Leela Lawson

My name’s Leela, I just graduated from high school, and I recently joined African Conservation Experience (ACE) as a volunteer for 7 weeks. I’m super interested in wildlife conservation and rehabilitation, and I decided to volunteer with ACE to help me figure out what my career options in conservation look like. 

I had a call with an ACE consultant, and they helped plan an itinerary where I would join three projects: Phinda Wildlife Research Project, the Vikela Kruger Conservation Experience, and Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. 

Before starting my trip, I was a little bit nervous, and so it was really helpful that the ACE team met me at the airport and organised all the transfers for me. Everything worked out really well! The regular check-ins from the ACE team whilst I was at each project were also really reassuring.

At Phinda, I got to do loads of different things, but my absolute highlight was seeing the relocation of seven rhinos! Phinda is part of the Munywana Conservancy, who have partnered up with African Parks for their Rhino Rewild project. The aim is to rewild white rhinos across Africa in areas where they used to live but were lost. 

I also got to witness a rhino horn trimming! The team explained why horn trimming is done as an anti-poaching measure, and then the procedure was underway. One thing that really struck me is that you don’t realise just how big wildlife is until you see them in real life, up close. It was a really momentous occasion. 

Throughout my time at Phinda, the ecological monitors that were guiding us were very smart, as well as funny and kind. Since I am interested in a career in conservation, I found it really helpful to talk to them about my career choices too.

At the Vikela project, there was a focus on tracking sessions and learning how to find wildlife out in the bush. On our second tracking session, we were walking around a water hole when we heard some lions in the distance! We started to track the lions through the bush until we actually saw one! I thought it would be scary but I felt very safe under the supervision of our guide, and it was a really cool experience. 

I also got to immerse myself more in South African culture by trying a braai (barbecued meat!), which was delicious. 

I loved all the projects in different ways, but my favourite was Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre. Here I learned a lot about animal care, including how to look after injured animals which are going to be released, as well as wildlife that cannot be released and have to stay long-term at the sanctuary. There was loads to learn, but I felt really comfortable asking questions to the project staff during my time there. 

As a solo traveller, I had so much fun bonding with other volunteers and made really nice connections throughout my trip. I hope that I can stay in touch with everyone! 

I would definitely recommend doing a trip like this! Coming to South Africa with ACE has made me want to travel a lot more now. It’s also given me a great idea of what it’s really like to be working as a conservationist on the ground.