News

New marine campaign launches for Sharks and Rays in South Africa

June 29, 2022

Watch the launch VIDEO: https://fb.watch/dRlTAgKV4_/ Last week welcomed significant news and positive movement for marine conservation in South Africa - a country that sits in the top five as a global hotspot for shark and ray diversity – as the WILDTRUST announced the launch of its newest marine campaign...

Rural Sustainable Enterprise Development and Skills Development Programme comes to an end

February 22, 2022

2021 drew to a close and with it, the WILDLANDS’ Rural Sustainable Enterprise Development and Skills Strengthening Programme, funded by the Walmart Foundation. The programme is a three-year small business skills training grant which WILDLANDS obtained in 2018 from the Walmart Foundation, to upskill and develop the community members...

Calling on South African Leaders to Support the Global Goal of Protecting at least 30% of the World’s Land and Sea by 2030

February 15, 2022

Time is running out to protect nature — that is the clear message from the newly launched 30x30 NOW campaign which aims to highlight the severity and urgency of the biodiversity crisis that South Africa and the world is facing and champion the global goal of protecting at least 30%...

Donate up to 10% of Your taxable earnings to WILDTRUST and do Your bit to save Our Environment

February 9, 2022

As we approach the tax year end, we call on all our friends, fans and family of the WILDTRUST to do your bit and donate to help us create a Thriving and Resilient World. Through our WILDLANDS and WILDOCEANS programmes you can make a difference in the lives of our...

Buy a gift for a cause this season – The ImagiNation Project Book

December 9, 2021

The WILDTRUST team is excited to announce that it has been selected as one of the beneficiary charities to benefit from the book sales of The ImagiNation Project. In these extraordinary times where fundraising has become a serious challenge for Non-Profit organisations around the world, The ImagiNation Project is set...

Celebrating 10 years of trail running, biodiversity, eco-tourism and natural heritage

October 1, 2021

The WILDSERIES Golden Gate Challenge which takes place at the Golden Gate Highlands National Park (GGHNP) in the Free State, will once again welcome runners from all parts of the country from the 21st to the 24th of October 2021, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of this unique event. This...

Celebrating World Rhino Day – A Somkhanda Success Journey

September 27, 2021

World Rhino Day is celebrated annually on the 22nd of September as a way for cause related organisations to highlight the plight and celebrate the gains made by specific Non-Profit Organisations in the protection and conservation of this iconic species. WILDLANDS, a programme of the WILDTRUST celebrates this auspicious...

Rangers put their best foot forward at the Wildlife Ranger Challenge ahead of World Rhino Day

September 21, 2021

This year, Somkhanda Community Game Reserve rangers once again joined more 124 ranger teams across Africa in the 2021 Wildlife Ranger Challenge, which was launched in July ahead of World Ranger Day on the 31st. The multi-million-dollar fundraising initiative culminated this weekend on the 18th of September in a 21km...

The WILDSERIES Three Cranes Challenge – a Win for Biodiversity

September 10, 2021

WILDLANDS, a programme for the WILDTRUST, together with the Karkloof Conservancy have brought the trail running community, the Three Cranes Challenge for over a decade, raising funds for the protection of the Cranes (Blue, Crowned and Wattled Crane) and its habitat in the Karkloof Valley. While Covid-19 halted the staging...

Plastic Neutral partnership between local NPO and Teqal

August 19, 2021

WILDTRUST through their Blue Port project has entered a “plastic neutral” partnership with Teqal, a quality manufacturer of rigid plastic packaging servicing the Cosmetic, Personal Care and Industrial markets. In an effort to be 100% plastic waste neutral, for every kilogram of plastic Teqal converts into packaging, an equal amount...

Africa’s first-ever Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Day ignites global movement to protect the oceans

August 10, 2021

Sunday, 1 August marked the first annual MPA Day celebration with a series of well-coordinated events reaching more than a million people across the globe. Organised by an alliance of ocean-conservation partners, MPA Day highlighted the value of these unique areas, not only to the ecosystem, but to the surrounding...

Somkhanda Community Game Reserve continues to create a safe environment for wildlife and ranger livelihoods

August 2, 2021

WILDLANDS, a programme of the WILDTRUST announced, 6 months ago, that they had secured a Rapid Action Grant through the IUCN Save Our Species African Wildlife initiative, co-funded by the European Union (EU) EU website. Through this funding, the reserve was set off on a journey to rapidly transform the...

End of an era – A new chapter for Somkhanda Community Game Reserve Tourism

July 30, 2021

After nearly three years of operating on Somkhanda Community Game Reserve, Wild Connection, an adventure tourism operator, will hand over tourism operations to the local community. During their time at Somkhanda, Wild Connection did an incredible job of building the reserve into a premier community-based tourism destination, and in training...

Shining a spotlight on funds raised for community upliftment and conservation projects

July 26, 2021

The Comrades Marathon Centenary Hope Challenge virtual event took place on the 13th of June 2021 following the cancellation of the road race due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Bearing the campaign theme of Ithemba or Hope, thousands of runners from across the globe took to the streets in the hope...

A WILD ride for conservation at Africa’s Oldest Game Reserve

July 22, 2021

This year’s STIHL iMfolozi MTB Challenge marked its 17th cycle ride after a one-year sabbatical due to Covid-19 pandemic. Although staged under very strict Covid-19 protocols, the WILDTRUST was honoured and excited to host over 300 riders at the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, on the 26th of June 2021. Instrumental to the...

African Youth Unifying for Ocean protection: African Youth Summit

July 20, 2021

African Youth Unifying for Ocean protection: African Youth Summit Our Africa, Our Ocean, Our Future. In the first-ever virtual event of its kind on the continent, a youth driven marine group called Youth4MPAs in partnership with WILDOCEANS, and supported by World Surf League PURE, The Pew Charitable Trusts and Oceans5...

Youth and Conservation WIN

June 7, 2021

Following the announcement of the 3-year partnership between Somkhanda Community Game Reserve and Bhejane Nature Training in June 2020, WILDLANDS, a programme of the WILDTRUST is excited to announce the first successful group of youth who have qualified as certified, FGASA (Field Guides Association of South Africa) Nature Guides. As...

WILDTRUST says YES to growing future leaders

May 12, 2021

The WILDTRUST, through the support and commitment of Nedbank is participating in the Youth Employment Services (YES) programme. This programme aims to reduce youth unemployment levels across South Africa by providing one-year quality work-placements aimed at affording practical and meaningful work experiences for unemployed youth between the ages of 18...

Securing our wildlife – New satellite collars for Somkhanda’s Tusker and two White Rhino Orphans

April 2, 2021

WILDLANDS, a programme of the WILDTRUST working collaboratively with The Aspinall Foundation and the Wildlife Emergency Fund (WEF) recently conducted an extraordinary collaring operation which aims to significantly increase the efficiency and impact of conservation efforts at Somkhanda Community Game Reserve. The operation started off by locating each of the...

Carbon Capture of Indigenous Tree’s in EPCPD’s Flagship Restoration Project

March 30, 2021

It is well known that indigenous forests play a major role in mitigating climate change as they sequester greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. The Buffelsdraai Landfill Site Community Reforestation Project was born in a bid to offset a portion of the Greenhouse gases emitted during the 2010 FIFA World...