Alpha Two: Nagarhole National Park Project

By Project PRO Thomasin Lockwood


Set within the Nagarhole National Park, our mission is to repair the trenches on the perimeter of the park. These trenches prevent the elephants from damaging the surrounding farmland and crops.

School children in local village

At the end of the phase, our team of 13 venturers and three project managers successfully repaired 13 damaged trenches along with the trenches around an anti-poaching camp. We have been working alongside the Karnataka Forest Department, the rangers and the guards to encourage the local tribes to keep the trenches maintained after we have left.

Throughout the phase we have cooked our own meals, creating new concoctions using limited materials. Though regular trips to markets kept us supplied with fresh fruit and vegetables.

The gazebo opening ceremony with one of the park rangers

Early mornings enabled the hard work to be completed before lunch and the afternoons free for group entertainment. Our main project is painting a gazebo for the rangers to use. Every member had their turn to create a stunning mix of images in a rainbow of colours, signed with hand prints.

In return for our hard work the rangers have taken us to local tribal villages and schools. Walks through the national park and one of the main highlights was on a rare day off a safari through the park. On which we watched a bull have a bath in the lake.

Project Manager Hana with baby elephant at sanctuary

We passed a herd of wild elephants, spotted deer, peacocks, monkeys and countless other species on our adventure. To reward their generosity we threw the rangers a thank you party, where we cooked and entertained our guests and unveiled our beautifully decorated gazebo adorned with flowers. Sat around a campfire we shared songs from our cultures and learnt their dances.