2006 Archives - WILDTRUST

Northdale Primary named Top Recycling School in Pietermaritzburg

Leading environmental NPO, Wildlands, in partnership with Nedbank, acknowledged Northdale Primary School as the Top Recycling School for 2015 in Pietermaritzburg having collected well over 85,000 kilograms of recyclable waste.

This top recycling school was one of the first schools to join the Wildlands recycling initiative in 2010. At a special assembly held last week to celebrate the achievement, Principal Sundrie Singh, thanked Wildlands for supporting the school’s waste collection and recycling efforts, “It is exciting to be chosen as an environmental champion for our relentless drive in recycling. Wildlands has helped the school to grow positively,” she beamed, adding that “not only do the children bring waste to school, but community members drop theirs over the fence. It is then sorted by learners and staff.” The children also do regular clean-ups in the neighbourhood surrounding the school.

Singh told her enthusiastic learners that collecting recyclable waste was not a useless or shameful undertaking. “We have received numerous eco awards and we encourage active participation in any eco initiatives that benefit both the learners and staff.”

Driven by the motto “let there be light”, the school offers a glimmer of hope to its 388 learners, of which 205 come from underprivileged backgrounds and benefit from the school’s feeding scheme. Wildlands’ CEO Dr Andrew Venter said schools like Northdale Primary are shaping the future of this country. “There is no doubt that the school is producing responsible citizens.” Venter added that recycling is about taking recklessly strewn litter and using it for other good purposes.

Wildlands’ Sustainable Schools initiative, made possible by Nedbank, aims to encourage schools to promote sustainability. Ashrinee Gopi, Nedbank’s Pietermaritzburg Area Manager, said it is imperative to halt further environmental degradation. “Responsibility starts not only with big corporates like Nedbank but everyone needs to get involved.”

Midmar Duel Training Camp

The weekend of the 8th-10th of December saw a group of keen athletes gearing up and taking lessons from the best in order to better prepare for the Midmar Duel Ultra Triathlon on the 28th January 2007.

The Midmar Duel constitutes a 1,9km swim or 15km canoe, 90km road cycle and 21km road run and is being used by some as a training milestone for Ironman later on in the year. Event organiser Ian Feely and multiple triathlon champion, Glen Gore hosted the weekend. Glen has years of experience participating in and training others for these kinds of events and had plenty of tips for the athletes.

Although typical midlands summer weather made for a rainy two days, it did nothing to dampen the spirits of the camp participants who are no doubt feeling a lot more confident about tackling the ultra in January.

For more pictures and comments from the athletes visit www.duelultratri.co.za

Sterling Powerade Big 5 MTB Challenge 2006 – iMfolozi Game Reserve

A relatively new Challenge in the Trust’s events portfolio, the Sterling Powerade Big 5 MTB Challenge – iMfolozi ran for the second time in July this year. Wildlands Conservation Trust in partnership with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife host this event as part of a series of extreme cycling, running and biathlon events held in some of the provinces most pristine conservation areas. This event aims to provide a unique sporting experience for cyclists and to raise much-needed funds for conservation initiatives in the province, with a large portion used for community-conservation projects in and around the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park.

At 07:30am, just under 300 cyclists set off on a grueling 55-kilometre journey through Africa’s oldest proclaimed Game Reserve. It was not just the spectacular sun rise over the hills of Hluhluwe-iMfolozi that made the start of this unique Challenge so spectacular, but also a visit by two large white rhino’s, just metres from the starting area. If it was big game the cyclists were looking for, it could not have got off to a better start!

The route began at Cengeni Gate at the southern end of the Park, travelled along a management track which runs along the southern fence line, crossed both the Black and White Mfolozi Rivers before climbing up to finish at the parks game capture unit, where Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife hold their annual game auction. Park rangers were stationed along the route and had to carefully monitor two prides of lion, a herd of elephant and a number of rhino’s to ensure the cyclists’ safety. Cyclists also reported sightings of buffalo, giraffe, nyala, zebra, impala, wildebeest and many different bird species en route

Andrew McLeish of Team Nutrex Elite dominated the challenge on the day and came in with a record time of 02:31:16, beating Gary Benn’s 2005 winning time by over 15 minutes. He was followed by Con Malherbe of Team ABI in 2nd place and Craig Carter-Brown in 3rd. The ladies challenge was a closely fought battle with Nanette Cocksedge taking the honours in a time of 03:33:05, followed closely by Allison Haycock of Team Timber 24 in 2nd place and Sue Malherbe in 3rd.

A number iMfolozi staff also took up the challenge. First from Team iMfolozi was Quinton Rochat in 7th place with 2:54:29, followed closely by Craig Reid, Chairman of the organising committee, and Conservation Manager of iMfolozi Park in 8th place with a time of 03:02:48 improving his 2005 time by over 40 minutes.

The event was a great success raising over R90 000 for conservation. A big thank-you to the event sponsors namely Powerade, Sterling Light Lager, ABI, Supersport, Netcare911, Mica, ATV Productions and Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park. Also a special thank-you to all the cyclists and their families and sponsors for their generous donations.

For more information on the Sterling Powerade Big 5 iMfolozi MTB Challenge please visit http://www.kznwildlife.com/cycling_imfolozi.htm or e-mail imfolozimtb@mweb.co.za

Art for Conservation Auction and Exhibition

The annual Art for Conservation Auction and Exhibition has become the prestige event that brings together art and conservation in a single function. It takes place this year at the Sibaya Casino and Entertainment Kingdom on October 20th to 22nd 2006. Art lovers will congregate for an auction of works by the country’s leading artists. The proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Wildlands Conservation Trust.

The effervescent Melanie Lowe will provide music and magic for approximately 400 guests and well-known auctioneer Rob Thunder will knock down art from the country’s leading artists for a good cause

The theme for this year is ‘Africa, its People and its Wildlife.’ This is in keeping with the goal of the Wildlands Conservation Trust, which aims to bring the best of Africa’s people and wildlife together for the common good of Africa. This year’s celebrity-studded event promises to become the social event of the year.

There are still some tables left, so if you are interested in attending, please contact

Christine Bateson at 033 – 343-2669.

International interest in Wildlands’ Conservation Trust projects

At the World Wilderness Congress which took place recently in Anchorage, Alaska, two representatives from the Wildlands Conservation Trust (Dr Andrew Venter and Sue McClintock) launched the organisation’s vision of linking the conservation areas of the Greater Zululand region.

The Zululand Mega Park concept was well received and interest shown by Conservation International, the world’s largest conservation NGO.

Our outgoing Trustee, Dr Ian Player, was the keynote speaker at the Congress, which is one of the largest global gatherings of conservation professionals, attended by over 1200 delegates.