ABOUT
Mike Kendrick is the Founder and Director of Wild Shots Outreach (WSO). This award-winning South African NGO engages young people from disadvantaged communities in wildlife conservation through photography. WSO takes high school children and young unemployed through a program of photo workshops and game drives with conservation themes. Its Bursary Fund helps unemployed youth to secure training and employment within the wildlife economy and media industry.
Mike is an experienced education specialist with more than 35 years expertise in raising young people’s aspirations and attainment in areas of socio-economic challenge. He is also a conservation photography teacher. Previously an Assistant Principal in a government high school in the UK, Mike relocated to South Africa in 2011 and has lived in rural Limpopo since 2015.
Mike’s proudest achievement is that, through Wild Shots Outreach, over 1200 young Africans have connected with their natural heritage. They have seen and photographed Africa’s iconic wildlife for the first time ever. Though they live on the boundaries of Protected Areas, these young people had never entered a National Park or game reserve before. Wild Shots Outreach students are now featuring on international conservation platforms, winning global photography awards and many are employed within the wildlife conservation and tourism sectors.
Career Highlights:
• Connecting more than 1200 young Africans with their natural history heritage. Taking them on their first ever game drive, despite living on the boundaries of Protected Areas.
• Mentoring and training four previously unemployed young South Africans to take on the delivery of the Wild Shots Outreach photography workshops, with the programme leader now winning international awards for his leadership.
• Young black South Africans now featuring on international conservation platforms and winning global photography awards (WSO students winning global awards, exhibited at COP26, speaking at international conferences (Hong Kong 2019, Dubai 2021) and inspiring their peers.
• University of Johannesburg PhD research project assessing the impact of Wild Shots Outreach.
Wild Shots Outreach’s Awards Include:
• 2022 WSO Program Director Rifumo Mathebula named International Young Conservationist of the Year
• 2020 WSO won the Global Good Awards for Community Partnerships
• 2019 WSO student Neville Ngomane awarded Young Conservation Photographer of the Year
• 2017 WSO won South African National Parks’ Kudu Award for Best Environmental Education Programme and Capacity Building
In 2021 Mike founded Wild Shots Outreach’s Bursary Programme. This provides financial support for graduates of the program who show particular talent, motivation and potential – helping them to secure training, work placements and jobs within the wildlife economy and media industry. Funding ranges from paying for driving lessons to full time study in tertiary education. Former WSO students are now employed as anti-poaching rangers, safari lodge staff, wildlife guides (including three young women) and running their own media studio.
Due to the program’s success in South Africa, Mike has been invited to deliver Wild Shots Outreach in Botswana (from 2021), Kenya (from 2022) and Namibia (from 2023). Mike is working with impoverished rural communities adjacent to Protected Areas in each country, and the course content has been adapted to address human:wildlife conflict.
Films
Beyond the Fence – A short documentary film about Wild Shots Outreach by Tessa Barlin (available on www.waterbear.com)
