Month: July 2018

The Nature, Environment and Wildlife Filmmakers Congress (NEWF) took place in Durban’s Botanic Gardens last week.

Now in its second year, the Congress inspired discussion driven by natural resource conservation within the African context while promoting a growing awareness of the natural environment and the need for its protection.

Grindrod Bank and the WILDTRUST were a big part of the supporting organisations ensuring the congress’ success.

Lauren van Nijkerk, Deputy Director of Marketing for the WILDTRUST said they have a soft spot for NEWF considering the team were introduced to Off The Fence (production company) at the 2017 congress, and are now working with them on a very exciting documentary series called Our Oceans set to be released next year.

“The congress this year was bigger and better and the variety of environmental and wildlife content, as well as story ‘opportunity’ that was presented to the delegates, was phenomenal. The energy and the passion in the room each day was electric – and I definitely feel inspired to go forth and tell some more stories through film,” said van Nijkerk.

Last year the WILDTRUST awarded aspiring filmmaker Fidel Tshivhasa with R50 000 to produce his film “Seeking Giants” essentially a story about the humpback whale migration that takes place along the KZN coastline and how he, a young man from Limpopo, came to be inspired by these gentle giants. Through its WILDOCEANS’ programme the WILDTRUST also provided some of the resources necessary to add context to Fidels’ story.

Speaking at the screening of Tshivhasa’s film, van Nijkerk said she was pleasantly surprised as his rough cuts, which he sent onto her for comment, were far from ready to be screened. But just like she saw his potential as a judge of the N.E.W Pitch at the 2017 NEWF congress, his ability and talent shone through in his final piece of work. He is extremely talented, and she believes he will be on a panel, up on the NEWF stage at a congress very soon.

After the great response to his film, Tshivhasa said the feedback was great in that everyone appreciated the effort that was made from a cinematic perspective. The response also reinforced the idea behind the decision to show the film’s outcome as it was, in that it showcased the reality of how difficult it is to see and film the whales.

“The aftermath of the film was the beginning of what I would like to see a feature coming out of. Most probably doing more work that features the scientific work that goes into the field as well, among other things. I was approached by Dustin Renwick from National Geographic to contact them should I need to take it further for development into a feature, which is great. Thando Shozi, of the SABC, would also like to facilitate that process so that they can have buy-in to the proposal as well,” said Tshivhasa.

Grindrod Bank, a long-time supporter of the WILDTRUST, is sensitive to environmental issues.

Sarah Freestone, Grindrod Bank’s Marketing Manager, was part of the judging panel for the N.E.W Pitch, an initiative targeted towards emerging, young filmmakers. Out of the nine semi-finalists chosen this year, four talented aspiring documentary filmmakers were selected, each being awarded R50 000 to develop their pitches and produce their documentary shorts.

“As a co-sponsor, Grindrod Bank recognises the value and potential effect that film can have not only on the lives of young upcoming filmmakers and the local documentary industry, but also make a real and lasting impact on conservation efforts,” said Freestone.

While the judging panel were given specific criteria for evaluating the short documentary pitches, Freestone said that it was the passion of each pitch that stood out amongst those selected.

This year’s N.E.W PITCH winners are Tessa Barlin for her film “Becoming One”, Emily Cross for “Part of the Pack”, Londiwe Shange for “Toxic Relations” and lastly Jessica Singh for her film “Epic Encounters”.

The four winners will have access to mentorship during the production of their shorts.  The films need to be completed within a year, and the four films will be combined into a once-off 48-minute TV documentary, which will be broadcast on national television.

“We’re excited about young peoples’ passion for conservation and using that passion to tell stories about people engaging with the environment. At Grindrod Bank we believe in the power of human capital, and this can only be done when you follow your passions,” concluded Freestone.

In the true spirit of Mandela, WILDLANDS together with its partners Amcor, Pepsico and SRF FLEXIPAK handed over 100 Green Desks to underprivileged schools in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Cape Town in the Western Cape last week.

The Green Desk initiative is a ground-breaking recycling enterprise which has found a solution for the upcycling of previously unrecyclable multi-layer multi-film plastics into school desks, without using a drop of water.  In addition, it addresses the dire shortage of school desks in South Africa – of between 300 000 and 3 000 000.  Since 2016, over 1 000 Green Desks have been donated to schools around the country through various WILDLANDS partnerships in pursuit of their vision for ‘A Sustainable future for all.’

