Month: June 2013

On the 23^rd of June 2013 eight pupils from four schools based in Karkloof were given a chance to enjoy an experience of a lifetime through the Karkloof Canopy Tour’s. These pupils took part in the Wildlands Conservation Trust’s 3 Cranes ‘Big Day Out’ challenge. A ‘Big Day Out’ involves a 2-5km “mini-challenge” run or walk, as well as an educational morning of activities where children learn about the environment and develop skills they’re going to need in life, such as team-work, planning and how to overcome obstacles.  The school children that came out ‘tops’ in the Bonitas Sunday Tribune 3 Cranes ‘Big Day Out’ challenge were awarded with a Karkloof Canopy Tour experience.

Karkloof Canopy Tours have been partnered with Wildlands for several years, and often sponsor these exciting experiences for well-deserving up and coming Green Leaders. “We believe in the triple bottom line which is People, Planet and Profit,” commented Kai Schulz, Managing Director at Karkloof Canopy Tours. “These kids are from communities surrounding us and our hope is that they see the beauty of their own area and how conservation and business can be combined,” commented Schulz.

The challenge saw Grade 5,6 and 7 children from Gartmore, Yarrow, Trianda and Hawkstone Primary Schools participating.

The Karkloof Canopy Tour is situated in the Karkloof Indigenous Forest and is by far the largest and fastest canopy tour in South Africa. The tour involves individuals traversing from one platform to another on a steel cable suspended up to 30 meters above the forest floor. You get to experience sliding on 8 different platforms from its longest just above 180 meters, to the shortest of 40 meters, with the view of the forest at your feet.

Siphiwe Mjadu a Green Leader from Wildlands said, “The aim of the tour was to give the children an amazing experience. Wildlands took them to the Karkloof Indigenous Forest, amongst the monkeys, birds and indigenous plants. They embraced the opportunity to explore the forest and all thoroughly enjoyed themselves,” commented Mjadu. “We must also thank Bonitas Medical Fund, Coca-Cola, N3TC and Old Mutual for their contribution towards making the ‘Big Day Out’ challenges such a success, if it was not for these dedicated sponsors days like today would not be possible,” said Mjadu.

“Giving these children the opportunity to experience nature first hand is so rewarding,” commented Gordon Stupart, Operations Manager at the Karkloof Canopy Tour. “A lot of these children would not have encountered this experience in their lifetime if it was not for the Wildlands and Canopy Tour partnership. It also has an educational element and the children are told about life in the forest and taught about the animals they encounter as part of the tour,” said Stupart.

Buyisile Ndlovu, a Grade 5 pupil from Yarrow Primary School was among the group. Ndlovu said that she was very happy to be chosen to experience the Canopy Tour – “I was very scared but at the same time I was excited because I have never done something like this in my whole life. I will definitely tell my friends about it,” she said, with a big smile on her face.

On the 18^th of June BHP Billiton Aluminium SA (ASA) joined the team from Wildlands Conservation Trust in visiting their Ongoye Carbon Sink Project, a project involving tree propagation, planting and a custodianship methodology and funded by ASA. Developed by Wildlands Conservation Trust, the Ongoye Sink Project is aimed at restoring as much degraded forest as possible while securing the maximum possible carbon credit for BHP Billiton.

It is estimated that each hectare of forest restored through the partnership will sink in the region of 125 tons CO2 over a 20 year period, and that this project will support the restoration of a minimum of between 500 and 1000 hectares of forest over a 20 year period, thereby sinking between 60 000 and 125 000 tons of CO2.

Talking during his visit to the project, Lucas Msimanga, Asset President at BHP Billiton Aluminium SA said, “This project is ultimately reforestation and carbon sequestration with a pro-poor focus benefitting the communities that are affected by the operations of BHP Billiton,” Mr Msimanga added that while the project has been running for 4 years, it still has 16 more years to go before completing the full cycle. “The aim for 2013 is the restoration of 500 hectares of land, and judging by our field visit today we are definitely on track,” he concluded.

The Ongoye Carbon Sink Project aims to entrench and support the Mzimela community’s custodianship of the Ongoye Forest and the many riparian systems that feed through the Mzimela community into the uMlalazi River. The Mzimela community has looked after this forest for centuries, and the forest itself is recognised internationally as being one of the best conserved and most diverse scarp forests in Southern Africa. Wildlands, together with BHP Billiton, has supported the establishment of an extensive network of “Tree-preneurs” throughout the Mzimela community.

