[Voices of Conservation] Winners to take part in conservation project

Worldwide Experience, the education arm of the award winning Mantis group, has been working with Digital Explorer, an award winning social enterprise that generates educational materials. Together they have created an educative programme and competition that was rolled out in schools across the UK from September 2013. Mantis is a family-owned business with roots in Southern African conservation, and this programme is dedicated to the preservation and celebration of Africa's wild nature - specifically concentrating on the plight of Southern Africa's rhino populations.

Bringing the issue of rhino conservation to the classroom

Endorsed by adventurer and television personality, Bear Grylls, the programme featured a short series of lessons on conservation suitable for GCSE and A-level students to bring the serious issue of rhino conservation to the classroom. Teachers in the United Kingdom had the opportunity to teach students three lessons about rhinos and conservation followed by a module on how to create a two minute video to enter into the Voices of Conservation competition. Targeted at 16 to 19 year olds, the project invited teams of two to six teenagers across the UK to submit a short film explaining what they would do to curb the increase in poaching of Southern Africa's rhino population. The winners of the competition have won the chance to visit and take part in a conservation project in Southern Africa.

Photo credit: Team Pulse

Winners Alex Lindsay, James Lyles, Gaurav Agarwal and Ben Howarth, from Eton College in the UK, all aged 17, called their team 'Team Pulse'. They beat 20 other teams after their entry was picked as the winner by judges including conservationist Virginia McKenna of the Born Free Foundation, Andrew Muir of Wilderness Foundation and Dr William Fowlds. The idea that they came up with was a heartbeat monitor that would register when a rhino is being attacked by poachers. The escalated heart rate of the rhino set off a warning alarm and help can be dispatched immediately.

This month, the lucky winners fly to the Eastern Cape for a six-day rhino experience on the game reserve of Amakhala hosted by Dr William Fowlds. You will be able to follow their journey through a daily blog.

Mantis and Worldwide Experience are dedicated to educating the youth of today about the critical situation some of Africa's wildlife populations are facing, and to start a dialogue about how we can prevent the brutal attacks on this wildlife. With a history in conservation, and as a company who operates in these areas, Mantis feels a responsibility to start these conversations and help play a role in the protection of this iconic African species.

www.voicesofconservation.org