We're delighted to celebrate the fifth anniversary of our partnership with SAVSIM to improve veterans’ mental health through connection with nature.
Fie years and going strong: 2025 marked the milestone anniversary of a novel and meaningful partnership between ZSL, our conservation charity, and SAVSIM, the charity helping veterans transition from the military with purpose and confidence.
SAVSIM, which stands for Saviours Simul, or Saving Together – seeks to harness the expertise and experience of trained veterans, in particular to prevent wildlife crime. Worth around $23 billion a year, the illegal wildlife trade leaves a trail of destruction which is wiping out species and destroying people's lives. Here at ZSL we are committed to protecting species and creating lasting change, and we’re working across the world to stop the illegal wildlife trade.
While supporting this vital work to tackle illegal wildlife trade - SAVSIM also runs Warriors of Hope in partnership with our two Zoos, and the partnership is marking its five year anniversary in 2025. A programme of support using the power of nature and animals to heal veterans struggling with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and mental health challenges, participants on the Warriors of Hope programme get hands on with activities connecting them to nature at our two Zoos, ranging from maintaining our community gardens to creating animal enrichment, as well as using our peaceful settings for group sessions and therapy.
To fulfil their mission to support conservation in wildlife protected areas, including supporting our own worldwide conservation projects, SAVSIM seeks to harness the skills and experiences of uniformed veterans, who in return, for the last five years have been involved in therapeutic activities on days out at London and Whipsnade Zoos to improve their own wellbeing.
To mark five years of this programme which is helping both wildlife and people to thrive, we spoke to SAVSIM CEO Joe Giordano who said: “It’s so wonderful to be celebrating five years of our partnership with SAVSIM – which has been truly transformational.
“We have the shared goal of protecting wildlife from the illegal wildlife trade, but thanks to our two conservation Zoos, we’re able to use the power of nature to help heal our country’s veterans and support their transition from the military to civilian life.
“While working on activities like cleaning out hippos’ paddocks, or making enrichment for lions or aardvarks, our veterans put their expertise at the service of conservation efforts – and hugely benefit from time spent in nature.”
At our conservation Zoos, veterans can find a community to belong to and battle loneliness, they get to spend time outside away from external pressures, and together, they get to create meaningful resources to support wildlife.