Filmed on location in Africa

Nature is Changing.
Learn what it takes to save what's wild.

A 50-video immersive masterclass with renowned safari guides and conservationists Mike Karantonis and Alistair Leuner — filmed where it happens, told by the people who do it.

Enrol now — $55 → Watch the trailer ▸
50
Videos
6
Priority species
30+
Years in the field
∞
Lifetime access
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Trusted by · Featured in · Filmed alongside
Endangered Wildlife Trust Conservation South Africa Tintswalo Collection Panthera
The Official Trailer
Conservation College — Course 1

Filmed on location across the Lowveld. Best watched with sound.

We see lions in films and elephants in books. We tick the Big Five off bucket lists. But behind every iconic encounter is a quieter, harder story — of rangers, vets, ecologists and trackers working through the night to keep ecosystems intact.

Conservation College was built to take you behind that story. It is not a documentary. It is a course — structured, deliberate, taught by the people doing the work, on the ground where the work is done.

Across fifty immersive videos — grouped into six episodes, one for each of Africa's most pressured species — you will travel from the savanna to the science lab.

You will sit in on a rhino dehorning, walk a tracking line with an FGASA-rated guide, and meet the people standing between these animals and disappearance.

See the full curriculum →
"I want to take those experiences I have had over 25 years and share them with you, to illustrate the impact that people can have on wildlife, so that you can help from the outside in."
— Mike Karantonis, Course Host
Mike Karantonis at sunset
FGASA · 2024
Lifetime Achievement Award, Field Guides Association of South Africa
Alistair Leuner in the field
Co-Host
Alistair Leuner
Your Hosts

Meet your hosts.

For more than three decades Mike has lived between the bush and the boardroom — guiding safaris in the Lowveld, briefing donors on anti-poaching strategy, and helping translocate some of Africa's most endangered species back into protected wilderness. He has been recognised for a career's worth of contribution by his peers, and now he's distilling everything he knows into one deliberate, on-location course.

30+
Years guiding
7
Countries worked
12
Conservation orgs partnered

Joining Mike as co-host is Alistair Leuner — 19 years in the field across Timbavati, Sabi Sands and Manyeleti, FGASA-qualified, and currently Regional General Manager of Safari Products at the Tintswalo Collection. Alistair brings a second voice to the course: methodical, deeply experienced, and equally at home explaining lion behaviour on a tracking line as he is discussing the politics of conservation at a lodge campfire.

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Course 1 · The Curriculum

Six Priority Species. Fifty videos. One important story.

Course 1 — Introduction to African Wildlife & Conservation — is built around six priority species, each explored across an immersive sequence of films. Fifty videos in total, featuring guided experiences, field lectures and commentary from conservation leaders working in their fields of focus.

Episode 01

Africa's Iconic Big Cats

Pride of lions on a dirt road
Species · Lion
Episode 02

Saving Nature's Team Players

Endangered Wildlife Trust release crate at night
Species · African Wild Dog
Episode 03

Rhino Emergency

Rhino field treatment with a vet team
Species · Rhino
Episode 04

Saving Secretive Predators

Leopardess resting in a tree
Species · Leopard
Episode 05

The World's Fastest Land Mammal

Cheetah being tracked across the savanna
Species · Cheetah
Episode 06

A Jumbo Task

Elephants drinking at a Lowveld waterhole
Species · Elephant

Get all 50 videos — $55 →

Sample Lessons

Take a seat by the fire. Watch a few before you commit.

Four lessons from inside the course — an introduction to lions, a face-to-face with anti-poaching tracking dogs, an introduction to elephants, and more. Hit play.

Episode 01 · Sample
Introduction to Lions
▶
Anti-poaching · Sample
Face to face with anti-poaching tracking dogs
▶
Episode 06 · Sample
Introduction to Elephants
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Elephants · Sample
Meeting Africa's Greatest Tuskers
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Guest Experts

Guest appearances, interviews and field lectures.

Every episode brings in conservation leaders working in their fields of focus — for on-location interviews, in-field lectures and the kind of unfiltered commentary you can only get from the people doing the work.

Cole du Plessis with wild dogs
Cole du Plessis · Endangered Wildlife TrustOn the road with the Wild Dog Range Expansion Project — featured guest, Episode 02.
Field rhino treatment
Vet team interview · Episode 03On-site interview with the regional vet team during a rhino field treatment.
Andrew Parker
Andrew Parker · Guest LectureTwenty-five years on why enduring conservation belongs to the communities who live with it.
Cheetah tracking
Field lecture · Episode 05Walking a tracking line behind a cheetah, with an FGASA-rated guide.
Mike Grover
Mike Grover · Conservation South AfricaInterview on the future of community conservation.
Endangered Wildlife Trust release
Live capture · Episode 02A nighttime release with the Endangered Wildlife Trust team.
Enrol

One course. One price. Lifetime access.

No subscription, no upsells. Pay once, keep Course 1 forever — including any future episodes we add to it.

Course 1 — Introduction to African Wildlife & Conservation

Designed for anyone with a love for nature and a passion to help. No prior experience required — but you will leave with a field-grade understanding of Africa's six priority species.

  • All 50 videos across 6 episodes — yours forever, plus any future additions
  • Filmed on location in the African wilderness, with the people doing the work
  • Live Q&A threads with Mike and the course team
  • Certificate of completion (Conservation College)
  • Mobile, tablet & desktop — watch anywhere
$55
One-time · Lifetime access
Enrol now →
14-day money-back guarantee.
If it isn't for you, we'll refund you, no questions asked.
FAQ

Quiet questions, before you commit.

Anything we haven't answered? Email hello@conservationcollege.com and a real human will reply.

Do I need any prior knowledge of conservation or biology?
No. The course is designed to take an interested beginner all the way through to a confident, field-aware understanding of African ecology. If you already have a background, you'll find depth in the practical episodes — vet work, tracking, anti-poaching policy.
How long do I have access for?
Forever. One payment, lifetime access to all 50 videos across the six episodes of Course 1 — plus any future videos we add. No subscription.
Can I watch on my phone or tablet?
Yes. The platform works on iOS, Android, tablet, laptop and desktop. Episodes stream in HD and many are downloadable for offline viewing.
Is this an accredited or recognised qualification?
Conservation College issues a certificate of completion. It is not a FGASA-accredited field guiding qualification on its own — but the curriculum maps closely to FGASA pathways and many students use it as a foundation before pursuing accreditation.
Where does my money go?
A portion of every enrolment supports the on-the-ground partner organisations featured in the course — including community ranger programmes and species translocation projects. We publish an annual transparency note.
Africa is calling

Remember; this is where all the changes happen.

Join Mike, the Conservation College team, and a growing community of students from over 40 countries — for one price, for life.

Enrol now — $55 →