Dereck and Beverly Joubert, co-owners of Great Plains Conservation, are award-winning filmmakers, conservationists and National Geographic Explorers at Large. This dynamic couple has been filming, researching and exploring Africa for over 40 years. They now welcome you to come on safari to one of their Great Plains Conservation luxury African safari camps in Botswana, Zimbabwe or Kenya.
Introducing our Founders
Dereck and Beverly Joubert
Through their film company, ‘Wildlife Films‘, they have created over 35 films, and received 8 Emmy awards. The films predominantly focus on Africa’s wildlife, with strong conservation messages at their core. The Joubert’s are founders of Rhinos Without Borders an initiative that has moved 87 rhinos from high poaching areas to safety. They also co-founded the Big Cats Initiative with National Geographic, as an emergency initiative to slow the rapid decline of big cats around the world, with over 150 grants in 29 countries. This program has now transitioned to the Great Plains Big Cats Initiative, under the Joubert’s leadership and Great Plains Foundation management.
Read More
In recent years, the Joubert’s have expanded their conservation outreach through ‘Great Plains Conservation”. Dereck is CEO of the company and together with their business partners, they strive to secure African landscapes of a scale large enough to protect its resident and seasonal wildlife population. They achieve this through very light-footprint safari camps that operate on these tracts of land in Botswana, Kenya and Zimbabwe. Through Great Plains Conservation and their charity arm, ‘Great Plains Foundation‘, they are running various initiatives to save Africa’s wildlife and uplift, educate and care for the surrounding communities.
The Early Years
Beverly and Dereck met in high school, and even then, they both shared a passion and curiosity for Africa. In their early twenties, they started their exploration together, romancing Africa. On their journey through many of the east and southern African countries, they realized that this was more than just curiosity; it was something much deeper.
In 1981 Dereck and Beverly travelled to Botswana and fell in love with the wildness of the place. At first, they worked for the Chobe Lion Research Institute and concentrated on research and photography. One day Dereck turned the institute’s film camera on the hippos struggling in a river that was drying up. Dereck quickly discovered he had an aptitude for filming, and the footage from that first day ended up in a National Geographic film they later produced called ‘The Stolen River’.
Read More
While Dereck filmed, Beverly took to producing, recording sound and photography, which she has continued to do on all of their films and projects together since then. In 1985 their company, Wildlife Films, was formed in Botswana, and a subsidiary in South Africa. Over 40 years the Joubert’s have continued to make award-winning wildlife films for National Geographic and other major International broadcasters.
Wildlife Films
Wildlife Films, established by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, was designed around three core values: Bringing the beauty and wonder of nature to the world; Being a voice for the voiceless (wildlife that is being decimated at alarming rates), and showcasing ways to use storytelling via film to entertain, educate and be fact-based advocates for nature. The content the couple takes on must have integrity and honesty, be authentic, and be a contributing voice to the conservation of the planet.
With the establishment of Great Plains Conservation in 2006 and their registered Great Plains Foundation, Dereck and Beverly Joubert aim to fund crucial conservation and community initiatives across Africa. This funding is achieved from the revenues generated by guests who come on safari to some of Africa’s most iconic wildlife areas in Botswana, Zimbabwe and Kenya and stay at either their Explorer- or Réserve-Collection safari camps.
Awards for Film & Conservation
Dereck and Beverly Joubert have received international recognition for their films and conservation work. Their accolades include 8 Emmys, a Peabody, Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival awards, a Wildscreen Panda & Outstanding Achievement Award, and a Lifetime Achievement Award, to name but a few.
The Jouberts were also awarded the World Ecology Award alongside Prince Charles and Richard Leakey, and in 2009, were inducted into the American Academy of Achievement.
Read More
One of their most valued accolades was presented to Dereck and Beverly Joubert in 2011, when the now-former President of Botswana, Ian Khama, honoured them with the Presidential Order of Meritorious Service for their work within the country.
Yet their most significant rewards have not come in the form of trophies that can sit on their shelves but in their conservation successes – saving the wildlife they love and the wilderness that has become their home.
One example of a successful conservation talk Dereck and Beverly Joubert have done in the past is their TED Talk called ‘Life Lessons from Big Cats‘.
Extract from the Talk
Beverly explains, “Lions are essential to the habitat. If they disappear, whole ecosystems in Africa will disappear. There is an 80-billion-dollar-a-year ecotourism revenue stream into Africa. So this is not just a concern about lions; it’s a concern about African communities as well. If the conservation areas also disappear, African wildlife and conservation also goes away. But what I am more concerned about in many ways is that, when we de-link ourselves from nature, as we de-link ourselves spiritually from these animals, we lose hope, we lose that spiritual connection, our dignity, that thing within us that keeps us connected to the planet.”
Beverly Joubert Fine Art Photography
Beverly Joubert is a National Geographic photographer who has specialised in African photography for over 40 years, with images in over or more National Geographic Magazines, in 14 books and in many articles around the world. Beverly strives to create images that open a window into the souls of their subjects so that the viewer will feel a connection with these individual animals and want to join the fight for their survival. Her brand of photographic activism touches the viewer’s hearts, stirring a long-lasting passion rather than a short, sharp shock to the heart as a means to motivate action.
Beverly Joubert has exhibited her fine-art photography worldwide to raise awareness of the plight of Africa’s wildlife. Dereck and Beverly Joubert often give a conservation talk at a photographic exhibition to further their cause and raise awareness.
The d&b explorer clothing collection by Dereck and Beverly Joubert
Safari Clothing of Distinction
The spirit of exploring has its roots in going out to the far-flung corners of the planet and returning with news, impressions, and insights to our society. These journeys are profound and life-changing but they are selfless and not just for the sake of exploring, but in the pursuit of knowledge about our planet and our lives. We’re National Geographic Explorers at Large, two of just 12 around the world with those duties, so we understand exploring and the nature of expeditions. We also know that there is a need to have the right clothing and equipment, light things that you can carry, clothing that is cool in the tropics and yet, elegant enough to take that special meeting, a sudden delegation of elders, or to meet the president.
Follow the Jouberts on Social Media
Facebook – Dereck and Beverly Joubert | Instagram – @dereckjoubert | Instagram – @beverlyjoubert | Twitter – @dereckbeverly