Learning Together in the Reserve

“Some of the best days in the bush are spent learning alongside others and these young Batswana brought an energy that was a reminder of how much there is to discover when fresh eyes meet the wild.

One challenge set the tone early on. A camera had gone missing near a waterhole, and the last image it captured was of a bull elephant. Recovery seemed unlikely. But with patience and teamwork, the students found it submerged in the water, retrieved it, and carefully cleaned and dried it. A small triumph, but one that captured the spirit of the week.

Other cameras yielded hundreds of images, giving the students plenty to work through. While the field sessions covered animal tracks and the many uses of bush plants, the desk work fell to the students, who sorted patiently through more than 500 frames of camera-trap footage. Each photo added a piece to a wider research puzzle led by our research manager, Botilo: mapping leopard territories across the Reserve.

As BUAN student Katlego reflected: ‘My attachment in Limpopo-Lipadi is transforming classroom learning into real-world practice. This integration is strengthening my skills and preparing me to be an effective wildlife manager.’

Watching these students apply their classroom lessons to real conservation work, and seeing their excitement as the Reserve came alive around them, was a quiet privilege. Limpopo-Lipadi gives students hands-on experience and in return their efforts move our research forward. A fair exchange, and a hopeful one.”

If you would like to support our conservation efforts, have a look on our website: https://limpopo-lipadi.org/donate/. For discreet information on share sales, contact invest@limpopo-lipadi.org. To book a safari, request our rates via reservations@limpopo-lipadi.org or via WhatsApp: (+267) 76770191.