Lexi coordinates Wildlife ACT’s Southern Drakensberg Vulture Project, supporting Cape Vulture and Bearded Vulture conservation across the region, including parts of Lesotho. Her journey began as a volunteer in 2021 before she joined the team permanently, bringing a B.Ed in Foundation Phase Teaching and field guiding qualifications to her community-focused conservation work.
Lexi’s journey with Wildlife ACT began in 2021, volunteering during the uncertain early days of the COVID pandemic, an experience that gave her a whole new perspective on conservation. Although she holds a B.Ed in Foundation Phase Teaching, her passion for wildlife conservation couldn’t be denied.
Towards the end of 2023, she reached out to Wildlife ACT for an internship, before completing her NQF Level 2 Field Guiding qualification and joining the team as an Endangered Species Monitor, spending time at uMkhuze Game Reserve and in Malawi before joining the Southern Berg Project permanently.
As Southern Drakensberg Vulture Project Coordinator, Lexi is based in Underberg and works across the Southern Drakensberg, the Midlands, and into Lesotho. Her role is wide-ranging, spanning volunteer transport and logistics, data and administrative support, educational awareness content for community outreach, emergency response coordination, field events, camera trap surveys, and the maintenance and reporting for the project’s Vulture Safe Feeding Site.
Her work centres on Cape Vulture and the Regionally Critically Endangered Bearded Vulture, with camera trap surveys also offering valuable insight into cryptic species such as Serval, Caracal, and porcupine.
Outside of work, Lexi enjoys reading, paint-by-numbers, tubing down the river, and family breakfasts in Ballito.
“Being actively involved in conservation, rather than simply observing from the sidelines, is an experience that words can hardly capture. It is a rare privilege to play a direct role in protecting wildlife and preserving biodiversity.”