Sinawo Jack|Published
FreeMe Wildlife and the SHIELD Elephant Shepherd Programme have been recognised at the 2026 Eco-Logic Awards for their approaches to conservation that consider the needs of both wildlife and the communities living alongside it.
FreeMe Wildlife received Gold, while the SHIELD Elephant Shepherd Programme received Bronze in the Nature Conservation category.
For communities sharing their environment with wildlife, conservation is not only about protecting animals. It is also about finding ways for people to safeguard their livelihoods while living alongside wildlife.
Eco-Logic Awards founder David Parry-Davies said the awards reflected a broader shift in how conservation is understood.
“What I am delighted to see is that in the past, we were happy to see people just trying to not damage nature and our environment. This evolved and grew into recognising the need to achieve long-term sustainability,” Parry-Davies said.
He said the focus had now moved towards becoming “net-positive” by actively benefiting nature and the environment, rather than simply limiting harm.
“And whilst in the past looking after nature was left to government and NGO’s - now it’s recognised to be everyone's business,” he said.
FreeMe Wildlife focuses on collaboration
For FreeMe Wildlife spokesperson Tamlyn Peta Caine, the Gold award recognised an approach to conservation that relies on collaboration.
“Winning Gold in the Nature Conservation Category at the 2026 Eco-Logic Awards was an honour, and our entire team at FreeMe Wildlife celebrated this incredible recognition of our work,” Caine said.
FreeMe Wildlife’s work extends beyond wildlife rehabilitation to include habitat protection, species reintroduction, wildlife crime support, research and community education.
The organisation also works with authorities, including Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, the SAPS Stock Theft Unit and the NSPCA, on wildlife crime and cruelty cases.
Its community work includes a three-year biodiversity programme that equips educators to provide training at schools and eco-clubs.
Caine said one of the challenges facing conservation was the growing disconnect between people and nature.
She said a lack of understanding about species and ecosystems could contribute to hostility towards wildlife, unsustainable harvesting, and the pollution and degradation of natural resources.
Caine said conservation was also important to South Africa’s economy and the wellbeing of its people, with tourism relying heavily on the country’s wildlife and natural landscapes.
“Conserving nature in our country is crucial for providing our people with basic human rights, clean air, clean water, and healthy soils,” she said.
SHIELD works to support people and elephants
For the SHIELD Elephant Shepherd Programme, coexistence is also at the heart of its conservation work.
The programme, which received Bronze in the Nature Conservation category, works to protect elephant corridors while supporting communities living alongside the animals.
Spokesperson Dr Michelle Henley said the award recognised both the Elephant Shepherds and the communities involved in the programme.
“Coexistence has to work for people as well as elephants,” Henley said.
The programme uses Elephant Shepherds, real-time elephant tracking and local knowledge to help elephants move through human-dominated landscapes more safely.
It also uses measures such as beehive fences, elephant-unpalatable crops, education and alternative livelihood opportunities to help communities protect their crops and livelihoods.
Henley said fragmented habitats were among the biggest challenges facing elephant conservation because elephants do not recognise protected-area, provincial or international boundaries.
She said elephants also played an important role in ecosystems through their movement, feeding and seed dispersal, influencing vegetation and habitats used by other species.
“Protecting elephants therefore means protecting functioning ecosystems while finding practical ways for people living closest to wildlife to benefit rather than continually carry the costs of conservation,” Henley said.
Awards expected to support future conservation work
Both organisations hope the recognition will help them expand their work.
FreeMe Wildlife hopes to attract new partnerships and investment, while SHIELD plans to expand into other human-elephant conflict hotspots, train more Elephant Shepherds and collar more elephants to better understand their movements.