Learn
A guided onboarding with a personal mentor, a growing library, weekly webinars and our Tropicalia Conference.
Opening the gates to conservation
We are a global community project helping students and young professionals find their place in wildlife conservation and sustainability, through mentorship, education and trusted partners on all continents.
What is The Wildlife Academy all about?
An opportunity, not just another course
TWA connects people who care about wildlife with the guidance, knowledge and places they need to make a real difference. It brings together students, professionals, student associations and conservation centres in one network, where each makes the others stronger.
Connect
Meet people who have walked the path before you, and peers in many countries who care about the same things.
Act
Real work with our field partners, opportunities to create your own team and small, practical ways to make an impact from wherever you live.
Our Mission
We exist to open doors.
Talent and passion for conservation don't fail to appear. They fail to survive the journey. We are building an ecosystem where everyone who cares about this planet has an equal, active role in creating the solutions it needs, whatever their country or background.
Not a hierarchy where a few decide, and the rest wait for permission. A network where every part strengthens the others. Our 3 pillars:
Transparency
We are open about our numbers, our goals and our gaps. Trust is earned by what we are willing to admit.
Impact
Students, professionals and partners build this together. Local communities lead the projects they live alongside.
Collaboration
For wildlife, and for the growth of every person and partner who joins us.
Why this matters?
Nature needs more people
We are not only losing species. We are losing the systems that sustain us.
73%
Average decline in monitored wildlife populations since 1970
47 187
species classified as threatened with extinction
+1.55 ºC
above pre-industrial levels in 2024, the hottest year on record
7 out of 9
planetary boundaries already breached
Sources: WWF/ZSL Living Planet Report 2024, IUCN Red List, WMO State of the Global Climate 2024, Planetary Health Check 2025.
Yet getting into conservation
is harder than it should be...
The people who want to help often give up before they start.
These are the four barriers we are working to remove:
Where you fit
We are building this for you
Whoever you are and wherever you are starting from, there is a place for you in TWA.
Students
If you are in veterinary medicine, biology, conservation, sustainability or any other field. Get a mentor, practical skills and a clear way into the field.
Join usYoung Professionals
Already working, or changing careers? Stay close to conservation, grow your network and keep contributing. Members also get access to opportunities, including paid ones.
Join usStudent Associations
Bring talks, webinars and field opportunities to your members, and connect them with a global network.
Join usNGOs and Conservation/Sustainability Projects
Reach motivated, well-prepared people, strengthen your education programme and become part of a trusted network.
Join usCompanies and supporters
Sponsor a student's year or a piece of educational content, and help open the door for someone who couldn't otherwise join.
Join usYou
If you cared enough about the environment to read this far, you are already part of this.
Join usWhere we are
A global project with trusted partners
Based in Lisbon, working with partners on every continent. Our 6 main Hubs are few on purpose, so every collaboration is deep and every placement is real work alongside professionals. Around them is a wider list of vetted projects where members get exclusive discounts and opportunities.
6
main Hubs, kept small on purpose
10+
vetted projects and partners
60+
students helped into the field
23,000+
people in our community
Our 6 main Hubs
Long-term partners we work closely with to create better opportunities for students and anyone wanting to enter the field, while helping develop their projects and supporting their work and their local communities.
- Educational materials
- Real field placements
- Field workshops
- Mentorship
- Exclusive Opportunities
- E-learning experiences
- Discounts
- And more
Peru
Integrating advanced ecological research with habitat protection and scientific rehabilitation in the Amazon.
Explore our partner
Maldives
Focused on coral reef resilience, sea turtle rehabilitation, marine species monitoring and ocean-health restoration in a critical marine biodiversity hotspot.
Explore our partner
Costa Rica
Specialising in veterinary medicine, high-discipline orphan care and the clinical rehabilitation of injured wildlife.
Explore our partner
Liberia
Rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing wild animals in West Africa, many of them victims of the bushmeat and illegal pet trade.
Explore our partner
Laos
Rehab work with animals taken from the illegal wildlife trade in Southeast Asia, while working with local communities to protect Lao wildlife.
Explore our partner
Vetted projects you can get involved with
A bigger list of projects we have checked and trust, where members get exclusive discounts and opportunities. We also partner with student associations, where students can get involved and get extra discounts and opportunities.
In Progress
The "Student Friendly" certificate
We are creating a certificate to vet projects, so students can easily check which ones are a good, safe and worthwhile place to get involved. Projects that meet our standards will carry the Student Friendly seal.
The Team
Built by people who lived (are living) the gap
Instead of something that only worked for people able to travel and pay, we built something anyone, anywhere can be part of.
Gonçalo Melo
Founder
Portuguese veterinarian and environmental educator at Lisbon Zoo.
Matilde Silva
Co-Founder
Portuguese veterinarian with experience in wildlife rescue centres in Costa Rica and Portugal.
Ayza Ali
Education
Works in Pakistan on one of the few projects focused on women's health and empowerment.
Maria Kisenga
Partnerships
Comes from a background in computer science and now works on a marine science project in Kenya.
Anna Molls
Podcast
Finishing her research on ethical rescue centres, and set to lead a dog and cat rescue centre in the Peruvian Amazon.
Hiring Soon
Web & Multimedia
Hiring Soon
Communications
Hiring Soon
Community
You
Mentors, partners and members
Join us
Join our waiting list
Our waitlist is now open. We are still building the structure and bringing the whole team on board, so we are not booking calls yet. Everyone on the list will be the first to meet the TWA team and, from there, to join us as members.
- Send the form. It takes a minute. No account needed.
- You are on the list. We keep you posted by email as TWA takes shape.
- You are first in line to meet the TWA team when we open, and to become a member.
You're on the list — welcome to TWA.