Our First Volunteers of the Year Gives The SLWCS a Thumbs Up!

Savannah Soizic
France

I spent three really nice weeks, all the staff was great, really friendly they make you feel well in the field house and during the activities. I have learned so many things about elephants but also about people and Sri lankan wildlife. The life in the field house wasn’t as hard as I thought, and it’s really interesting and fun to be with the local people, to really discover the culture. All the days were different from the others and each day was really interesting, I had an amazing experience in this program, and I will enjoy to come again!!

Tessa Gai
Australia

I had great experience volunteering with the SLWCS. The staff were very friendly and helpful, they were able to answer any questions I had and I learnt a lot about Sri Lankan wildlife. I also enjoyed the beautiful location of the field house. Activities including painting the school and planting orange trees in the village were very satisfying and I enjoyed interacting with the local community. Overall, I had a fun and informative week and definitely hope to come back again!

Yan (Josey) Zemin
Netherlands

The three weeks I’ve spent here were great. The field house’s location is gorgeous and the open vibe is really cool. The biggest thumbs up goes to all the staff. Very friendly and knowledgable. Even though not everyone speaks English, the language barrier doesn’t really matter. I’ve learned a lot about the wildlife here and the lives of locals. It’s an interesting way of seeing a foreign country, deep down in the countryside without tourists. Seeing an elephant (or even its presence) in the wild here is a magical experience. You can really kind of feel that they’re around.

I really like how this project helps the elephant, as well as the villagers at the same time. The staff really wants to bring the ‘natural balance’ back and the way they do it is great. The more physical activities like Project Orange Elephant are satisfying, because you can see who you’re helping and hear the stories why you’re helping. Not all activities are equally interesting, but I’ve enjoyed walking around in the small villages, paddy fields and wilderness nonetheless. I have had amazing weeks here and I’m curious to see the future projects of the Sri Lankan Wildlife Conservation Society!

Matthew Shattock
Australia

I spent two weeks with the SLWCS and was super impressed with the organization. The field house is situated in a stunning location overlooking a lake on one side, with spectacular views of the Knuckles Mountain Ranges on the other side.

The staff were friendly, knowledgable and passionate and made every activity both enjoyable and educational. For an experience of successful and real conservation work I would 100% recommend volunteering with the SLWCS.

Anne Redburn and Alexis Scott
USA

This is a great program that truly helps to preserve wildlife in an innovative and natural way. The staff work incredibly hard to collect their research and on the maintenance of different projects.

Staff are very kind and knowledgeable and also very willing to share their knowledge with you. They are well respected by the locals and carry out their projects on a large area of the land. They are always looking for new ideas to preserve the wildlife, and the projects they’re currently working on are interesting and new. Also, the food they serve is homemade and delicious.

Caroline Mager and Brett Kerton
UK

It’s been a great experience – very satisfactory to be involved in research-focused activities. So we loved the bird monitoring, dung analysis, etc. Mahinda’s food is fantastic – great to have traditional/local cooking! Staff are all very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. The trip to the national park was excellent and very good value!

We enjoyed very much the film and the talk by Chandima after supper.

Jenna Monroe
Alberta, Canada

Honestly I think the organization is pretty darn fantastic. Really happy I was able to see and experience the culture through the daily projects just by travelling throughout the countryside, especially the first day when we did the POE fence monitoring and were right in peoples backyards, and to truly get to see a less travelled area of Sri Lanka.

The food is fantastic, I legit looked forward to every meal. The field house is in a great location and is super relaxed, which I enjoyed and it gave us great opportunity to get to know each other. I liked the downtime mid day because its so hot that I definitely think I’d have a hard time keeping up if we were busy with activities.

I also really appreciate that its pretty disconnected, I know lots of people might complain that they’re without technology but I really liked it. I think the dynamic is perfect just the way it is. Without a doubt, I learned a ton about the project, elephant behaviour, Sri Lankan farming, etc etc. Cannot thank you guys enough for how knowledgeable and friendly everyone here is. I’ve really had fun this week. Thanks a million. Xx

Daniel Wellman
United Kingdom of Great Britain (The Best Country in the World)

I spent one week volunteering with SLWCS and was happy with the activities and setting. SLWCS is a great organization and showcases great innovation with limited means. The group I volunteered with was fantastic, which made the experience better! The staff are really passionate and really know their stuff. The field house is unique and very different from home, and was a little bit of a challenge adapting to – but after a couple days I could relish this unique living style!

The breadth of activities was good and the work was fulfilling, although I will always wish I could’ve done more!

Juan Leandro Del Viejo Dominguez
France

Positive: decent facilities, great food, passionate people, wonderful scenery, very interesting projects (butterfly garden, elephant human conflict, EleFriendly school bus).

Big, rumbling thanks to our Corporate Partners for their kind support and to everyone who has donated and supported our wildlife conservation efforts!
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Photo Credits:

Chandima Fernando/SLWCS
Akila Weerakoon/SLWCS
Ravi Corea/SLWCS