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Introduction 

Wild Shots Outreach's aim is to engage young people from disadvantaged communities in wildlife and wild places through photography. The programme prioritises high school students from government schools and the young unemployed bordering the Kruger National Park.

It teaches new skills, providing a “focus” and introduction to the natural world and helps inspire and raise the aspirations of these learners – the conservationists of tomorrow.

The catalyst for founding the programme was twofold:

• Realising that the vast majority of young people in communities bordering Kruger have never visited a wilderness area before - or seen wildlife at first-hand.

• Our struggle over the past several years to find a black South African photographer to speak at the Wild Shots wildlife photography conference.

Wild Shots Outreach was founded in November 2015. The project addresses the need for more young people from local communities to experience the wildlife and wild places they previously had little or no access to. It is hoped that the battle for conservation can be won by sharing the beauty and value of South Africa's wildlife with all its citizens. Wild Shots Outreach gained NPO (Not-for-Profit status) in June 2017, won the SANParks' Kudu Award for best environmental education programme (2017) and won the International Gold Award from The Global Good Awards (2020). ​
 

Objectives

·       To engage and inspire young South Africans in the environment and nature conservation through photography;

·       To nurture an appreciation of wildlife, its importance, beauty and conservation value;

·       To develop self-confidence, self-esteem and life skills in course participants;

·       To promote creativity and artistic skills in young citizens;

·       To broaden and deepen knowledge and understanding of the environment, conservation and wildlife tourism.

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The Programme
Each course consists of 5 workshop sessions culminating in a game drive in a game reserve. These can be delivered in a school or youth centre in separate sessions or complete in a residential weekend. We prioritise high school students aged 15 to 17 and the young unemployed. We work with groups of eight students at a time, and use donated DLSR cameras. The course is run over a number of days in the school/centre or as a residential weekend in a game reserve. Each workshop is followed by a discussion session for the students to review their work, and the course concludes with a presentation session and student feedback.  Students are presented with certificates and prints of their photographs. Each school or group receives a camera so that the students can continue to use their new skills.

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