“Be the change you wish to see in the world”
Projects that Inspire
The Kalahari Wildlands Trust conserves the natural and cultural heritage of a vitally important region of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation area in the remote western parts of Botswana. They empower the Bushmen people and work with the government and community to preserve this incredible piece of wilderness.
WILD ENTRUST - Research, Play, Coexist - started in the Okavango (Botswana) over 30 years ago, this is one of the most exciting projects out there. Through the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust (Research), Coaching for Conservation (Play) and Community (Coexistence) they cover the key components for sustainable solutions.
African Parks is a non-profit conservation organisation that takes on the complete responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks in partnership with governments and local communities. They currently manage 22 national parks and protected areas in 12 countries covering over 20 million hectares in Angola, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan Zambia and Zimbabwe
Based out of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, the Jafuta foundation focuses on helping humans and animals alike by creating and maintaining equilibrium between community, wildlife, conservation, education and culture.
SANCCOB is the go-to organization for seabird rescue and rehabilitation in South Africa. Their primary focus is saving the critically endangered African Penguin however, they will take in all sea birds. They have decades of experience and because of their excellent work, it is one of the projects I believe in supporting. I have started to help raise funds and also volunteer my time with SANCCOB when possible.
Stop Poaching Now (SPN), an American-based organization, is pushing forward with large-scale international conservation projects that take an active role in bringing partners together to work towards larger conservation goals. SPN strongly believes in a future where humans and animals coexist in harmony and the ability of community, welfare, education, and conservation to work together towards this goal. Help us bring communities together, raise awareness, and protect our rapidly depleting natural world.
Conservation Starts with Me
I am lucky to have been born into a family that has always cared about its impact on this planet. Recycling is second nature and we consciously find ways to be better and improve our relationship with nature as well as the people around us. One incident when I was very young has always stuck with me…
It was a beautiful Spring day with all sorts of insects out and about. I was practising my throwing skills, aiming to see what I could hit. I was no match for most of them but fancied my chances with the bumble bees as they were bigger. I persisted until finally, I hit one. My instant reaction was one of success but that was short-lived because deep down I knew straight away something horrible had happened - the bee had broken its wing. I quickly ran inside to get the sticky tape to attach its wing back on. Of course, it didn’t work - the bee could never fly again. With tears in my eyes, I couldn’t accept the fact of what I had done but nevertheless, I put the bee back in the garden and hoped it could magically recover without me around. The rest of the day was one of immense sadness - I had ruined perfect nature. From that moment on I have never needlessly killed something unless putting it out of its suffering.
There are other reasons why I do what I do, but from that day on I knew my calling was to keep saving bees and all things in nature. Humans have an important role to play - we are of course part of nature, but one of my greatest life goals is to help wildlife and minimize our negative impacts on this planet.
The Tale of the Starfish
“A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement. She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!”
The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied, “Well, I made a difference to that one!”
The old man looked at the girl inquisitively and thought about what she had done and said. Inspired, he joined the little girl in throwing starfish back into the sea. Soon others joined, and all the starfish were saved.”
Make a Difference
Visit my conservation and natural history website Bush 24 and the Facebook Page. Since June 2013, I have been sharing my experiences and impressions in the bush with like-minded individuals.
The updates have mostly been through Facebook with bigger, in-depth stories shared on my website.
The journey has been amazing sharing the latest news of key events literally reaching hundreds of thousands of people on multiple occasions through my blog. There are stories that have influenced dozens of people to drive change, but what has kept me going all these years is that even if you just reach one person, you can make a difference!
