Unforgettable South Africa experiences for animal studies students
- Published
- Thursday 29 August
Two groups of Myerscough animal studies students have enjoyed unforgettable experiences in South Africa.
The first group of 34 students and 3 staff headed over to KwaZulu-Natal to take part on the GAP Africa Projects as part of community and nature conservation, working at the Nambiti Game Reserve.
As part of the trip, the animal studies department successfully raised more than £1,000 to raise funds to buy some appropriate PPE kit for their anti-poaching team, including boots and jackets.
The party also took over more than 80 kg of other donations for the local communities, and first aid equipment for the local high school.
A second smaller group then headed on an epic trip to the coast of South Africa where they have been volunteering with White Shark Projects in Gansbaai.
The trip gave the group the opportunity to go out on the boats to see sharks and whales in the wild, have lectures on shark conservation, took part in a beach clean, helped with the animals at a local shelter, got involved in community projects, visited a big cat sanctuary and even had time for some downtime at the beach.
A further 42kg of donations were also taken out, including books, stationary and school uniforms for the swap shop recycling project in the local township.
Louise Bell, Senior Lecturer & Research Lead at University Centre Myerscough, said: ‘’Empowering the community is a very important part of this trip and especially for our students to see as well as the rest of Africa’s amazing wonders.
‘’I’m very proud to be part of this and to see the Myerscough College and University Centre Myerscough and GAP Africa Projects friendship develop for the last 12 years.
‘’Thank you to everyone who donated towards our community fundraising too.
‘’Our new trip in conjunction with White Shark Projects is a great opportunity for students to engage in marine and general animal welfare and conservation in the Western Cape with some of the students highlights as shark tagging, shark cage diving, whale watching and community work at the local swop shop. A fabulous initiative!
‘’We also got to enjoy a few days in Cape Town before flying home.’’
Places are still available on our animal studies programmes for a September start.