Wild Shots Outreach is an award-winning NPO, recognised by the Global Good Awards with an International Gold Award. The programme offers an immersive experience through which young adults from disadvantaged communities are introduced to wildlife and wild places through the lens of a camera.
This experience goes some way to facilitating conversations around conservation, and hopefully shaping mindsets of the next generation of environmental stewards.
Natural Selection works closely with the Wild Shots Outreach initiative, hosting workshops each year at a selection of our camps. The programme engages unemployed youth, using photography as a gateway to understanding nature and conservation.
Alongside a deeper appreciation of wildlife, the initiative focuses on building self-confidence, self-esteem, life skills and practical photographic skills – supporting both personal growth and creative expression.
Programme Director Rifumo Mathebula has also been internationally recognised for his work and received the CIWEM Youth Environmentalist of the Year and Mail & Guardian Greener Futures awards, recognising individuals creating meaningful and lasting environmental change.
For many participants, this is their first experience of a game drive and their first opportunity to photograph a wild animal. The partnership has since expanded into Namibia, and guests who wish to support the programme can donate cameras on safari.
