Victoria Falls Conservation Project

Situated in the Nakavango Conservation Centre, only a short drive from Victoria Falls, this project aims to create sustainable solutions to the problems facing conservation of the area’s wildlife and environment, through bridging the gap between wildlife and local communities. With the stunning backdrop of the Stanley and Livingstone Game Reserve, the volunteer project offered by this centre comprises hands-on involvement with conservation management activities, research tasks and community development projects, all designed to heal the human-animal rift that has worsened in recent years.

The project focuses on the conservation of the reserve and its species, which include populations of the ‘big 5’, as well as improving general education standards (on the subject of environmental protection in particular) for the local communities. Throughout the programme, volunteers take an active role in the conservation of the surrounding environment and the wildlife it nurtures, data-collection regarding the native species, and various community-development projects.

Through these endeavours, the project strives towards creating and implementing sustainable solutions to the problems facing the conservation of the Victoria Falls ecosystem and wildlife, whilst working closely with the local communities. This ensures that all solutions have the best interests of the local people at their core, as well as those of the animals themselves, through education and information sharing.

Education - As well as gaining a huge amount of knowledge about the conservation issues in this area of Zimbabwe and sustainable solution options, volunteers will also be required to work with local residents and schoolchildren, through community development projects. However, as the volunteer, your education is of primary importance, so that you are able to impart your knowledge effectively during interaction with local people. Therefore, you will attend a number of lectures and talks on the conservation issues facing the reserve’s wildlife.

Conservation Management - These are the day-to-day tasks that keep the conservation centre ticking over. The activities include fence patrols to repair any damage, anti-poaching sweeps, waterhole creation, game counts, road maintenance and general clean-ups. This is usually manual work, and is essential in order to maintain the standards of the centre and reserve, and ensure that both continue to function as effectively as possible.

Conservation Research - These tasks centre on collecting data on the behaviours and locations of the reserve’s species. Doing so involves the monitoring of the species, with a particular focus on the elephant, rhino, hornbill and predator populations. The specifics of this include monitoring, raptor conservation, data collection and other specific observation projects. A large part of this conservation research is also freshwater ecosystem analysis along the visually stunning Masuwe River.

Community Development - based around a number of projects in the local area, which always benefit from volunteer involvement. These include tutoring of local schoolchildren and homework workshops, sports coaching, community clean-ups and educational talks about the importance of the conservation of the surrounding ecosystem and wildlife.

Sustainability - Volunteers will be required for tasks including the installation of solar-powered pumps at watering holes, the up-keep of the community vegetable garden, and tending to the ‘Indigenous Tree Nursery’.

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