Tree-preneurs is a term used to describe community members who grow indigenous trees and then barter what they have grown with Wildlands for vouchers that can be redeemed for livelihood support items such as food, clothing, bicycles, educational support or Jojo tanks, for example.

“The communities surrounding the Ongoye Forests in the Uthungulu District Municipality are the main beneficiaries of this project and these beneficiaries are currently registered with the Wildlands Conservation Trust,” explains Wildlands CEO Dr Andrew Venter. “This specific project will see hundreds of local community members (Tree-preneurs) benefit by bartering the trees they have grown, with an anticipated value of over R1.5 million worth of livelihood support items bartered this year alone,” said Venter.

Mabutho Khoza, a Tree-preneur from this community is just 18 years old and only has positive feedback regarding the Wildlands project, made possible by BHP Billition Aluminium SA. “The Wildlands tree planting project has made a huge difference in my family as there is no-one else working at home,” says Mabutho, who joined Wildlands in 2007. He believes Wildlands is a miracle, “They are changing people’s lives for the better, and teaching us about the environment while rewarding us in the process. We wouldn’t have done this by ourselves, we wouldn’t even be planting and growing trees if it wasn’t for Wildlands. I love Wildlands because they provide for me and my family.” Since joining Wildlands, Mabutho has been able to help to extend his home, which now has some six bedrooms. “My dream is to finish my matric and study in the University. I want to study Environmental Studies because I want to continue doing a job that will allow me to interact with the environment, especially trees,” he concludes.

On Friday the 7^th of June several representatives from some 85 schools who recycle with Wildlands Conservation Trust, gathered at Russell High School in Pietermaritzburg to be recognised for their contribution to a green economy, at the ‘Wildlands Recycling Schools Awards evening’. Hosted by the Wildlands Conservation Trust, CEO Dr Andrew Venter addressed the individuals that led the collection of over 714 000 kg’s by learners from schools in and around Pietermaritzburg in 2012.

“What you have achieved is phenomenal,” said Venter. “The value of the recyclable waste that our recycling schools collected in 2012 is over R500 000 and of this, almost half will be given as a rebate to the schools involved (as a thank you from Wildlands), for you to hopefully invest in other worthy “green” projects.”

Third prize was awarded to St Johns DSG who collected 34 992kg’s, second prize went to Epworth High for their collection of 35 456kg’s of recyclable waste and first prize (by a long stretch) went to Deccan Road Primary for their collection of a super impressive 63 478kg’s of recycling.

Deccan Road Primary Principal, Siva Gounden, was handed their prize by Miss Earth Semi-finalist Julia Gramkow and this included a cheque for R18 908 (the schools rebate value), a R200 shopping voucher sponsored by LCM Engineering, goodies from Wedgewood, stationary from Waltons and five Karkloof Canopy Tours vouchers.

When asked what their secret was, the Principal of Deccan Road said, “We find the motivation behind our recycling project starts at home. We even have children as little as Grade 1 recycling – it needs to become something that is entrenched in everyday living,” said Gounden.

There was also a fun element to the awards evening in that attendees were asked to dress up or accessorize with recyclable waste. The best dressed prize was given to Eastwood primary school who sent their school representative in a recyclable gown with a recyclable (pink) handbag that was quite frankly too fabulous for words!

Wildlands’ School Recycling initiative would not be possible without key partners. One of these partners is ‘Hulamin’. Hulamin is one of the leading manufacturing businesses in South African and has carved out a niche in the global aluminium rolled products market. Hulamin recently contributed 50 recycling bins to the top 50 Wildlands’ recycling schools to ultimately nurture and drive Aluminium foil recycling.

“This has allowed for further expansion of our recycling model which is always exciting for both us and the schools that are so actively involved,” said Urvashi Haridass, who is in charge of the recycling setup at Wildlands. “Without the support of partners like Hulamin and DEA Green Fund it would be very difficult to maintain this operation and we are grateful for the current partners and are always looking for other potential donors,” concluded Haridass.

The Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Mrs Edna Molewa, launched the groundbreaking R300 million Groen Sebenza project last week Saturday, the 8^th of June. The launch formed part of Environment Month celebrations at the Pretoria Botanical Gardens.

Spearheaded by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), the innovative Groen Sebenza project is aimed at developing skills and bridging the gap between education and job opportunities in the biodiversity sector.

