Conservation Nation Elephant Logo

People & Pachyderms

The People & Pachyderms Collective is centered on protecting elephants and rhinos in East Africa, empowering African women and girls, investing in conservation education within local communities, and creating opportunities for scalable innovation.

We have partnered with five conservation and education nonprofits throughout Tanzania, Zambia, Rwanda, and Kenya to support and amplify their critical work through this Collective.

African People & Wildlife logo

African People & Wildlife

Tanzania

African People & Wildlife (APW) has a mission to protect wildlife, invest in people, and restore balance to Africa’s vital ecosystems through effective conservation action, applied science, and collective impact.

Their goals for 2030 include conserving wildlife and promoting coexistence, strengthening natural resource stewardship, restoring and connecting landscapes, developing conservation enterprises, and building strategic partnerships.

a group of nine Black men and women wearing colorful clothing while standing on brown soil with green bushes and trees behind them

With the support from this Conservation Nation Collective program, African People & Wildlife will be:

  • Supporting their rapid response anti-poaching teams and human-elephant conflict mitigation officers in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
  • Creating on-the-ground human-elephant conflict mitigation (e.g., beehive fences, chili fencing, etc.).
  • Building their team’s resources and capacity.
  • Raising awareness about elephants and their conservation needs in local schools and communities.

African People & Wildlife logo
a group of nine Black men and women wearing colorful clothing while standing on brown soil with green bushes and trees behind them

Partnership

With the support from this Conservation Nation Collective program, African People & Wildlife will be:

  • Supporting their rapid response anti-poaching teams and human-elephant conflict mitigation officers in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
  • Creating on-the-ground human-elephant conflict mitigation (e.g., beehive fences, chili fencing, etc.).
  • Building their team’s resources and capacity.
  • Raising awareness about elephants and their conservation needs in local schools and communities.

Overview

African People & Wildlife (APW) has a mission to protect wildlife, invest in people, and restore balance to Africa’s vital ecosystems through effective conservation action, applied science, and collective impact. Their goals for 2030 include conserving wildlife and promoting coexistence, strengthening natural resource stewardship, restoring and connecting landscapes, developing conservation enterprises, and building strategic partnerships.

Updates

North Luangwa Conservation Programme and Save the Rhino logos

North Luangwa Conservation Programme
in Partnership with Save the Rhino

Zambia

Founded in 1986, the North Luangwa Conservation Program’s (NLCP) mission is to protect the North Luangwa ecosystem, its wildlife and its people. It is an active partnership of Frankfurt Zoological Society and Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife, and has improved security, tackled poaching, and has sought to achieve community-based natural resource management. The NLCP has built community and education outreach support programs into a comprehensive and people-centered approach to wildlife conservation for the last 20 years. Their work to support endangered rhinos in Africa is conducted in collaboration with Save the Rhino.
rhino calf in grass with mother in background

The People & Pachyderms Collective is supporting the North Luangwa Conservation Program’s project to break barriers to bring more women into the wildlife protection sector in North Luangwa by focusing on four key areas.

  • Leadership training for female community scouts who are responsible for such critical tasks as tracking and monitoring the rhino on a daily basis.
  • Gender-bias training for male wildlife protection officers.
  • Spousal visits to field programs to increase the understanding of the importance of the spouses’ rhino ranger work.
  • Essential products to help the female rangers in the field.

North Luangwa Conservation Programme and Save the Rhino logos
rhino calf in grass with mother in background

Partnership

The People & Pachyderms Collective is supporting the North Luangwa Conservation Program’s project to break barriers to bring more women into the wildlife protection sector in North Luangwa by focusing on four key areas.

  • Leadership training for female community scouts who are responsible for such critical tasks as tracking and monitoring the rhino on a daily basis.
  • Gender-bias training for male wildlife protection officers.
  • Spousal visits to field programs to increase the understanding of the importance of the spouses’ rhino ranger work.
  • Essential products to help the female rangers in the field.

Overview

Founded in 1986, the North Luangwa Conservation Program’s (NLCP) mission is to protect the North Luangwa ecosystem, its wildlife and its people. It is an active partnership of Frankfurt Zoological Society and Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife, and has improved security, tackled poaching, and has sought to achieve community-based natural resource management. The NLCP has built community and education outreach support programs into a comprehensive and people-centered approach to wildlife conservation for the last 20 years. Their work to support endangered rhinos in Africa is conducted in collaboration with Save the Rhino.

