A bird’s eye view of South Africa’s eco-challenges!
Flying for the environment
By giving policy makers, conservationists, scientists, media representatives, community leaders and activists a bird’s eye view of our portion of the planet, The Bateleurs contributes greatly to its protection.
You must be the change you wish to see in the world
Founded in 1998, The Bateleurs is a Non Profit Company (NPC), with over 200 volunteer pilots and aircraft. It provides its beneficiaries and the public with an aerial perspective of the environment and has coordinated several thousand flights, and diverse missions, throughout South Africa and Africa, in support of environmental issues.
About The Bateleurs
The Bateleurs provides a free-of-charge aerial service to beneficiary (requesting) organisations, providing them with an aerial perspective on environmental issues, with the objective of informing better decision-making.
Request a Flight
When a beneficiary asks for a flight to determine the extent of, or record or photograph or otherwise explore, an issue or problem, we review their request and, if it is approved, we find a volunteer pilot willing to fly the mission for them.
Become a Bateleurs pilot
Are you a private pilot with your own aircraft living within South Africa and southern Africa wanting to volunteer your time and aircraft to fly missions to help conserve and protect our environment?
Support The Bateleurs
By donating to The Bateleurs your are helping the conservation of our natural resources. We have an excellent track record in converting money donated to The Bateleurs to around four times its donated value.
To waste, to destroy our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed.
– Theodore Roosevelt
Latest News & Articles
The Bateleurs conservation contribution to date
Missions flown since 1998
Pilots Volunteers
Countries Operated Mission in
Beneficiary Organisations
Are you a pilot who would like to help conserve and protect our environment?
Fixed Wing, Helicopter and LSA pilots must have logged at least 400 hours of flying time, at least 250 hours of which must have been as pilot in command
Our supporters
Our thanks go to our volunteer pilots and our sponsors who make everything we do possible