“The Youth4Conservation camp, which my son Tim attended in March 2019, completely exceeded my expectations. My son (15 yrs) came back with huge enthusiasm and stories of their 8-day involvement in many, varied aspects of Biodiversity Research and Conservation in the Tuli Block area of Botswana.
I have yet to watch the final, edited video (which my son is editing), but the little I have seen shows all the kids getting seriously stuck into digging, breaking ground and using pick-axes to create a waterhole. I gather they also fixed fences, looked for snares, repaired roads and assisted in applying anti-soil erosion measures. They were never idle and it was evident that they all got involved and worked hard to make a difference in the time they were there.
Tim came home with a comprehensive bird list, stories of the various wildlife sightings, tales of sleepouts and fireside chats. He really enjoyed engaging with the rangers and camp staff, and I believe that all the kids bonded and gelled beautifully. The fact that there is no WiFi or option of using cell phones at all meant that the kids were thrust into engaging with one another and really bonding, which I feel is excellent at this age.
I was seriously impressed with Maria Hauck’s organisational abilities and professionalism – from start to finish, her capacity to organise the kids and the parents (!), to think of everything, arrange and collate all the paperwork, plane tickets and payments etc was superb. Nothing was ever too much trouble, and her genuine excitement and passion for the work being done by Youth4Conservation shows.
I would LOVE my son to return – next year or the year after! If he doesn’t, I will!”