Updates

South Rift Association of Land Owners (SORALO) logo

South Rift Association of Land Owners

Kenya

The South Rift Association of Land Owners (SORALO) has a vision of healthy, intact, landscapes that benefit people and wildlife. To achieve this, they are addressing four key areas of intervention including: improving rangelands governance by securing communal lands, water and natural resources; improving natural resource management and conservation efforts to monitor, manage and protect wildlife and other resources; generating benefits and increased income through sustainable natural resource-based enterprises; and promoting cultural values and practices that promote coexistence of people and wildlife.

a group of people sitting and standing under a very large boabab tree

Through the support of this People & Pachyderms Collective, SORALO is working to strengthen the role of women in conservation and to break human-elephant conflict cycles by:

  • Inspiring and empowering Maasai women to protect wildlife in their communities.
  • Establishing female community ranger teams.
  • Piloting methods to mitigate human-wildlife conflict at water sources.

Recruiting SORALO’s First Female Rangers

It’s hard to be the first, but for one Maasai woman, Silvia Nashipae, it has all been worth it. This past spring SORALO (South Rift Association of Land Owners) in Kenya opened its community ranger recruitment process to the public. As Community Rangers they work in their communities to…
a Black woman in Africa wearing a green beret and green shirt with a logo with trees in the background
South Rift Association of Land Owners (SORALO) logo
a group of people sitting and standing under a very large boabab tree

Partnership

Through the support of this People & Pachyderms Collective, SORALO is working to strengthen the role of women in conservation and to break human-elephant conflict cycles by:

  • Inspiring and empowering Maasai women to protect wildlife in their communities.
  • Establishing female community ranger teams.
  • Piloting methods to mitigate human-wildlife conflict at water sources.

Overview

The South Rift Association of Land Owners (SORALO) has a vision of healthy, intact, landscapes that benefit people and wildlife. To achieve this, they are addressing four key areas of intervention including: improving rangelands governance by securing communal lands, water and natural resources; improving natural resource management and conservation efforts to monitor, manage and protect wildlife and other resources; generating benefits and increased income through sustainable natural resource-based enterprises; and promoting cultural values and practices that promote coexistence of people and wildlife.

Updates

Recruiting SORALO’s First Female Rangers

It’s hard to be the first, but for one Maasai woman, Silvia Nashipae, it has all been worth it. This past spring SORALO (South Rift Association of Land Owners) in Kenya opened its community ranger recruitment process to the public. As Community Rangers they work in their communities to…
a Black woman in Africa wearing a green beret and green shirt with a logo with trees in the background
The Girls Foundation of Tanzania logo

The Girls Foundation of Tanzania

Tanzania

The Girls Foundation of Tanzania is a community dedicated to learning, collaborating, volunteering, training and teaching. They provide educational support for bright girls and young women living in extreme poverty.

Their support includes tuition scholarship as well as learning opportunities outside the classroom. They partner with each student from secondary school through university to develop her life skills, to promote teamwork, and to strengthen her academic success so each student can reach her full potential.

six black women and one black man wearing school uniforms and smiling

The People & Pachyderms Collective is supporting The Girls Foundation of Tanzania to develop a wildlife and climate-focused curriculum and program, and to empower the girls as leaders to spread the word to fellow students in Tanzania. Their project includes:

  • Participation for the girls in African People & Wildlife’s Youth Environmental Camp.
  • Training the girls to be spokespeople, ambassadors, and leaders of the wildlife conservation message out to nearby schools.
  • Establishing Environmental Clubs for secondary school students.
  • Creating a unique, play-based program focused on conservation, climate, and gender for children and teens throughout Arusha.

Never Underestimate the Power of a Girl Who Loves Nature!

