Young Kiwis follow Prince Harry’s example and volunteer for wildlife conservation
Announcement posted by BPR Ltd 25 Jun 2015
Hundreds of young New Zealanders are following Prince Harry’s lead and volunteering to work on wildlife conservation projects overseas.
Prince Harry has left the armed forces after ten years and this month will begin a three-month placement helping experts with front-line conservation projects in Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Botswana.
According to Vicki Kenny, the founder of the International Working Holidays (IWH), the specialist overseas employment agency: `New Zealanders are increasingly bypassing the bright lights of London or New York to work on conservation projects overseas. You don’t have to be a Prince to make a difference. There are some unique opportunities to help save endangered species on offer to young Kiwis planning their Big OE such as the largest giant panda reserve in China, an elephant sanctuary in Thailand, a rhino anti poaching initiative in South Africa and turtle rescue in Fiji.
`We’re passionate about animals and that’s reflected by the growing numbers who are using their gap year or time before further education to work with conservation organisations around the world.’
She adds: `Many of our projects are unique. The African rhino project is tackling the very pressing issue of poaching. Volunteers are expected to be ready to dive in and get involved with everything that is going on at the project, which is quite physical and volunteers must be ready to roll up their sleeves and participate. In the last two years the volunteer work at the Panda base in China has contributed to the doubling of the panda population - which is an amazing achievement. The numbers are now such that the Panda Reserve can at last experiment with returning them to the wild.’
But Vicki Kenny warns: `Everything will be arranged for Prince Harry’s time in Africa, but while travelling to and finding volunteer projects in some of these remote parts of the world is a big adventure, the Prince is not the only person who does need expert help in finding the right placement. We make it easy to organise and find the perfect volunteer holiday so you can experience a life changing adventure overseas, safely and legally.’
Note to editors:
If you would like to talk to a young New Zealander who has returned from working on a wildlife conservation project, let us know and we’ll put you in touch with someone.
Further information:
Vicki Kenny, IWH: 027 670 9968
Peter Boyes, BPR: 0275 540 500