Letting kids bring South African wildlife into focus

Now in its third year, The Wild Shots Educational Outreach program has run 32 courses for children in state-run schools around the Kruger National Park in South Africa. So far 292 students — usually around 15 to 17 years old — have taken the course. Here one of the students captured wildebeests on the move.

The course consists of five workshops where students learn more about cameras and how to use them manually. After that they get to go on a game drive in order to try out their newly acquired skills — for most of them, it is their first time in a wildlife reserve. Here a student's image of Egyptian geese high in the sky.

Since the project is based around the famous Kruger reserve — in South Africa's Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces — around half the outings have been in that park. But some students have also been to nearby Sabi Sands, Timbavati and other private reserves. The program aims to show the value in Africa's wildlife.

For school-based workshops, the students usually only get a single turn in a wildlife park. For residential weekend-long workshops, the young photographers often go on three or four photo shooting safaris. Here a quick-fingered student was able to capture a cheetah trying to blend into its natural background.

The student outreach project sprung out of the fact that a South African photography conference organizer struggled to find non-white wildlife photographers to speak at their yearly event, not to mention the shocking realization that most kids near Kruger had never visited it. Here a student spotted a curious giraffe.

The idea is not only meant to just get kids into the nature parks to look at animals — but to look after animals. Through such an introduction to conservation, students can see for themselves that poaching can mean fast money, but nature can be a long-term investment in terms of sustainable jobs in tourism.

The outreach program has received some individual and corporate sponsorship, but is still in its early phase. The organizers want to bring the photography course to more schools and show the students the value and beauty of living in harmony with nature. Here a student captured white-backed vultures on the prowl.

The project has caught on and even won South Africa's Kudu Award for best educational program. The program organizers hope to keep developing career awareness for conservation and tourism jobs through mentoring and work experience. Here a student snapped a majestic nyala as it paused for a close-up.