In 1960 Joy Adamson published Born Free, the best seller in which she describes the release of her pet lioness Elsa into the African bush; it made her rich and famous overnight.  In the years which followed she and her husband George devoted a succession of books, films and television programmes to their adventures in returning to the wild a cheetah, a leopard and many more lions.

Together the Adamsons revolutioned our attitudes to wild animals and warned the world that unless it protects their habitats, many of the most magnificent species would be extinct there within a few decades.

As Joy's fame as a conservationist grew, so did her fortune - but neither she nor George had any personal interest in money.  As soon as she received her first royalty cheque, she planned and quickly established a charity she called the Elsa Wild Animal Appeal, which is now named  The Elsa Conservation Trust.  Joy then made over to it all her earnings except her basic expenses.  After their murders, ten years apart, George and Joy each left their entire estates including Elsamere - Joy's house on Lake Naivasha - to this trust.

During the last forty years the trust has donated millions of dollars to wild life education and conservation projects, large and small, helping to create the famous Kenyan parks and reserves at Meru, Samburu, Shaba, Kora and Hell's Gate and also a Field Study Centre at Elsamere.  Today it's principle activities and aims are further conservation and worldwide conservation education, particularly in East Africa.

At the present time the Trust maintains a conservation centre at Elsamere, the home of the Adamsons, on the shores of Lake Naivasha, where it is possible to stay.