bay
- All items of a personal nature, such as curios, gifts, clothing (work and other)
- E-mail / Internet and telephone calls
- Soft drinks, wines and spirits
- All visas for border crossings
- Any excursions over-and-above your planned itinerary in St. Lucia
Do I need experience, is there orientation?
For this project, enthusiasm for photography and African wildlife is essential. Photographic knowledge and experience is helpful, but not necessary. This project has been established for all levels of ability from complete beginners to professionals. Please note that you will be taught how to edit your photos on Photoshop and spend a good deal of time during the 4 weeks editing your images – for this reason a basic level of computer literacy is required in order to participate.
Upon arrival in St. Lucia you will have a comprehensive three-day orientation program, which is included in your fee. This is facilitated by your project volunteer coordinator and includes:
- A 3-day wildlife photography course taught by an experienced wildlife photographer
- Overview of the aims of the project and your role as a volunteer
- And introduction to St. Lucia and its surrounding areas
- A brief introduction to all our other projects that we are involved in St Lucia
- Optional basic language lessons - You will learn some basic words & sentences in Zulu, the local language in St. Lucia
- At the orientation, you will also receive and be talked through our detailed “Welcome Pack”, which will contain further useful information for your time with us and is available for you to read at any time
- An introduction to the Green Vision Foundation and the Photographic database
Project Support:
Throughout your stay at your placement you will have the support and guidance of experienced field-workers and coordinators. They are part of our greater African Impact support team, and will provide you with competent 24-hour field support and assistance.
A day in the life
Here is how a typical day in the life of a St. Lucia photography project volunteer might take shape. Please note that your itineraries may differ from this, depending on your own experience and the number of other volunteers on the placement at the same time; this is simply to give an example:
- 07:30 - Get up, eat breakfast, and start getting ready for your project
- 08:30 - Head off to the photography area for that day and start taking photographs of wildlife. You may focus on finding different animals on different days through a varied programme of bush walks and game drives
- 12:30 - Lunchbreak. You will be picked up, and taken to your volunteer house, where lunch will be waiting for you
- 14.00 - Start of your afternoon projects. You may be working on adding your new pictures to the database, or you may work on a conservation activity with local children
- 16.30 - End of the working day. You will be picked up from your project and taken home, where you will evaluate the day with fellow volunteers and project coordinators, and discuss the schedule for the next day
- 18.30 - Dinner at your volunteer house. After dinner, you may be presenting your top 5 images to the other volunteers
View images from the African Wildlife Photography And Conservation Project.
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