Interview With Conservation Co. Founders

By Kate | Permalink |

No Comments | July 7th, 2007 | Trackback

Conservation Co founders Dayne Davey and Mark Slatter took some time out to do an interview with the Volunteer Logue about their new organization, which offers volunteer trips linking international volunteers with conservation research projects in South Africa. Find out how they got started, what they think about paying to volunteer, and why connecting the research community to volunteers from the general public is so important.

First of all, how did Conservation Co get started? How do they identify relevant projects and what is the hardest part?

“As we are scientists ourselves, we have extensive experience in volunteer programs, research projects and working with the general public. We both thrive on job satisfaction and wanted to work for Africa , its people and wildlife. With our past experience we knew which areas needed assistance and the first step was to establish projects which benefited the surrounding communities and educated the locals. We also believe in asking rather than telling the community what needs to be done and through this we found several fantastic projects which we did not know about. For instance the work that the Rastafarian community are doing in rehabilitating an ecosystem completely independently in an effort to bring a place of serenity back into the township. Obviously the hardest part is getting the word out about our projects - any volunteer knows that there are a huge amount of options to work on African programs but with the help of overseas booking agents we are creating more awareness.”

Many people ask why it is necessary to pay to volunteer; while there are clearly costs associated with housing and supervising short term foreign volunteers, sometimes project fees incorporate more than this. I asked Dayne for her comments on this:

“Several organizations have jumped on the eco-tourism band wagon and created projects which are appealing to travellers and ask a large contribution in return. It is important that potential volunteers do some research before they join a project and ask specific questions about the allocation of funding. A responsible volunteer organisation should be using the funds to develop and support the projects they are involved in. The contribution, especially in Africa, can be life changing. In our case, most of the projects we have developed and work with would not be feasible without the funding and support of volunteers, not to mention the valued manpower and skills.”

There is also a less tangible but equally valuable benefit to bringing together the research community and international volunteers:

“One researcher can publish hundreds of papers in various scientific journals. This is valuable and fascinating work which seldom reaches the general public. We would like to help bridge that gap and introduce people to the world of zoologists and conservationists in Africa, and provide the researches the exposure they deserve. This in my mind is the most important aspect of conservation - education and awareness.”

Thanks to Dayne of the Conservation Co for taking the time to share these insights about conservation in Africa as well as the role of international volunteers. Learn more about participating in a volunteer project with Conservation Co in the relevant section of the website. Also stay tuned for the story behind the Conservation Co logo and the point it makes.