Rotary Club of Bedfordview donates to the SANParks Honorary Rangers
The SANParks Rangers have been able to build vegetable garden enclosures at seven ranger stations in the Kruger National Park and one enclosure at Marakele National Park.
The Rotary Club of Bedfordview presented the SANParks Honorary Rangers, East Rand Region, with a cheque for R65 000 recently.
The donation is to support the East Rand Region’s initiative to build an animal proof vegetable garden for SANParks rangers in the Kruger National Park.
President of the Rotary Club of Bedfordview, Billy Phillips, said the SANParks rangers have built vegetable garden enclosures at seven ranger stations in the Kruger National Park and one enclosure at Marakele National Park.
“As a non-profit organisation, the SANParks Honorary Rangers volunteer their time and energy in support of SANParks at all levels and to raise much-needed funds to support the anti-poaching efforts of the rangers in all our 22 National Parks,” said Billy.
He said the enclosed vegetable gardens allow the full-time SANParks rangers to have year-round access to fresh vegetables without having to travel significant distances to purchase fresh produce.
“Travel time from some of the ranger stations to fresh local markets can take up to several hours. Each vegetable garden structure requires a large amount of planning and effort to build,” said Phillips.
He said the result is a four-ton steel structure covered with welded mesh and shade cloth and takes up to 32 hours to install.
Andrew Watt, a member of the East Rand Region of the SANParks Honorary Rangers, provided the club with an informative presentation on the vegetable garden initiative and the current status of the rangers’ efforts in the Kruger National Park.
“We express our appreciation of the conservation efforts of the SANParks Honorary Rangers and their dedication to improving the lives of the SANParks rangers who work tirelessly and risk their lives on a daily basis to protect our natural resources,” said Phillips.
Members of the Inner Wheel Club also attended the meeting and applauded the volunteer efforts of the SANParks Honorary Rangers.
“We are grateful that Rotary Bedfordview believes in our work enough to give us such generous support, which means a lot to us, but even more to the rangers in the field,” said André Pezzutto, chairperson of the SANParks Honorary Rangers, East Rand Region.
