Happy Women’s Day! Today, we shine a spotlight on the incredible women in tourism and conservation, particularly the female rangers who risk their lives daily to protect wildlife and their communities. These courageous women are not just preserving nature but are also transforming societal attitudes towards the role of women in conservation.
World-class adventurer and conservationist,Holly Budge, the founder of World Female Ranger Week and the non-profit organization, How Many Elephants, shares the profound impact rangers have on lives, from safeguarding wildlife to uplifting communities and inspiring others. Female rangers are revolutionizing perceptions of women’s roles in Africa and across the globe. These women are bold, changing the game, and paving the way for women to stand alongside men at the forefront of conservation, but they need allies.
Patrolling with the Akashinga rangers in Zimbabwe, Holly has experienced firsthand the challenges and triumphs these women face. “”It’s 5.45 am. It’s still dark as I stand in line with four armed Akashinga rangers, ready to go out on foot patrol. ‘You may not see any wildlife, Holly, this is not a safari trip,’ says Nyaradzo, my go-to ranger,”” Holly recounts. These women are fighting a war on poaching, facing not just wildlife threats but also human dangers.
Holly also started How Many Elephants, a UK-registered charity using design to raise awareness about elephant poaching. The charity showcases the annual poaching rate of 35,000 elephants through powerful visual exhibitions, gaining global recognition, including praise from Sir David Attenborough.
World Female Ranger Week, launched by Holly from June 23-30, is the first week-long awareness campaign to celebrate and support female wildlife rangers around the world. This year, the campaign reached over 500 million people, highlighting the significant contributions of female rangers in conservation and community upliftment. To date, Holly has identified over 4,500 female rangers in 18 African countries and 5,500 worldwide, working to provide them with the support they need.
The female ranger movement in Africa has shown great success, with women using their skills as natural communicators to strengthen relationships within their communities, ease local tensions, and invest their earned income into their families. The Akashinga Rangers, for example, have conducted 208 operations, leading to 351 arrests and significant wildlife protection efforts.
Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, World Female Ranger Week Ambassador, emphasizes, “Gender equity in the conservation arena is such an important and prevalent topic. There is still much work to do, but Holly’s work plays a key role in raising awareness of the work of female rangers and women in conservation in the broader picture.”
Join us in celebrating and supporting these extraordinary women. Learn more about their incredible work and Holly’s journey at How Many Elephants and World Female Ranger Week.
Let’s stand together to empower women in conservation and make a lasting impression.
Find out more about this amazing initiative here:
www.worldfemalerangerweek.org
www,howmanyelephants.org