Wildlands Wrap-up

Port Elizabeth (SA): EarthCollective members Matthew Zylstra & Dieter Van den Broeck farewelled a fantastic group of U.S students who had been under their guidance during the previous six weeks. Since late September, the EarthCollective members had acted as co-instructors for 14 U.S university students completing their Wildlands Studies Course ‘Preserving Biodiversity in South Africa”. The dynamic course had taken the group across stunning landscapes and ecosystems and allowed them to make contact with an array of projects and perspectives all linked to challenges and opportunities for managing and conserving wildlife in South Africa. For everyone involved, it was a memorable life learning experience. Matthew Zylstra reflects: “Being involved in this course delivered more than I could have expected. It was much more that just sharing my own ‘knowledge’ and helping to give students exposure to range of project-based fieldwork and the people involved in them. It was about being part of a mutual learning process – watching the students evolve as individuals and as a group and at the same learning a lot more about myself as a budding educator.”