Hi! I’m Andrew, a geology student at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. This summer, I am volunteering in Tanzania to help conservation iniatives in any way I can. I am volunteering with Attraction Birds Conservation.

This grassroots NGO empowers young Tanzanians through environmental education, bird conservation, and skills training. I am helping teach English to aspiring local guides and supporting bird conservation. This charity also uplifts women through sustainable tourism training and creates employment pathways in conservation.

All of ABC’s activities are limited by funding, but the work they do here has a direct impact on local people and helps raise the next generation of conservationists which is extremely important. Some of the challenges they face include frequent power outages at the school, limited funding that sometimes prevents students from participating in birdwatching trips, and a lack of essential equipment such as field guides, binoculars, and tents. They also aim to expand their educational outreach to more remote schools but require further investment to do so effectively.

My aim is to make ABC and the Bush College more financially stable, so that they no longer have to rely on the generosity of individuals in future. The long-term vision is to establish ABC as a trusted local guiding service, where tourists can stay and experience nature firsthand while supporting community members trained as birdwatching guides. In the short term, we plan to invest in bikes and tents to give future volunteers an optional activity that they could pay leading eco-tourism activities right away.

The idea is that volunteers could use the bikes for a small daily fee, or we could organise an optional multi-day biking trip to places like Engikaret Lark Plains or Enduimet. ABC would handle the planning and logistics, and we’d guarantee sightings of endemic species like Beesley’s lark (only around 45 left in the world), along with plenty of big mammals — plus it would just be a really fun and unique experience.

We aim to purchase 5 bikes with pannier racks (so we can attach tents and carry food), along with two 3-person tents.

Even a small donation would make a big difference, and it’d mean a lot if we could reach our goal.