Month: March 2012

March 16 The Michelangelo Hotel Ballroom, Nelson Mandela Square, Johannesburg

Last night rhino champions put their money where their mouths were. Four ¾ life sized rhino painted by South African celebrities, exclusive travel packages and fashion savvy watches were auctioned in aid of the Wildlands Conservation Trust’s Rhino Conservation Project raising a magnificent R400 000.00, this amount also included pledges put forward by generous guests in attendance. A further R210 000.00 was raised late last year during the Find and Save the Rhino campaign bringing the final tally of this initiative to an impressive R610 000.00.

The Michelangelo Hotel Ballroom on Nelson Mandela Square played host to the fundraiser, which was the culmination of Nelson Mandela Square’s Find and Save the Rhino campaign – a joint initiative with the Wildlands Conservation Trust. “We aimed to raise awareness of and funds for Africa’s threatened rhino population, and last night we certainly did just that,” said a delighted Andrew Venter, Wildlands CEO.

The Minister of Arts and Culture, the honourable Paul Mashatile was the guest of honour and keynote speaker. His impassioned speech on rhino conservation struck a chord with the audiences as he opened with, ”This evening we meet to raise funds for the conservation of one of our country’s greatest treasures and part of our natural heritage, the African Rhino.” He drew the link between art and culture and the prominent historical place way animals have always had in the works of many celebrated artists and applauded the Find and Save the Rhino campaign which again linked animals and the arts in a collective quest to do good and highlighted the fact that the rhino on auction were both works of art and symbols of conservation and pledged government’s support for the rhino cause, “The South African government remains committed to strengthening the fight against rhino poaching.” He also quoted the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Minister Edna Molewa who said “the ongoing scourge of rhino poaching requires that we take drastic measures to help combat it.”

His message was accentuated by the passion statements made by the 4 South African celebrities Oscar Pistorius, Freshlyground, Lee Swan and Nthathi Moshesh, who painted the ¾ life sized rhino on auction under the direction well-known South African artist Lauren Schlacter. Lee Swan’s passion for the planet and the earth came through in her statement as she urged everyone to be kind to the planet. Nthathi Moshesh passionately spoke about the pride she feels about being a rhino ambassador, “I’m doing this for my 10-year old son because I want him to know that I did not just stand by and watch our precious rhino dispappear – I became part of the cause.”  Sello Maake ka-Ncube passionatey implored that “we have to take care of our heritage for the next generation.”

Freshlyground and Oscar could not attend but had their message video’d for the evening. Oscar, currently in London to qualify for the London Games, explained in his filmed passion statement, “Rhino poaching is completely unacceptable and if we don’t do something about it now we will regret it in years to come. I am pleased to be able to support the Wildlands project and be contributing to this cause.”

Freshlyground were the first celebrities to commit to the rhino parade.  They not only claimed a rhino and fondly named him Neil, he also toured with them. Through their AV they made this plea, “Please support this project, stake claim to this beautiful creature for your child’s school or in your lobby, and know that you are making a tangible difference on the ground.”

As expected, the 4 x ¾ life sized rhino created the greatest interest (who would not like to have a statuesque rhino guarding their corporate HQ!) with Oscar Pistorius’s rhino fetching the highest bid at R100 000.00.  The other rhino were quickly snapped up for respectively R65 000.00 (Freshlyground), R45 000.00 (Lee Swan) and R20 000.00 (Scandal).  Enthusiastic bidders also seriously tracked the other lots on offer and the result was a triumphant success for rhino conservation.

Concluded Venter, “Rhino poaching continues to escalate and organisations such as ours need the support of South Africans to ensure the continued existence of the rhino. This event not only raised much-needed funds for our projects, all endorsed by Project Rhino KZN, but also highlighted the positive effect for generations to come if South Africans simply just take action. We raised a total of R610 000.00 during the Find and Save the Rhino campaign – all for the good of the African rhino – not just because people get swept away in the moment but because South Africans care about our African rhino. Special thanks must also go to Bonitas Medical Fund, Nelson Mandela Square and the Michelangelo Hotel for making tonight possible.”

On the 10^th of March 2012, 5 Wildlands’ green-preneurs were rewarded with bicycles at Spier in the Western Cape (an award winning producer of wine), for growing between 300-600 trees in their local communities. Most of the recipients stay in informal settlements, and considering their average living space is 30m2 this makes their achievement that much more impressive.

The bicycles were donated by Mylan, Qhubeka and the Wildlands Conservation Trust. Mylan is one of the world’s leading generics and specialty pharmaceutical companies, providing products to customers in more than 150 countries.

Qhubeka supports Projects whereby individuals earn bikes as a reward for work done in their communities, and Qhubeka maintain that bicycles play a vital role in advancing sustainable socio-economic development around the world.

Lesley Joemat, who is a Wildlands Initiative Manager based at Spier, introduced all of the 5 green-preneurs to the tree-planting program that sees people bartering their trees for useful items, such as building materials, food, clothing and even school fees.

Lesley, together with Mylan CEO Paul Miller and senior management staff, proudly handed over bikes to: Katrina Visagie of Eerste Rivier (50); Monica Nelson from Delft (41); Natasha Fataar also from Delft (36); Maria Johnson from Mitchells Plain (55) and Pieter Rudolph of Kuilsrivier (27).