Conservation Nation is passionate about connecting girls with nature, nurturing their sense of belonging in nature, and building their confidence as wildlife champions. In Tanzania, we are providing new and exciting opportunities for girls to learn about protecting nature and to share their knowledge and passion with others. We…
a group of Black female students wearing colorful clothing and holding binoculars interacting with a Black male holding colorful fruit from a tree

The Girls Foundation of Tanzania logo
six black women and one black man wearing school uniforms and smiling

Partnership

The People & Pachyderms Collective is supporting The Girls Foundation of Tanzania to develop a wildlife and climate-focused curriculum and program, and to empower the girls as leaders to spread the word to fellow students in Tanzania. Their project includes:

  • Participation for the girls in African People & Wildlife’s Youth Environmental Camp.
  • Training the girls to be spokespeople, ambassadors, and leaders of the wildlife conservation message out to nearby schools.
  • Establishing Environmental Clubs for secondary school students.
  • Creating a unique, play-based program focused on conservation, climate, and gender for children and teens throughout Arusha.

Overview

The Girls Foundation of Tanzania is a community dedicated to learning, collaborating, volunteering, training and teaching. They provide educational support for bright girls and young women living in extreme poverty. Their support includes tuition scholarship as well as learning opportunities outside the classroom. They partner with each student from secondary school through university to develop her life skills, to promote teamwork, and to strengthen her academic success so each student can reach her full potential.

Updates

Never Underestimate the Power of a Girl Who Loves Nature!

Conservation Nation is passionate about connecting girls with nature, nurturing their sense of belonging in nature, and building their confidence as wildlife champions. In Tanzania, we are providing new and exciting opportunities for girls to learn about protecting nature and to share their knowledge and passion with others. We…
a group of Black female students wearing colorful clothing and holding binoculars interacting with a Black male holding colorful fruit from a tree
Veterinary Initiative for Endangered Wildlife (VIEW) logo

Veterinary Initiative for Endangered Wildlife

Rwanda

VIEW’s mission is to protect endangered wildlife by tackling the health threats they face in their native habitats. They support locally sustainable wildlife disease investigation, prevention, and treatment by providing training, building infrastructure, conducting research, and promoting policies that ensure healthy environments for wildlife and the people and domestic animals that share their habitat.

a black woman wearing a blue shirt with a VIEW logo pointing toward a projected presentation with people sitting and watching

With the support from this Conservation Nation Collective program, VIEW will be establishing an Elephant & Rhinoceros Health Program for Rwanda to take a proactive approach to prepare for potential threats instead of having to react and salvage when crisis strikes. The project includes:

  • Developing wildlife health protocols for elephants and rhinos.
  • Instituting a research and training program for Rwandan vets and vet students.
  • Establishing a wildlife health information system to ensure data-driven health surveillance and impactful research.

With the support from this Conservation Nation Collective program, VIEW will be establishing an Elephant & Rhinoceros Health Program for Rwanda to take a proactive approach to prepare for potential threats instead of having to react and salvage when crisis strikes. The project includes:

Developing wildlife health protocols for elephants and rhinos.

Instituting a research and training program for Rwandan vets and vet students.

Establishing a wildlife health information system to ensure data-driven health surveillance and impactful research.

An Inside VIEW of Wildlife Veterinary Medicine

Ever since attending college, I have been fascinated with wildlife medicine. My interest in the wildlife field grew even stronger while attending a conservation talk at the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund during the humane dog population management program I was participating in around Volcanoes…
a group of scientists and researchers in the field examining a sedated elephant
Veterinary Initiative for Endangered Wildlife (VIEW) logo
a black woman wearing a blue shirt with a VIEW logo pointing toward a projected presentation with people sitting and watching

Partnership

With the support from this Conservation Nation Collective program, Veterinary Initiative for Endangered Wildlife (VIEW) will be establishing an Elephant & Rhinoceros Health Program for Rwanda to take a proactive approach to prepare for potential threats instead of having to react and salvage when crisis strikes. The project includes:

  • Participation for the girls in African People & Wildlife’s Youth Environmental Camp.
  • Instituting a research and training program for Rwandan vets and vet students.
  • Establishing a wildlife health information system to ensure data-driven health surveillance and impactful research.

Overview

VIEW’s mission is to protect endangered wildlife by tackling the health threats they face in their native habitats. They support locally sustainable wildlife disease investigation, prevention, and treatment by providing training, building infrastructure, conducting research, and promoting policies that ensure healthy environments for wildlife and the people and domestic animals that share their habitat.

