How Can Biking with Giraffes and Rhinos Support Community Conservation?

UC Davis Tahoe Science Speaks Lecture

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5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
March 27th, 2025
Sunnyside Restaurant & Lodge

Event Description

Have you ever ridden a mountain bike alongside a tower of giraffes? Or near a crash of rhinos? Imagine the thrill and excitement riding alongside wildlife of the African savannah; and then to realize that you are supporting the future of local community conservation at the same time.

Join Tara Hetz for a presentation on adventure tourism and how it improves the livelihoods of local community members and supports local community conservation efforts in Kenya. Join for an evening of armchair travel to Laikipia, Kenya, at the base of Africa’s second highest mountain, and learn about the projects that these adventure travel trips support.

Tara Hetz currently lives and works in North Lake Tahoe. She was raised in East Africa and has spent most of her life abroad. She is the grant framework manager for North Tahoe Community Alliance (NTCA), where she helps to reinvest tourism tax dollars into the local North Lake Tahoe community.

Tara’s passion lies in combining adventure tourism and community conservation around the world. She designs, organizes, and runs Adventure for Rhinos, a Kenya-focused trip of Mazingira Adventures and the non-profit, Mazingira Conservation Works,  where mountain biking and hiking are dedicated to local community conservation efforts.


Logistical Details

Doors open at 5:00 p.m. Presentation begins at 6:00 p.m.

Tickets purchased in advance are $10 through EventBrite and free for students with a student ID. Tickets at the door are $15. Refreshments and a no-host bar will be available from 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. The lecture will begin at 6 p.m. in the Mountainside Bar at Sunnyside Restaurant & Lodge, 1850 W Lake Blvd, Tahoe City, CA 96145.

Enjoy dinner at Sunnyside either before or after the lecture where participants will be treated to 20% off their entire meal.

For more information call 775-881-7560 or email [email protected].

Unable to make it in person? Join us at the specified date and time for a zoom webinar of the presentation: https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/99040464741