Animal Conservation - Ranger Bridge

  My name is Jess Kokkeler, I am a University of Oregon Design/ Architecture / Interior Architecture student. In the Summer of 2017, I volunteered with the IAPF and designed and built a lookout tower with the anti-poaching Rangers.
  I would like to return to Zimbabwe and build a much needed pedestrian suspension bridge for anti-poaching Rangers over a crocodile and Hippo infested waterway. This will expedite patrols and minimize the danger to the Rangers. The Rangers are members of the IAPF (International Anti-Poaching Foundation) who patrol the Stanley & Livingstone game reserve to protect the animals there from poachers.
   The reserve is part of an Intensive Protection Zone for the  endangered black rhino. The reserve houses the black rhino, lions, leopards, cape buffalo and elephants, considered the "big five." The rhino and elephants are illegally hunted for their tusks and sold on the black market.  Many animals on the reserve are under danger from illegal poaching.
  While volunteering in September of 2017 in Zimbabwe with the Rangers, I met a few who had in recent years, been attacked by crocodiles close to  the nearby Nakavango Dam. The Rangers regularly patrol along these waterways to prevent poacher activity and to perform game counts. In one area, the Rangers ability to quickly navigate a portion of the reserve is impeded by this waterway. The bridge would allow the Rangers to rapidly and safely respond to new-found signs of poacher activity. Speed is often essential to capturing the poachers before they can do harm.

Jess Kokkeler Website
 
University of Oregon Article about my time in Zimbabwe