Supporting Conservation: A Safari with Purpose
- Bob Shepro
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
Travel & Leisure’s January - April 2026 edition spotlights a feature by Mission Wildlife founder Julie Scardina, recounting a conservation‑centered journey curated by Latitude Expeditions for Mission Wildlife donors. Step into the story and explore how travel, community engagement, and wildlife protection intersect in Zambia.
From Conservation Lower Zambezi (CLZ) Headquarter visit focused on community engagement in conservation efforts (click for slideshow)
For an e-version of the Jan - Apr issue or to subscribe, please visit:
or
Full text of Article....
Latitude Expeditions, Time + Tide, and Mission Wildlife Unite
to Support Global Conservation
A recent trip to Zambia was filled with fantastic wildlife, amazing experiences, and as always, conservation. In fact, it started with conservation.
Each year Mission Wildlife raises funds for species on the edge of survival through innovative, inspiring, and fun events. Last year, Latitude Expeditions owners Linda and Bob Shepro reached out to a key supplier, Time + Tide with an idea. Time + Tide Foundation generously offered a fantastic donation of two nights for two at Time + Tide Kakuli Camp in South Luangwa as an auction prize for Mission Wildlife’s Fall Gala fundraising event, which was helping to protect the African continent’s little known and most endangered canine with just 500 remaining, the Ethiopian wolf.
This safari prize sparked interest from a key donor and conservation advocate who won the auction and proceeded to plan for a three-week African adventure, culminating in Zambia’s South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi with Time + Tide. Latitude Expeditions arranged the entire trip, which featured several conservation activities including a behind-the-scenes at SANCCOB, a penguin and coastal bird rescue and rehabilitation facility in Cape Town, and a visit to Conservation Lower Zambezi, right across the road from Time + Tide’s Chongwe River Camp. As founder of Mission Wildlife, I could not pass up this opportunity to see conservation projects in action and I joined the group for most of the trip.
Chongwe Camp is beautiful with a stunning location at the confluence of the Zambezi and Chongwe rivers. Everyone was excited to see the work being done to protect this special place, so we left early one afternoon in order to visit CLZ headquarters. The group was given an overview of the three pillars of work that secure wildlife and wild places in Lower Zambezi – environmental education, wildlife protection, and community engagement. Their facilities for children who attend camp were filled with information, artifacts, and plenty of positive actions (photos attached). In fact, we met the bus filled with children going out on safari, some seeing wildlife for the first time in their lives in a positive context (photo). A highlight of our visit to Conservation Lower Zambezi was seeing an impressive demonstration of the contraband sniffing dogs as they searched and found wildlife parts, well hidden by the grandkids in the group. We were not, however, allowed to take any photos or videos of the process as it’s an effective illegal wildlife trade deterrent and enforcement method.
Learning about and supporting conservation is a hallmark of Mission Wildlife inspired trips. Many travelers are not exposed to the need for and importance of protecting wildlife and wild places, ensuring local communities are stakeholders and participants in conservation efforts, and are engaged in the sustainability of the land and its flora and fauna. Safaris that support local communities are essential, and safaris that teach and inspire visitors with a true understanding of issues, causes, and solutions are imperative.
Thank you to Time + Time for the generous auction offering in support of Mission Wildlife fundraising efforts and to Latitude Expeditions who committed a percentage of trip proceeds towards Mission Wildlife conservation work.