Good at planting green ideas in people’s minds in Kyalami
FOURWAYS – His mission is to make people realise that urban life and nature can coexist.
Tyrone Mckendry (27) has an immense love for nature, and his passion lies in finding new ways to conserve it in urban settings.
After he matriculated in 2008, he wanted to take a gap year and travel the world. But he soon realised that was not what he was meant for. Halfway through 2009, he enrolled at the University of South Africa (Unisa), where he studied for a bachelor of science degree for three years. “I decided to do my studies through Unisa because I wanted to be able to work and earn experience while studying,” he said.
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He worked for an environmental impact assessment company for a short period. “I realised I wasn’t ready for that level yet, because it was a lot of work for someone who had to make time for studies.”
In 2012, while in his second year of study, he came into contact with Kristin Kallesen of Greater Kyalami Conservancy (GEKCO), who invited him to one of their meetings. “At first I had no idea what was going on. With all the agendas and tables, I was out of my depth. So I said to Kristen that I had no idea why I was going to the meetings in the first place,” said the enthusiastic Mckendry. She suggested that he goes to their website and see if there was anything in particular that he liked and that he should focus on one thing to which to add his input.
He started going through their website and compared it with other conservancies. What he found was that it did not have a broad biodiversity section. That’s when he started driving out to open spaces in Kyalami and identifying different fauna and flora Mckendry is now their biodiversity specialist and keeps that section of the site updated.
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He spends his time helping the community get a better understanding of the biodiversity in the Kyalami area. Mckendry’s mission is to help the community understand how urban life and nature can coexist by spreading awareness and educating anyone who is willing to learn more about the future of their community.
He is still furthering his studies.
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