Presented by Lauren Sadowski Local ecology teacher from Joppa Flat’s Mass Audubon and Newburyport resident, Lauren Sadowski, will show her conservation work and personal cultural experiences from her time living in a rural village in Botswana located in Southern Africa. Botswana is home to the highest density of African elephants in the world, which poses several challenges such as human-wildlife conflict, poaching, and conflict of interests over elephant hunting on an international political scale. Lauren will expand upon these multifaceted social, ecological, and economic issues through her first-hand experiences as a wildlife ecologist and community conservationist. This presentation will focus on wildlife conservation at a community based level, human-wildlife conflict among elephants and large African carnivores, and the consequences of climate change in a rural village.