Since the beginning of my career in conservation, I have been fortunate to have worked on endangered species projects in some of the most incredible reserves across the country. This came with a downside.

One of the reasons any conservationist gets into the game is to be able to make a difference. But with major threats such as habitat destruction and climate change, I found myself growing disillusioned, lacking confidence in my efforts on the ground.

Don't get me wrong, I genuinely do believe in the field efforts of conservationists across the globe, working tirelessly to protect the planet's wildlife. And I have always loved fieldwork. But at the time, what I really wanted was to see what was going on at a higher level and find ways in which I could get involved.

So, I reached out to various Climate Advocacy groups and wound up working for two of them: Cape-Town-based Project 90x2030  and African Climate Reality Project (ACRP), through which I also trained as a Climate Reality Leader (CRL).

What started as a volunteer opportunity ended up as a three-year stint of contract work for ACRP. In these three years, I gained many insights, lessons, and most of all, friendships, through which I could build my own little network of comrades.

One of the great honours of my job was getting to interview other CRLs across the continent and write their stories. From this, I learned about incredible activists doing amazing work. Like Risper Asembo, at the forefront of the crisis in Kenya, and  Tamo Stephane, a champion of climate literacy in Cameroon. Learning about their work gave me a renewed sense of hope (and faith in humanity!).

From joining protests to painting murals, the experiences gained through working with the wonderful team at African Climate Reality Project were invaluable, and I will forever treasure the memories and friendships made.

I will continue fighting the good fight, as a trained Climate Reality Leader, alongside my newfound comrades.