During the project, your group will be split into two teams, each undertaking a wide range of wildlife and elephant conservation tasks in Wasgamuwa National Park. You will also get to visit local villages where you will observe human-elephant conflict resolution projects. Volunteers will also receive time off, during which they can relax or visit nearby cultural sites (such as Sigirya and the Temple of the Tooth). However, regarding your workdays, activities may include any of the following:

Human-Elephant Conflict Observations:

This will be a fundamental part of your time on the project, as you will spend your afternoons tracking and monitoring the elephants in vehicles in the ‘elephant corridor’. The purpose of this activity is to allow you to collect data on the spatial and temporal distribution of passing elephants and observe how villagers and elephants interact, as both factions use the area. You will be able to spot other wildlife, should it walk past! All of the data collected is essential for wider elephant conservation efforts.

Trail Transects:

This activity involves spending a session walking along a trail and recording dung found along the way. The aim of the trail transect is to investigate Sri Lankan elephant populations outside Wasgamuwa National Park and to determine their seasonal variation and habitat preferences. Additionally, while not exactly glamorous, this task is incredibly important for indicating the age, size, sex, and eating patterns of individual elephants, and may also illustrate the extent of human-elephant conflict within the area.

Electric Fence Monitoring:

Each team will check the state of the solar-powered electric fences, which have been erected to stop elephants from entering villages. Once checked, the status of their conditions will then be relayed to the local fence committees, which maintain and operate the fences. This process also enables volunteers and project staff to identify potential issues with the fences, thereby improving their design and management.

Elephant ID:

Each team will spend a session at the Weheragala Tank looking for Sri Lankan elephants and then observing and photographing them. Elephant identification data sheets will be completed by observing the individual elephants' physical features. The aim of the elephant ID is to build a catalogue of individuals as a basis for population estimates, social organisation, and movement within and outside the park. As you observe elephants, you may also spot other wildlife in the area, including sloth bears and even leopards!

Sustainable Land Use and Livelihood Project Monitoring:

Agriculture is one of the main contributing factors in human-elephant conflicts. The project has established several sustainable land-use and livelihood projects with local communities to develop agriculturally based measures compatible with elephants. You will learn how important community involvement is for sustainable elephant conservation and will also help monitor and evaluate innovative landscape management systems designed to buffer communities from elephant raids.

Wildlife Observation and Data Logging: 

You will spend time in your teams at the water tank, where you can look for Sri Lankan elephants and other wildlife, including peacocks, mugger crocodiles, water buffalo, macaque monkeys, leopards and an extensive collection of birds within the area. The information collected will then be logged into the system.

Trekking:

During your time on the project, you will observe wildlife and various habitats, visit forest hermitages, and look for elephant signs to support wider Asian elephant conservation and other wildlife conservation.

Last Day

After saying goodbye to the project staff and the friends you have made, you will be transferred back to Kandy. From here, you can commence your independent travel plans or arrange a transfer back to Colombo to catch your returning flight home.