Volunteer Conservation & Environment in South Africa and Botswana - African Plains Project

Conservation and Environment Volunteering in South Africa and Botswana

Projects Abroad runs a nature reserve in the wilderness of the Southern African Bushveld. We call it Legodimo.

We are right on the frontier of South Africa and Botswana. Elephants visit the swimming pool at our remote but comfortable lodge next to the River Limpopo. From zebras to eagles, from kudu to porcupines, this is the heart of wild Africa.

It is not always easy in Southern Africa. Drought, deforestation, desertification and land degradation are major environmental problems. Reserves like Legodimo are essential havens for wildlife. All over Southern Africa, animals still roam the plains, but the human population has pushed most of the elephants, lions, rhinos, buffaloes and leopards, out to the frontiers.

Our reserve is near the southern end of a string of "frontier collaboration" reserves going right along the South African frontiers with Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Just recently they were all joined up, creating a true wildlife path. The elephants have wandered into Legodimo in great numbers. When will the lions follow? We expect it to be soon. We have seen the first signs.

These "frontier collaboration" reserves are of global importance for conservation, and you can get involved with vital conservation work by volunteering with Projects Abroad. You do not need previous experience - expertise and experience are always welcome but not essential in much of our work. Volunteers are welcome on a gap year, a career break, for university research, or as part of a summer vacation.

Living in the heart of our own reserve on the Botswana side of the Limpopo River, on the very frontier with South Africa, you will be in the midst of a wild landscape teeming with animals. The scenery is stunning, and our fully qualified staff ensure both safety and that all our volunteers are well informed about their surroundings. A visit to Legodimo is a chance of a lifetime.

Volunteer Conservation Opportunities in South Africa & Botswana

Trans-Frontier Projects are an exciting new initiative, combining conservation efforts across international boundaries - including game reserves, national parks and conservation areas for the benefit of wildlife, local people and future generations.

Projects Abroad’s African Savannah project involves different reserves and environmental groups in South Africa and Botswana working together to conserve wildlife, bush ecosystems and to share knowledge about the diversity of the area. With opportunities to conserve hyenas, elephants, and many other African animal species, this project offers you the opportunity to get involved in numerous conservation activities in exciting settings.

Your Role as a Volunteer on the African Savannah Project in South Africa & Botswana

Whilst volunteering abroad on the Conservation Project you'll be based at up to three consecutive sites, depending on how long you're staying. You will get the chance to do really varied and hands-on work, while living outdoors in the wild bush - or highveld - amongst elephant, kudu, impala, baboons, crocodile, hawks, hyenas.not to mention the dramatic high rock outcrops and enormous Baobab trees so characteristic of this stunning African landscape.

On an average month long placement, volunteers start with three weeks at our Projects Abroad base camp near the Limpopo River in Botswana, named Legodimo - which is the Tswana word for "paradise" or "where God is". You may then move on for a week to Mapungubwe Trans-frontier Park in South Africa, followed by a day or two learning GPS techniques and wild dog or elephant tracking skills at Venetia Game Reserve. Alternatively, you might find yourself spending a week removing alien plants or practicing your new tracking skills on leopards, lions, African Wild dogs (Cape Hunting dog) and elephants in the Limpopo-Shashe Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA).

The main activities you have the opportunity to get involved in include:

• Erosion control and soil reclamation in risk areas
• Alien plant control and removal, and bush clearing in encroached areas
• Building of new structures such as bird hides and elephant mud baths
• Game censuses
• Removal of fences to open up old migration routes across the Limpopo
• Monitoring elephant migration and impact on the bio-diversity of the reserves
• Species lists - especially of Limpopo birdlife in partnership with other groups
• Wild dog, hyena, elephant and leopard tracking and identification at Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve.
• GPS of existing roads and mapping of the game reserve
• Protection of Inyala, Baobab, Marula and fever trees and "tree wrapping" to prevent elephant damage.

Data collected across these projects is used to gain a greater understanding of the populations and their migration habits, which is passed on to various co-operating groups.

Projects Abroad is also part of an international campaign including the RSPB and Bird Life Africa working to conserve the African vulture. We are setting up a vulture monitoring programme at Legodimo to gather data and we are working with local vets to promote the safe use of veterinary drugs which have been responsible for the virtual extinction of vultures in some parts of Asia. To read more about the vulture project click here.

Daily Life as a Volunteer

Volunteers on average work five or six hours a day; four hours of more strenuous work in the cooler morning and two in the late afternoon, with the middle of the day devoted to eating, sleeping, swimming, relaxing and keeping cool! In your spare time, volunteers can climb the enormous ancient Baobab tree (which seats 20!) for a classic African sunset and superb game viewing spot, or swim in the river, or even have a go on the zip line we've rigged up! Due to the absolute wildness of this reserve, volunteers are never to leave camp without a qualified member of staff, so the group makes weekly trips to town to use the internet, call home, help re-stock the fridge and get hold of anything you've been craving since the last trip.

Accommodation at base camp is in large but basic bedrooms surrounding a large open air communal area with a fire pit and kitchen facilities, where much of the food is cooked over a traditional open Braai - a kind of barbeque. Hot water showers and toilets are open to the stars with traditional termite-mud walls. There are also opportunities to camp when working at some of the other national parks.

This project is available for two weeks if you don't have time to join us for a month or more. This project has been selected by our local colleagues as being suitable for short term volunteering for both the host community and the volunteer. Although you will gain a valuable cultural insight and work intensely within the local community please be aware that you may not be able to make the same impact as someone volunteering for a longer period. All volunteers joining the Conservation project for two weeks should arrive on a Friday.

"To sum up, I've had a wonderful experience, I have seen, heard, felt, smelt and learned many new things in a world away from home. I would recommend such an experience to anyone who would like to see the African bush, have a unique adventure and who truly wants to make a difference."
Luc Verschuren - Conservation in South Africa volunteer