How to engage Universities in Conservation

[huntsman]

Where can I find a list of degrees, diplomas and courses that are available in this field? I have a pal who is dead keen to become involved but the universities don't even respond to his questions...

Hope you can help!

[Hugh]

I know they used to do a BSc degree in wildlife sciences at KZN-Natal on the pietermaritzburg Campus. My daughter was well into her BSc degree when they introduced it . She would have loved to have gone that route But would have had to do extra courses .
Hope you find something

[threedogs]

Hi huntsman!

I am not sure how universities work in South Africa but usually a good Uni will have a very comprehensive website which will list all degrees, courses etc. Sometimes they have these listed under Undergraduate and Postgraduate accessible from their home page and each Faculty ie Sciences etc will list the degrees and courses that they run. All this info should be openly accessible by anyone via the websites.

Hope this helps in some way!

[pops]

Hi Huntsman. I may be wrong but am under the impression that the Univ. Pretoria offers a course in nature conservation.

[gjorgi]

Three Dogs that is exactly how it works here as well. Just go to the websites of say the 5 biggest universities, go to the relevant department and have a look there. I know for example that the UNISA site is quite easy to navigate, the rest should be the same.

[huntsman]

I have been in touch with the three major unis I can use, but it is as if there is a mandate not to reply to potential students...drives me batty!

Will keep trying though, thank you.

[Hippotragus]

Hi huntsman

My daughter did a BSc Honours degree in Wildlife Management at Pretoria University.

A friend's sons did Conservation degrees - one at UCT and one at Stellenbosch.

University of Tswane (used to be Pretoria Technikon) runs a Diploma in Nature Conservation - two or three years, not sure, which is highly regarded.

I have a feeling that Potch also does some sort of Conservation Degree.

Maybe you are not getting replies at the moment because they are busy registering new students at the beginning of the academic year. Try in a couple of weeks.

[huntsman]

Thanks Hippotragus

I will indeed keep trying, and at least I have an idea where to apply, now.

[BushFairy]

Hi Huntsman

I know Rhodes University only opened again this week. Rhodes has a brilliant Zoology department where you can study towards this - obviously it depends what you'd like to focus on. The Botany and Environmental Science departments have a joint honours in Conservation. If you email the departments directly with your queries I'm sure they'll give you a good idea of the options available. If you go onto the website www.ru.ac.za/studentzone and then look under "Academic" and click on "Academic Departments" you'll find the Zoology, Environmental Science and Botany departments, all of which are either the best or within the top few best in the country - definitely worth a look.

I'm in the Environmental Science department and have just started my PhD, not in conservation, but in ecosystem services focusing on designing a statistical model to better understand the complex social, economic and ecological relationships in South Africa - something which is vital in making decisions pertaining to many environmental issues across South Africa.

So there are many focus angles available to a simply question/degree. And many are worth a snoop around!

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask

Caroline

[huntsman]

Great -

Thank you very much!

I will need to ask about a correspondence course though, as I will stay in Gauteng, but I'll contact them and find out.

[Sufu]

Hi,I am a newie on the forum and would like to get some ideas on how to engage Universities more in conservation efforts. I am based in Tanzania and I feel our Universities here need to get more involved with nature conservation if sustainability is to be achieved. Any tips? Thank you
.
Sufu

[Sheenaugh-Lee]

WELCOME to the Forums

What a great idea im pretty sure a mite here might be able to answer your question

[threedogs]

Hi Sufu!

My first question would be how much contact have you had with your Universities there? Have you been a student or attended any of their Open Days or corresponded with their Science Department? I ask because most of the research and involvement of Universities is not known to the general public unless a particularly important finding makes it to the mass media.

If a University offers degrees covering conservation, environmental management, biology, ecology, zoology etc then they will most likely be actively doing research. A quick google search revealed a lot of excellent research work in conservation which is already taking place in Tanzanian unis.

[lemonbalm]

Hi,

I am a post grad student in plant taxonomy here in South Africa. Speaking from my experience here, I think that each side needs to be accommodating of the other (as in all situations in life!). Students and professionals need to realise who their end users are and make useful classifications that are quick and easy to understand in order to get an ID and related info the field. On the other hand (and this is where I really speak from experience!) The park authorities also need to come to the table and minimise the red tape involved in getting permits for the collection of material. I do realise that the aim of permits is to control the amount of illegal poaching (yes for plants too), but the way things work here is that most times genuine research is inhibited while the illegal demolition of populations continues unabated. Just my 2c worth!