A number of travelers who track mountain gorillas in the beautiful Volcanoes National Park show interest in visiting the famous Ellen DeGeneres Campus in Rwanda. Today, we bring you details on this outstanding Conservation project. Right from the beginning, this project has placed so much focus on establishing a place where different stakeholders in Conservation (including tourists, scientists, local, regional and International Conservation Partners, students and even local community members) can be engaged in promoting the conservation of wildlife, especially the endangered Mountain gorillas and their natural habitat.
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Visitors that tour the site always leave speechless and very inspired to make a difference, like Dian Fossey (the American who dedicated 18 years to study and protect Mountain gorillas) did in Rwanda and beyond. For the 5 decades that Dian Fossey Fund has been in existence, it has worked with different stakeholders in conserving the mountain gorillas as well as supported the people who share these Giant Apes’ forest home. A project that started with only two ordinary tents established by Dian Fossey in the heart of the Forest (between Karisimbi and Bisoke Volcanoes) in 1967 has now grown into a strong project with over 300 staff from one (Dian Fossey). Given the growing number of staff, the Organization had to rent space with only one classroom as well a kitchen that was turned into the Laboratory. Worse still, it was very far from the mountain gorilla natural habitat as well as surrounding local communities. For this reason, there was an urgent need to have a permanent and large home that could accommodate the growing team as well as workload.
During the 50th anniversary Celebration in 2018, the leaders drafted a strategic plan to create a 2-decade dream of having a purpose-built facility in the country with an aim of advancing conservation works and science. In less than a year after the decision was made, the Dian Fossey Fund receives a huge gift from Global Icon Ellen DeGeneres (who is an animal lovers) and her wife Portia De Rossi. From that time, several donors continued to offer support to the realization of the dream and it is the state-of-art conservation study and research facility that no stands in Northern Province of Rwanda. The Ellen DeGeneres Campus in Rwanda was officially launched in February 2022.
Facilities at the Ellen DeGeneres Campus in Rwanda
The Ellen DeGeneres Campus sits on a vast acreage of land within the Northern Province, and is just a stone throw from Volcanoes National Park. It features three main buildings named the Rob and Melani Walton Education Center (named after the founding supporter of African Parks whose Foundation provided the critical start-up for Akagera National Park funding), the Sandy and Harold Price Research Center and the third building being the Cindy Broder Conservation Gallery and home for researchers as well as visiting students.
The Ellen DeGeneres Campus sits on a vast acreage of land within the Northern Province, and is just a stone throw from Volcanoes National Park. It features three main buildings named the Rob and Melani Walton Education Center (named after the founding supporter of African Parks whose Foundation provided the critical start-up for Akagera National Park funding), the Sandy and Harold Price Research Center and the third building being the Cindy Broder Conservation Gallery and home for researchers as well as visiting students.
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Construction of the Ellen DeGeneres Campus in Rwanda
The Ellen DeGeneres Campus was constructed with typically traditional raw materials, which is in line with the Dian Fossey Fund’s Mission of conserving as well as limiting impacts on the natural environment by reforestation of former agricultural land, rainwater harvesting initiatives, promoting biodiversity, having green roofs and many others. During the construction, over 2400 local community members were employed in various construction fields and the country was presented with an investment of over 15 million US Dollars.
Touring the Ellen DeGeneres Campus
The Ellen DeGeneres Campus is open to all visitors interested in learning about gorilla conservation. You can visit between 9am and 5pm, from Monday to Sunday except on 7th April each year when the country remembers the 1994 Genocide that took lives of over 1 million people an displaced others. Travelers are always advised to carry some warm clothing (sweater) because of the chilly temperatures at the Campus.