“These 5 individuals are collectively responsible for the growing and maintaining of almost 3500 trees in the Western Cape, and this number is on the increase daily. These people are transforming their communities while also expanding their personal entrepreneurship skills,” commented Lesley Joemat of Wildlands.

With the help of their partners, PSG Consult, Col’Cacchio and Spier, Wildlands have ensured these previously unemployed individuals are making a living while greening their communities – an amazing success story.

 

PICTURE CAPTION: Green-preneurs are presented with their shiny new bicycles by Wildlands, Spier, PSG Consult & Col’Cacchio representatives.

In April 2011 the National Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF) allocated R1 500 000 to Wildlands to build an 8 bed rustic camp in the Tembe Tribal area. Known as, Bhekula Lodge, it is situated in the sand forests adjacent to Tembe Elephant Park. The project got underway in October 2011 and is starting to take shape. Despite the soaring summer temperatures, trenches have been dug and foundations have been laid.

Men and women living in the surrounding area have been employed by the Wildlands Conservation Trust to work on this exciting project in Northern Zululand, which will eventually be run by the same local community.

Bhekula consists of 4 sleeper units, a kitchen, lounge and a store-room. “Ecosystems” a local construction company, that specialises in bush camps and lodges in wilderness areas, have designed and are responsible for the building of the camp that will be hidden amongst the greenery of the sand forest. It promises to be a popular hide-out for people seeking accommodation in natural surroundings, plus those who might be visiting Ndumu, Tembe or the coastal reserves.

Wildlands are aiming to have the lodge up and running by June 2012. The lodge will be handed over in full to the Tembe community and will be run in conjunction with the Butterfly Dome and the soon to be proclaimed community game reserve.

The Tembe Butterfly Dome is a project developed by African Conservation Trust (ACT), with funding also received from the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund and is the best opportunity to have a close encounter with South African species of butterflies. This project is being implemented with the purpose of uplifting the local community of the area and promoting the conservation of butterfly habitat and biological diversity by improving butterfly tourism in the region.

Bhekula Lodge, the Tembe Butterfly Dome and the imminent proclamation of a community game reserve in this area, are all developments set to benefit the local community by supplying them with employment while improving tourism and infrastructure.

“The community have a renewed energy and excitement around this project. It is awesome to be part of something that is growing every day and benefiting the very community that has made it possible. We are very grateful to the Lotto Fund for backing this project. The lodge is truly amazing and the surroundings are aesthetically appealing – I hope to be one of the first guests to experience the Bhekula Lodge and all its beauty,” commented David Gilroy of Wildlands, Bhekula Lodge Project Manager.

Children from four isolated farm schools in the Karkloof experienced a day of fun, in the hot February sun, with the Wildlands Conservation Trust and the Karkloof Conservation Centre last week.

A hundred children from Grade 4-7 from Triandra, Gartmore, Hawkstone and Yarrow Primary Schools participated in the ‘3 Cranes Big Day Out’, which involved a morning of activities aimed at inspiring the children to connect with and care for the nature of the Karkloof, and a 2km run based out of Bushwillow Farm.  The teachers were also kept busy with an ‘On the Money’ course presented by Old Mutual.

The 3 Cranes Big Day Out was held off the back of the Bonitas Sunday Tribune 3 Cranes Challenge (part of the Bonitas Wild Series), a 3 day trail run held to raise funds for conservation initiatives in the area. With sponsorship from Bonitas, Old Mutual, N3TC and Sunday Tribune, Wildlands has been able to introduce this concept across the Wild Series, starting with the 3 Cranes event. The 3 Cranes ‘mini-challenge’ run saw the top three boys and girls each winning a bicycle sponsored by Coca Cola.

Together with the ‘Big Day Out’, Wildlands aims to support local partners in building on existing conservation projects at schools in the regions:  “We’re hoping to have a lasting impact in the communities that are home to our events, by partnering with local NGO’s”, said Strategic Manager for Green Leadership at Wildlands, Simone Dale. “For 3 Cranes we’ve worked with the Karkloof Conservation Centre, who recently started a vegetable garden project in four farm schools in the area.”

Their gardens have been assessed and horticulturalist, Paul Duncan (from Dovehouse Organics), will be facilitating a workshop in the near future to help the schools get the most out of their vegetable gardens.  Each school was also given a spade, fork, rake, watering can, hand tools and seeds.

“We have also identified some of the young leaders in each school and these learners will be given an opportunity to present a poster to earn entry into an annual symposium aimed at building their leadership skills and understanding local and global environmental issues”, said Dale.

Funds raised from the main event will be going towards the consolidation of the greater Karkloof Conservation Area, securing a future for the vital wetland and forest ecosystems in the area and the species they are home to.

“We could not have done it without all our sponsors and partners from the Midlands, including Karkloof Canopy Tours, TWK, Hopewell Supplies, The KZN Crane Foundation, The Endangered Wildlife Trust and Scouts South Africa.”

Caption:

– Learners from Triandra, Gartmore, Hawkstone and Yarrow Primary Schools in the Karkloof are poised and ready to tackle the 2km ‘mini-challenge’ as part of Wildlands 3 Cranes Big Day Out held last week at Bushwillow Farm in the Midlands .  The top three girls and boys each won a bicycle sponsored by Coca Cola.