50 of the Green Desks were donated to Emngcwini Primary School located in the Cato Ridge community in KZN. The school has 215 learners (between the grades of Grade R to Grade 7), who mainly come from unemployed homes or are orphans. Through the funds received from the Department of Education, the school provides one full meal per child per day as well as provides the necessary extra curriculum activities like netball, soccer and athletics as well as enter the learners in Spelling Bee and Museum Schools Competitions.

Another 50 Green Desks were donated to Uitsig Primary School in the Cape Flats – Ravensmeade Community. This community is ravaged by gangsterism and drugs, this donation brought a glimmer of hope for the future of the learners in this community.

Amcor’s HR Director, Bongiwe Hamana comments, “Amcor’s belief in responsible packaging that is better for people, products and the world around us motivates us to pursue such initiatives.  One of these is our 2025 Pledge – to develop all our packaging to be recyclable or reusable by 2025 – calls on us to be responsible corporate citizens and we’re proud to be able to make an impact to the lives of children at Emngcwini Primary School and Uitsig Primary School.”

“The impact of these desks is two-fold.  Not only will these 100 desks prevent 5 000 kgs of multi-layered multi-film plastics from going to landfill, but the difference on the quality of education for the 200 learners who will, quite possibly, have a desk for the first time in their lives, will be remarkable.  It is estimated that a learner can experience up to a 20% increase in grades as a consequence of working on a desk.  Our thanks to Amcor, Pepsico and SFR FlexipakSA for making this donation possible,” concludes Louise Duys, WILDTRUST Director of Marketing, Partnerships and Events.

In a collaborative effort between several organisations, including conservation authorities, conservation NGOs and South African universities, a survey of the population status of migrating humpback whales commenced at the end of June in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, KwaZulu-Natal. The survey will form part of a long term, shore-based migration survey of humpback whales which was designed and initiated in 1988 by Prof Ken Findlay (now Cape Peninsula University of Technology – CPUT) and Dr Peter Best (University of Pretoria’s – UP –  Mammal Research Institute) to track the population increase of humpback whales as they recovered from commercial whaling pressure.

Commercial whaling practiced off the northern KwaZulu-Natal coastline between 1908 and 1979, decimated populations of whales in these waters. The protection of humpback whales in 1963 marks one of the great South African marine conservation success stories with numbers steadily increasing over this time.

“The recovery of Southern Hemisphere humpback whales from severe whaling pressures last century when some 210 000 animals were whaled, must rate as one of the world’s great conservation recoveries. Populations that migrate on the KZN coast each year were whaled in the Antarctic, on their migration and in their Mozambican breeding grounds. Their current recovery at some ten percent per annum is really heartening to see,” commented Prof Ken Findlay (CPUT).

“This long-term dataset is vital in tracking the South African east coast humpback population and provides a unique tool for monitoring the effects of potential impacts such as boat-based whale watching, shipping, pollution, climate change, fisheries, and oil and gas exploration,” said Chris Wilkinson, Technical Manager at the Mammal Research Institute at UP. “Considering its dependency on the Southern Ocean as a feeding ground, this species also forms an excellent model to study the effect of these environmental variabilities on the larger Southern Ocean ecosystem. Ultimately this will allow for accurate legislation and mitigation to ensure a sustainable use of our natural resources.”

The monitoring project has been spearheaded by WILDOCEANS, a new marine and coastal conservation programme of the WILDTRUST, developed in response to the need to ensure ocean health and sustainability for all. “‘Our Oceans’ is a documentary-series currently being filmed off the WILDOCEANS Research Vessel, Angra Pequena, aimed at profiling the biodiversity of Africa’s oceans and the associated conservation challenges and threats, while underwriting a new generation of management, capacity and commitment. One of the episodes of the ‘Our Oceans’ series will profile the process of this humpback whale population census,” said WILDOCEANS’ Executive Director Dr Jean Harris. “Along with the Angra Pequena crew, the team will deploy on watch towers on high dunes, speedboats and light aircraft, as they attempt to uncover the truth behind the humpback whale recovery during this crucial time in their annual cycle.”

