Conservation With Purpose
Filed under
Conservation
Location
Bellevue Forest Game Reserve
Region
Eastern Cape
Real, practical involvement is invaluable.
Bellevue Volunteer Experience
Have you always dreamed of working in the African wild? Of rising with the sun, following the rhythms of nature, getting out of the rat race (or avoiding it from the word go), of being passionate about your daily tasks in the pursuit of a higher purpose – one which blends preservation of our natural world with the honourable goal of genuinely making the world a better place?
Perhaps you’re at a dead end in your current job. Maybe you are just starting out and have identified conservation as your career choice. Or you’ve taken a gap (year?) to test your interests for the best fit, to find your purpose. It could even be that you are tired of being a bystander in travel, and seek something MORE. A way to balance giving with taking.
The conservation and wildlife industry is a huge and growing one in South Africa, ripe with career possibilities and rewarding avenues for young, as well as older people seeking lives filled with authenticity and deep meaning. Numerous training and qualification facilities exist to gain theoretical knowledge, and along with these, several “pay-to-participate” opportunities.
In an environment that values hands-on experience as much as book learning, real, practical involvement is invaluable.
At the privately owned Bellevue Forest Game Reserve in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, we have looked extensively at the available conservation volunteer programmes in South Africa, and designed what we think is an industry leader.
Tailored to expose our volunteers to the widest variety of species, situations and realities of modern African wildlife preservation, we are confident that Bellevue will not only provide an exceptional learning experience, but also a memorable life highlight for all those who join us.
Take Me To Your Leader(s)
As with any training programme, it’s all about the leaders. The right team will ensure that you, the conservation volunteer, get the most value from every precious moment in our care. At the helm is Loodt Buchner – inspirational owner of Bellevue, who has lived and breathed the restitution and rewilding of this land since boyhood. What was once a relatively tame piece of farmland, is now a gloriously untamed piece of Albany thicket, sanctuary for creatures large and small (including the Big Five). A monumental effort and extraordinary vision has brought Bellevue to the place it is now. Ready to host the next generation of game rangers, ecologists, species monitors, ornithologists, guides, anti-poaching personnel or those seeking to offer exceptional hospitality services. (Or just someone with the time, resources and desire to be fully involved, instead of a spectator).
The benefits of a conservation volunteer programme being based in a fully private, family-owned reserve are many. Not only is it a matter of extreme pride and belief in their product that make Loodt and his wife, LM, a dedicated management couple heading up a superb team; these are people who live their passion in every aspect of their lives. This is NOT just a job for them, and it is NOT just a course for their volunteer guests. This is the realisation of a goal to share their knowledge, extensive experience and deep love for the land and its resident wildlife. They know what it takes to build, stock, maintain, nurse, protect and improve a wildlife reserve, and to carefully select employees who share that commitment. This is personal, and it is wholly authentic. You, as a volunteer, will see through their eyes, learn from their actions, be moved by their spirit – and become immersed in their reality.
Start Your Volunteer Journey At Bellevue
So, what is the next step to becoming a hands-on game reserve volunteer?
While our wildlife conservation volunteer programme is suitable for most people over the age of 16* (see requirements), it helps to be prepared for what is in store.
This is NOT a luxury holiday.
This is NOT a case of being a mere observer from the sidelines.
This is NOT a touch-and-feel safari park (our animals are WILD. No physical interaction is permitted).
This is NOT a 9-5, clock-watching, fair weather job.
This IS a raw, unfettered, authentic brush with real Africa.
This IS a well-managed, fully-catered, structured and wholly immersive experience.
This IS a thoroughly exhilarating and ultimately life-changing endeavour.
You will get dirty, dusty and wind-blown.
Your muscles may ache, your nails may break, and at the end of a long day or night in the African bush, your head may hit the pillow for the deepest sleep of your life.
You will laugh with joy. You may cry. Not everything in conservation is pretty, or fair. You will see every side, up close and very personally.
You WILL gain valuable insight into the big picture – biodiversity, habitat, threats, megapopulations, as well as South African conservation industry realities.
You WILL experience beauty, sunrises, sunsets, stars, landscapes, vegetation and animals in a way no NatGeo programme or game drive can offer.
You will get REAL.
If purpose-driven travel is your ethos; if you’re interested in the real, rather than staged, world of wildlife management; if you seek authenticity and grass-roots learning; if you have an attitude of gratitude for nature in all forms, and if you truly wish to make a difference by contributing while learning – then the Bellevue Volunteer Experience is the right fit for you.
In A Nutshell
- The programme runs for a period of one or more weeks.
- A spectacular, malaria-free Eastern Cape privately owned game reserve, one hour’s drive from Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) international airport.
- Comfortable, shared accommodation is provided.
- Three wholesome meals daily.
- Exposure to all facets of conservation management, including species monitoring, tracking, scientific data collection, veterinary interventions (if required), habitat management, alien plant identification and eradication, infrastructure such as fencing, terrestrial and marine habitats, and much more.
We are excited to meet you!
