Over spring break, nine students from the Office of Undergraduate Programs at the Columbia Climate School traded the classroom for the field, traveling to South Africa to tackle real-world conservation challenges in one of the planet’s most biodiverse regions.
As part of the Ecosystem Restoration in South Africa course (SDEV 3820), students partnered with Wild Tomorrow, a nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing ecosystems and supporting community development in KwaZulu-Natal.
Based at the Greater Ukuwela Nature Reserve, students worked alongside local experts and conservation practitioners, observing habitat management firsthand and examining the challenges of human–wildlife conflict in surrounding communities. Throughout the week, they immersed themselves in the day-to-day realities of conservation, engaging in a range of fieldwork that revealed the complexity of managing and restoring ecosystems. Students conducted vegetation surveys and biodiversity monitoring, assisted with wildlife transects, and participated in bird ringing, gaining hands-on experience with data collection methods that underpin conservation science.
Below, a photo slideshow from the students’ trip to South Africa.
Activities like invasive species removal and time spent in the Sand Forest Restoration Nursery highlighted the physical demands and careful stewardship required to maintain fragile environments. The experience also introduced students to the strategies and interventions used to protect wildlife in high-risk environments. Joining rangers on snare patrols and observing K9 anti-poaching demonstrations offered insight into the ongoing threat of poaching.
At Manyoni Private Game Reserve, one of Wild Tomorrow’s conservation partners, students witnessed a rhino dehorning procedure, a contested but widely used intervention aimed at deterring poachers.
Equally central to the course is understanding the role of local communities in conservation success. Through visits to nearby villages and conversations with residents, students saw firsthand how grassroots initiatives shape restoration efforts and how livelihoods, land use and conservation goals are deeply intertwined.
Aphiwe Notshaya, Wild Tomorrow’s community conservation manager, said working closely with neighboring groups reveals how deeply people are connected to the land and how it is part of their identity.
She also noted how encouraging it was to see students engage seriously with these realities and think about ways to support meaningful, sustainable change. “For me, that’s what conservation is all about: When we uplift communities, we create a future where both people and wildlife can truly thrive, together,” Notshaya said.
This emphasis on people-centered conservation also reshaped how students thought about sustainability. Katie Figueroa Beltran, an environmental biology major, said her research background gave her a strong understanding of biodiversity and climate, but that the sustainability portion of the course stood out to her.
“It surprised me because of its involvement in creating something for people and by people,” she said. While her department emphasizes the importance of biodiversity for Earth’s systems and life, “taking this class helped me see that humans benefit just as much, or even more, from biodiversity.”
Experiences like sharing a traditional IsiZulu meal in a local home further grounded these ideas, offering students a tangible connection between broader conservation concepts and everyday life.
The course, a new offering for sustainable development students, emphasizes hands-on learning and client-based problem solving. Working in two groups focused on plastic pollution and tree conservation, students developed recommendations for Wild Tomorrow designed to address on-the-ground challenges while supporting long-term restoration goals.
Reflecting on a site visit, Melanie Hoefnagel, who is majoring in sustainable development, said the experience revealed the true scale of the issue her group was addressing. “Seeing the plastic site on the reserve helped me realize the impact our project could have, and brainstorming ideas with the team there made us really excited about that potential,” she said.
The program also emphasized the importance of integrating conservation with sustainable development. At Kusasa, Wild Tomorrow’s eco-lodge, students explored how ecotourism can support environmental protection and promote conservation awareness.
Beyond the reserve, students explored Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife’s Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, a key site in the history of rhino conservation, before traveling to Johannesburg, where visits to the Apartheid Museum and Soweto added social and historical context to the environmental issues they were studying.
After spring break, students returned to Columbia, ready to translate their field experience into a final report and presentation for both Wild Tomorrow and the Columbia community, carrying forward insights molded by both observation and hands-on experience.
For some, the course reshaped their understanding of sustainability on a global scale. Kathryn McNerney, an Earth sciences major, said it highlighted the importance of context in conservation. “Sustainable efforts are far from universal and need to be specialized to context,” she said. “This means evaluating what needs to be protected in each place, as well as understanding the social and economic realities of the communities involved.”