Speaking at the launch the Minister said, “This is definitely a landmark project that DEA, SANBI and our partners are proud to be pioneering and using to play a leading role in contributing towards building a pool of young, vibrant, capable and confident professionals for South Africa’s biodiversity and natural resource management sector. It is the Department of Environmental Affairs’ hope that the effective implementation of the incubator concept will have a catalytic impact on skills development and job creation.”

The CEO of SANBI, Dr Tanya Abrahamse said, “This is an exciting time for SANBI and all its participating partners. The Groen Sebenza venture effectively brings into life, the ideals of the vision of a green economy, by mobilising for and engendering the involvement of young people, in the management of biodiversity, through job creation. We are confident that this project is the right step towards addressing the skills shortages in the sector and more significantly, it will help to diversify the sector. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all partners for a shared vision, for shared value.”

The partnership is made up of organizations from all tiers of government, NGO’s and the private sector, of which the Wildlands Conservation Trust is one. Some of the other partner organisations in KZN include Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, D.U.C.T. and the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal.

Groen Sebenza involves the placement of 800 unemployed youth in skilled jobs in the local biodiversity sector for a period of two and a half years. The project focuses on training, mentoring and workplace-based learning with the objective of building a pool of young and capable professionals for South Africa’s biodiversity sector, which aims to boost job creation in the green economy.

Strategic Manager at Wildlands said, “We’re really excited about this initiative.  As an organisation we have always believed in nurturing potential and giving passionate people an opportunity to shine.  These funded positions will give us the chance to add depth to our projects and give our knowledgeable team the opportunity to share what they’ve learned in the field.  Education is important but without mentorship this knowledge takes a long time to take root.”

463 of the Groen Sebenza interns commenced with the programme on 02 May and the remaining participants will begin in the course of this month. A month into the project, the young participants and the 33 Groen Sebenza partner organisations say they are thrilled to participate in the initiative, which will equip them with the work experience and skills to secure permanent jobs in the biodiversity industry.

Wildlands had 32 interns start in on the 2^nd of May and another 6 in June, working in a variety of positions including Ecologists, Geographers, Grant Administrators, Communications Officers, Environmental Educators and Community Development Workers.

The R300 million project is sponsored by the Development Bank of Southern Africa’s Jobs Fund. It is spearheaded by SANBI and is a first in the local biodiversity industry.

If you followed the exciting events that unfolded on the 2^nd of June on television – the ultimate human race – you may have spotted the outlines of dead rhino on the road at the last refreshment station.

In conjunction with and on behalf of the Wildlands Conservation Trust, advertising agency Global Mouse and its new subsidiary “The Mouse That Roared” used the Comrades Marathon as a platform to attract national attention to the continuing plight of the Rhino.

Over the last few hundred metres of Comrades route, just before the runners enter the stadium at the Wildlands Conservation Trust refreshment station, white painted outlines of dead Rhinos, similar to the lines painted around dead gangsters in the fifties in America, were painted on the road, accompanied by the Wildlands URL and the plea “Help stop the slaughter.”

“A lot of the Comrades Marathon is filmed from the air and we believe the sight of hundreds of “dead” Rhino lying on the road will be hugely impactful and a poignant reminder of the tragedy that is taking place on such a huge scale in front of our very eyes,” says Glen Roering, CEO of Global Mouse.

Wildlands Conservation Trust is one of the founding members of Project Rhino KZN, which brings together organizations with a common vision and goal, and identifies synergies to addressing the Rhino poaching crisis, through an integrated approach. With over 300 years of collective experience, Together with Project Rhino KZN, Wildlands has been able to identify priority rhino protection needs for KZN, and are working together with partners to fulfill them. Wildlands are also focused on their 3 projects, namely – Project Rhino Tracker; Project Rhino Aerial Support and Project Rhino Investigations and Prosecutions.

It is hoped that the increased awareness generated through the Comrades Marathon activation will assist in halting the grave threat to our Rhino population.

If you would like to DONATE funds towards the anti-rhino poaching fight visit www.localhost/import-data-post and click on the splash image on the home page that reads: “Help us stop the slaughter.”

As the poaching situation in South Africa becomes more intense, so the threat to our Rhino populations increases. The children and teachers of Embury College have therefore decided to take a stand and create awareness around the situation.

