UK charity, How Many Elephants, to spearhead the launch of World Female Ranger Day on 23rd June 2021
This ground-breaking global awareness day will celebrate and support female anti-poaching rangers, spotlighting Africa in its first year.
They're bold, changing the game and paving the way for women to stand alongside men at the forefront of conservation, but they need allies. This is the first time that female wildlife rangers will be recognised collectively on a global interactive and fundraising-focused platform, to tell their stories, have access to peer support, offer and receive advice, and share knowledge. As champions of wildlife conservation, as role models, as educators and as beacons of hope, these women are not only transforming attitudes towards the role of women in Africa and beyond but are also showing the capabilities and success of females in traditionally male roles.
Less than 11% of the global wildlife ranger workforce is female. With women being natural communicators, protectors and investing their earned income in their families, bringing gender equality into the workforce enhances conservation efforts and relationships within communities.
In dedication to supporting female anti-poaching rangers, How Many Elephants (HME) has established this important awareness day and the accompanying online platform - www.worldfemalerangerday.org - which will go live in May.
Co-founder of World Female Ranger Day (WFRD), (and founder of HME), Holly Budge, says “Having spent time on the front line with multiple all-female anti-poaching units in Africa, it’s evident why the female ranger movement is picking up such momentum. These women are proving to be highly successful as they ease local tension and strengthen relationships within their communities. WFRD will celebrate these women but will also highlight the significant gender imbalance in environmental conservation. Through the WFRD initiative, HME aims to collate gender-specific data about female anti-poaching rangers. This will enable us to identify their needs, find tangible solutions and help build effective policies to contribute towards positive outcomes for female rangers and conservation as a whole."
HME supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Specifically no.5 - Gender Equality, no.15 - Life on Land and no.17 - Partnerships for the Goals. In keeping with these goals, HME hopes that the launch of WFRD is the start of a long-standing campaign to support female-led conservation efforts across the globe and increase gender diversity in anti-poaching ranger teams.
HME will share further information about WFRD in the coming weeks.
HME is seeking out long term strategic partnerships with companies, associations and global citizens to expand the reach of the campaign to ultimately strengthen the support of female rangers. In May, businesses and individuals will be able to set up their own fundraising pages via www.worldfemalerangerday.org
World Female Ranger Day is co-founded by Holly Budge (Founder of HME) and Margot Dempsey (Marketing and Events Manager at HME). To get involved, email [email protected]. For updates, follow @howmanyelephants on Instagram and Facebook, @howmanyellies on Twitter, or use hashtag, #worldfemalerangerday, and subscribe to newsletter updates at www.worldfemalerangerday.org
Read the full press release here.