Help Send Conrad to Tanzania!
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I've been offered an internship with Wildlife Connections, collecting research on elephants in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania. Unfortunately, the position is unpaid, so I'm working on getting the necessary funds for the project for my tentative departure in late July/early August. This would be a life-changing opportunity for me to both gain valuable experience before I head for graduate school, and to experience another part of Africa. ANY help you can give me in making this dream a reality is so appreciated! Please pass the word on to friends and family so that I can meet my goal.
UPDATE: I was thinking today, and I believe I should share a little more about this opportunity. I am trying to go to graduate school studying Zoology, in particular, African mammals. Studying African elephants in Tanzania would be an experience that is beyond words.
Sarah Maisonneuve, the project's team leader, is a PhD candidate at Colorado State University. Her project specifically looks at monitoring and predicting (as well as preventing) human-wildlife conflict. Most of these conflicts occur due to elephants leaving their "designated" national parks and invading local farms and villages, resulting in the killing, or maiming, of elephants by locals. Sarah's project aims to collect data on elephant crop raiding in various villages bordering the Ruaha National Park in order to enable local wildlife managers to predict and manage conflict "hot spots".
As a volunteer, I would be involved in the identification of individual elephants, as well as accompanying local villagers into the park and understanding their current perceptions of wildlife.
As I mentioned, this is a volunteer position, so I will need to fund my way there and back. The money donated will specifically go towards the costs of the flight ($1,600-2,400), as well as living costs ($250/week) for a minimum stay of four weeks.
Any help I can get is so appreciated, and I will also make sure to include all of you on this adventure in the form of an online diary to experience my trip alongside me.
Thank you all, so much, again.
Sincerely,
Conrad
UPDATE: I was thinking today, and I believe I should share a little more about this opportunity. I am trying to go to graduate school studying Zoology, in particular, African mammals. Studying African elephants in Tanzania would be an experience that is beyond words.
Sarah Maisonneuve, the project's team leader, is a PhD candidate at Colorado State University. Her project specifically looks at monitoring and predicting (as well as preventing) human-wildlife conflict. Most of these conflicts occur due to elephants leaving their "designated" national parks and invading local farms and villages, resulting in the killing, or maiming, of elephants by locals. Sarah's project aims to collect data on elephant crop raiding in various villages bordering the Ruaha National Park in order to enable local wildlife managers to predict and manage conflict "hot spots".
As a volunteer, I would be involved in the identification of individual elephants, as well as accompanying local villagers into the park and understanding their current perceptions of wildlife.
As I mentioned, this is a volunteer position, so I will need to fund my way there and back. The money donated will specifically go towards the costs of the flight ($1,600-2,400), as well as living costs ($250/week) for a minimum stay of four weeks.
Any help I can get is so appreciated, and I will also make sure to include all of you on this adventure in the form of an online diary to experience my trip alongside me.
Thank you all, so much, again.
Sincerely,
Conrad
Organizer
Conrad Marshall
Organizer
Fort Collins, CO