Led by Mrs Greer Edwards, a Grade 4 teacher at the Durban school, the children put in huge amounts of effort to raise R25, 000 for Rhino conservation. They kindly donated the funds towards Wildlands Conservation Trusts’ Adopt-a-Rhino Programme, which supports Rhino conservation activities on Somkhanda Game Reserve, a community owned reserve in Zululand, KZN.

“The funds which Embury College have raised will be used to carry out vital Rhino monitoring on the reserve as well as assisting with general management of the habitat,” commented Mark Gerrard of Wildlands. “Without the positive action and generosity shown by people such as those at Embury College, our Rhino populations would be exposed to much greater risks and we would have a much more difficult job in securing such populations,” said Gerrard.

Embury College have adopted a female Black Rhino which they have named “Mafuta”. It is hoped that through the Adopt a Rhino programme, these children will have a greater link to Rhino on the ground and will therefore feel part of the conservation drive against poaching.

“We would like to thank Embury College and Mrs Edwards for their support. It is people like this that are helping us in this tough fight against poachers,” commented Mark Gerrard of Wildlands.

On Tuesday the 28^th of May several VIP guests, including the First Lady, Dr May Mkhize and Deputy Mayor, Councillor Thobani Zuma, assisted in the planting of the first of 17 500 indigenous trees by the Wildlands Conservation Trust in Willowfontein.

The planting of 17 500 trees was launched in support of the 175th annivesary celebration of the Msunduzi Municipality. Wildlands has committed to planting them ALL within the 4 days leading up to Comrades Marathon on the 2nd of June.

The event was co-ordinated by the environmental NPO – Wildlands Conservation Trust, in partnership with the Msunduzi Municipality, Comrades Marathon and Bonitas Medical Fund, as part of their “Releaf Campaign.”

Wildlands has been one of the official Comrades Marathon charities (Amabeadibeadi Charities) for more than 12 years and funds raised go towards supporting a range of community conservation projects around South Africa.

“Wildlands and the work they do as one of our Amabeadibeadi charities, is very close to Comrades heart,” said Chairman of the Comrades Association, Dave Dixon. “Our relationship with Wildlands is very important to us as it ensures the community can use the Comrades Marathon to their advantage. Sponsors aren’t cash cows – they are partners and without their support these amazing initiatives would not be possible,” said Dixon.

“This mass tree planting campaign has been activated for the past 4 years and has already seen the planting of 98 000 trees between 2009 and 2012,” said Wildlands CEO, Dr Andrew Venter.  “All these trees were grown by Wildlands’ Tree-preneurs, who are community members in rural areas who grow trees and then barter them with Wildlands for livelihood support items such as food, clothing, educational support or bicycles,” explained Venter. “500 of these Tree and Waste-preneurs are here today,” said Venter, “and I would like you all to stand so we can applaud you!” At this point in the programme Venter turned to the Deputy Mayor, pointed to all the community members upstanding and said, “These are your diamonds – look after them.”

“This is an important day to all of us,” said Deputy Mayor Councillor Thobani Zuma. “Pietermaritzburg is celebrating 175 years of important history, but we must remember that history will judge us on what we are doing NOW,” said Zuma. “Let us be counted as people who have contributed positively to Msunduzi – the city of choice.”

The launch also represented the start of the “Willowfontein Stream Restoration Project” which forms part of the Integrated Greening Programme (IGP), and involves the cleaning of the stream by local Waste-preneurs (who collect recyclable waste for barter) and a team of 6 full-time community members.

Over the past 2 years the Integrated Greening Programme (IGP) has created work opportunities for 3856 community members, enabled the propagation of 1 071 468 trees by local Tree-preneurs (half of which have been planted as part of community based restoration projects) and enabled the collection of 3 291 269 kg’s of recycling by local Waste-preneurs.

Several Wildlands partners supported the event, including Dr Ramasia, Principal Executive Officer of Bonitas Medical Fund. “Wildlands is the embodiment of what Bonitas stands for,” said Dr Ramasia. “An unhealthy environment leads to unhealthy individuals. Running the Comrades Marathon means you have a healthy body, and means it saves our country costs on medical expenses, which is ultimately good for the economy,” announced Ramasia. Bonitas donated very generously towards the costs associated with the event, as well as towards reforestation activities.

Msunduzi Speaker, Babu Bijoo, concluded the proceedings by saying, “I think it is a good day to say thank you! Let’s say thank you for this partnership because together we can do more! We have a city of choice second to none.”