In May 2025, Wildlife Conservation Action (WCA) hosted their first ever international student. Edith January is a Burnett Scholar, currently pursuing her master’s degree in Conservation Science with DICE. The Burnett Scholarship scheme was launched in 2024, for applicants from Africa’s KAZA region, through the generosity of the Notsew Orm Sands Foundation.
Edith’s research focuses on understanding community perspectives on human-lion mitigation strategies in Nyaminyami District, and her work provided “fresh academic insights into WCA’s human-wildlife coexistence work” during her time with the WCA.
“I worked with WCA officers and a team of research students, who assisted throughout the study. They were welcoming, and provided all the support and assistance that I required,” Edith said. “I conducted surveys and community interviews with a total of 326 participants. I met the four chiefs, who serve as the gatekeepers in the communities in Nyaminyami and was given the grace to conduct the study. Before commencing my research, I also met the local authorities, who gave me permits prior to my travels. Both the traditional leadership and local authority were very welcoming and supportive.”
Edith even picked up some of the local language during her time with WCA. “The host organisation provided local employees, who assisted as I went into different homesteads, especially in the Tonga-speaking communities. By the time I left, I was able to exchange greetings and speak a bit about conservation in the native language.”
We would like to congratulate Edith on her work and her feature in the WCA’s newsletter, and we wish her all the best with her future studies and research.