The dunes at Cape Vidal in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a world heritage site, provide an ideal vantage point to undertake these shore-based migration surveys. Along this stretch of coastline, migrating humpback whales are funnelled close inshore by the coastal orientation as they head northwards towards their breeding grounds in Mozambique and again back south to the feeding grounds later in the season. Wildlife ACT, a conservation NGO which specialises in professional endangered and priority species monitoring, will station monitoring teams on two towers located on top of the Cape Vidal dunes to undertake the full time and consistent monitoring required over a two month period.

The monitoring will focus on gaining an estimate of overall numbers and group sizes, understanding daily densities of migrating whales as well as gathering data on migration speed and bearing and distance off shore. Results from this project will allow scientists and conservationists to expand on current knowledge of the east coast humpback whale migration and therefore estimate any changes in the population.

“As with all wildlife, we need to have a strong understanding of what populations are doing in order to effectively conserve them,” says Chris Kelly of Wildlife ACT. “Wildlife ACT has a long history of monitoring priority wildlife in northern KwaZulu-Natal, and we are excited to be able to work with this iconic species and be part of evaluating and reporting on this species’ performance and future outlook.”

“Over the past decade, it has been presumed the humpback whale population is increasing as the number of reported mortalities have increased. However, threats to these whale populations are accelerating,” said Jennifer Olbers, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Marine Ecologist.

“Whales communicate using low-frequency acoustic signals which allow interaction over large distances. Noise in the ocean including from large ships or offshore mining activities can overlap with these acoustic signals used by humpback whales, and have been reported to induce habitat displacement, behavioural changes and alterations in their acoustic signals. The iSimangaliso coastline offers an important area in which ocean noise from anthropogenic sources is reduced because shipping lanes are further from the coastline and offshore mining is prohibited, making it an ideal location for such a monitoring survey” concluded Olbers.

“It is important that we remain in touch with this recovery as there are a number of other threats to our oceans and marine life,” says Wildlife ACT’s Chris Kelly. “Collaborative surveys such as this provide the opportunity to understand these successes, but also inform the future management of our oceans and ensure that we do not again enter a stage where the populations of these magnificent animals are threatened.”

Launched in 2010 through the Integrated Greening Program (IGP), the Youth Environmental Services Program (YES) has seen hundreds of youth participating in the Green Economy in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The YES Program was designed with a focus on sustainable food gardens, accredited training, cleaning and greening of communities, providing community services and creating sustainable job opportunities.

Over 300 000 youth are currently involved in the national Extended Public Works Program (EPWP). EPWP is seen as one of government’s tools to alleviate poverty and create work opportunities using labour intensive methods. EPWP has created 3.5 million job opportunities which is 58.3% of the target set by government to reach 6 million by 2019.

WILDLANDS, together with the National Department of Public Works (EPWP), witnessed over 160 youth graduate in various fields including Sustainable Agriculture and Business Studies, at the UGU Sports and Leisure venue in Port Shepstone last week.

To further celebrate Youth Month, the Department of Public Works saw it fitting to also launch the National EPWP Recruitment and Selection Guidelines Program. This program was developed by the National Department of Public Works and jointly approved by the Minister of Labour in December 2017, with an aim to ensure uniformity across all sectors when recruiting participants within the EPWP target group.

The National Minister of Public Works, Honorable Thulas Nxesi, congratulated the graduates and encouraged them to take full advantage of the opportunity to contribute to the country’s economy. He emphasized the importance of launching the Selection and Recruitment Guidelines. “Our President has given all of us a mandate to eliminate and fight corruption. Through these guidelines, the Department of Public Works will be able to give equal opportunities to all. The manipulation and abuse of these guidelines by political parties is unethical and unacceptable. While these opportunities are not permanent, the skills the participants are armed with will allow them to take responsibility of creating more sustainable jobs for themselves and conserve our collective heritage.”

Silindile Mgayi, a graduate from the Mzumbe Municipality comments, “Thanks to the YES program that I know more about invasive alien plants and how it affects our environment. I wish that the program can be extended for a longer period as it has improved the quality of my family’s life.”

“The programme encourages young people to play an active role in the social and economic development in their own communities. The focus is on food security and providing young people with the practical skills to grow food, as well as the business skills required to develop sustainable businesses as small scale farmers. With WILDLANDS’ involvement, a major focus is on climate smart agriculture and the development of techniques that will allow these young farmers to produce crops in radically changing climatic conditions. The project hopes to channel youth towards the Green Economy and enable their participation in environmentally sustainable development,” concludes WILDLANDS’ Executive Director, Dr Roelie Kloppers.