North American students are benefiting from a biodiversity conservation programme at La Esperanza Wildlife Refuge, which is owned and managed by Fundación Patagonia Natural (FPN).
FPN is one of the two partners of World Land Trust (WLT) in Argentina, and it was thanks to WLT’s financial support that FPN created La Esperanza Wildlife Refuge in Patagonia in 2000.
Adrián Rodríguez, a ranger funded by WLT’s Keepers of the Wild programme, is one of the course tutors. He inspires the students with his intimate knowledge of the Patagonian plains and the species found there.
In 2015, 10 American students stayed at the refuge in November. During their 10 day course they studied Patagonian wildlife and flora, conservation, desertification, fisheries, wildlife rehabilitation. They carried out monitoring activities such as counting Southern Right Whales(Eubalaena australis) and Guanacos(Lama guanaco), tracking Pumas(Puma concolor) and other species.
Students have been visiting La Esperanza for many years. In 2014, 15 students from the University of Toronto spent a week on the reserve learning about conservation, the fauna and flora of the region and protected areas management.
La Esperanza hosts other research projects including Guanaco monitoring. The ranch’s farm buildings have been converted into accommodation for visitors and researchers.
More information
You can support Ranger Adrián’s work in Patagonia by donating to the Keepers of the Wild programme.
On World Ranger Day in 2015, WLT launched a new appeal - Keepers of the Wild 2020 - to raise £750,000 to guarantee the Keepers of the Wild programme between 2016 and 2020.