Updates

An Inside VIEW of Wildlife Veterinary Medicine

Ever since attending college, I have been fascinated with wildlife medicine. My interest in the wildlife field grew even stronger while attending a conservation talk at the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund during the humane dog population management program I was participating in around Volcanoes…
a group of scientists and researchers in the field examining a sedated elephant

Implementation Partners

In addition to direct on-the ground support, Collective programs offer capacity building, networking, and learning opportunities for both our partner organizations and our Collective Champions. These offerings range from fundraising and storytelling workshops for partners to a customized integrative conservation certificate for Collective Champions. These learning opportunities are offered in collaboration with our implementation partners.

These offerings range from fundraising and storytelling workshops for partners to a customized and first of its kind integrative conservation certificate for Collective Champions.

William & Mary Institute for Integrative Conservation logo

William & Mary

Institute for integrative conservation

William & Mary Institute for Integrative Conservation

Virginia

The Institute for Integrative Conservation at William & Mary is at the forefront of transformational research and education aimed at solving critical conservation issues that impact global biodiversity.

Working closely with a network of conservation partners, the Institute integrates expertise from across disciplines and sectors, blends diverse knowledge systems, and fosters collaboration between academia, public and private sectors, Indigenous peoples, and local communities.

William & Mary Institute for Integrative Conservation

Virginia

The Institute for Integrative Conservation at William & Mary is at the forefront of transformational research and education aimed at solving critical conservation issues that impact global biodiversity.

Working closely with a network of conservation partners, the Institute integrates expertise from across disciplines and sectors, blends diverse knowledge systems, and fosters collaboration between academia, public and private sectors, Indigenous peoples, and local communities.

Conservation Nation has created the first of its kind partnership with the William & Mary Institute for Integrative Conservation (IIC) to create and offer a curated integrative conservation certificate program around the preservation of elephants and rhinos in East Africa. This certificate provides opportunities for the Collective Champions and their friends and family to:

  • Increase their understanding of on-the-ground conservation challenges.
  • Build connections with the Collective partners.
  • Explore research questions and projects that will be taken up by aspiring conservationists within the IIC’s undergraduate program.
silhouette of three African elephants with an orange sunset backdrop

Conservation Nation has created the first of its kind partnership with the William & Mary Institute for Integrative Conservation (IIC) to create and offer a curated integrative conservation certificate program around the preservation of elephants and rhinos in East Africa. This certificate provides opportunities for the Collective Champions and their friends and family to:

Increase their understanding of on-the-ground conservation challenges.

Build connections with the Collective partners.

Explore research questions and projects that will be taken up by aspiring conservationists within the IIC’s undergraduate program.

William & Mary Institute for Integrative Conservation logo

The Institute for Integrative Conservation at William & Mary is at the forefront of transformational research and education aimed at solving critical conservation issues that impact global biodiversity.

Working closely with a network of conservation partners, the Institute integrates expertise from across disciplines and sectors, blends diverse knowledge systems, and fosters collaboration between academia, public and private sectors, Indigenous peoples, and local communities.

silhouette of three African elephants with an orange sunset backdrop

Partnership

Conservation Nation has created the first of its kind partnership with the William & Mary Institute for Integrative Conservation (IIC) to create and offer a curated integrative conservation certificate program around the preservation of elephants and rhinos in East Africa. This certificate provides opportunities for the Collective Champions and their friends and family to:

  • Increase their understanding of on-the-ground conservation challenges.
  • Build connections with the Collective partners.
  • Explore research questions and projects that will be taken up by aspiring conservationists within the IIC’s undergraduate program.

Overview

VIEW’s mission is to protect endangered wildlife by tackling the health threats they face in their native habitats. They support locally sustainable wildlife disease investigation, prevention, and treatment by providing training, building infrastructure, conducting research, and promoting policies that ensure healthy environments for wildlife and the people and domestic animals that share their habitat.

Updates

About The Collective

In 2022, Conservation Nation launched an innovative new initiative called the Conservation Nation Collective. Through this program Champion Donors are invited to co-create their own wildlife conservation and equity-building initiative of personal and planetary significance directly with the Conservation Nation team.

By combining the Champion Donors’ time, talent, and resources with Conservation Nation’s expertise, these three-year initiatives are designed to create innovative, sustainable, and scalable conservation solutions. These initiatives also build capacity for community conservation and education organizations, to support conservationists from marginalized communities and to provide once-in-lifetime experiences for the Champion Donors.

Join Us

If you’d like to hear more or have a vision for a Collective of your own, please fill out the form below and we’ll put you in touch with the Director of Collectives, Jamie Palumbo.