As our work with Project Ranger has made abundantly clear, conservation areas need boots (and eyes and ears) on the ground. At the same time, a central mission within the Great Plains Foundation is empowering women. These were the inspirations behind Great Plains’ Female Ranger Units. These all-female units will act as natural resource monitors, gathering essential data about the areas they patrol and will act as early detection forces against illegal wildlife crime.
Hiring female wildlife and natural resource monitors builds their capacity as individuals and empowers the communities they represent. Great Plains’ Female Ranger Units also offer opportunities to shift gender stereotypes, empower vulnerable women, and establish strong female role models for young girls. The long-term conservation impact of this project is equally powerful; female rangers will help foster the community buy-in necessary to preserve Africa’s most precious biodiversity. The inaugural all-women unit began their training in 2022 in Botswana and additional teams will be trained and activated in both Botswana and Zimbabwe going forward.
$15,000 covers the cost to hire, train and equip a new Female Ranger and cover her salary for one year.
