Family volunteering in Namibia, desert elephants

The team in Namibia actively work to conserve the environment through contributing to the research of the desert elephant population and work alongside the community to educate on the best ways to peacefully livelong side the wildlife without conflict.
The team sleep camp in the open so there are very limited impacts to the environment on the elephant tracking patrol. The team use locally sourced food and cook over a camp fire and promote minimal waste. The water at the base camp is heated through solar panels. The buildings at the base camp are built from local materials and using locally sourced food and bricks. Transport is actively minimised so that limited trips are made to help conserve the environment.

Prior to the 1900s elephants lived in the region but left due to over hunting and were reduced to small separated populations in the north western regions of Namibia. Therefore, when the first elephant herd returned to the region in 1995 the local communities were not used to living alongside elephants. This resulted in conflict as the elephants caused damage to their property in search of water. Many families in the desert solely rely on farming to survive and they need reliable water for their crops. Elephants cause great issues for the local community as they often damage their wells, pipes and water pumps in a search of water to drink. The team seeks to conserve the desert elephant population by conducting research on elephant movements, distribution and complying identification guides on herds and individuals. The elephant’s movements are recorded through their GPS position and mapped online which helps the team decide which farmland is a top priority for building protection walls. The research team are collecting information so that each elephant in the three herds in the region can be easily identified and are compiling and updating their identification guides.