“It all began with a group of friends, including myself, Dr. Lindy Thompson, Dr. Kyle Middleton, Carrie Hickman, Dr Julie Kern, and Garth Bowen. Julie and Garth have moved abroad since its inception in August 2019, but we also have Sarah Goodman, Kayla Geenen, and Robin Cook as the team that arranges the talks,” said John Davies.
“We initially started the club as a platform for scientists and conservationists to be able to share their knowledge and findings from the Lowveld area with the general public. As we all work in the conservation and research field, we felt that too often people cannot access information available, particularly on the latest findings and developments in the area,” said John. He said that keeping the talks free of charge is an opportunity for people to meet fellow nature lovers.
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“We host monthly talks; our first event was in August 2019. We prefer a relaxed atmosphere and therefore it is held at the Thirsty Giraffe Pub & Grill, a few kilometers outside of Hoedspruit,” he said. “We would like to encourage anyone with an interest in nature to attend, and also stick around afterwards for a chance to chat with guest speakers. So far, it has really proven to be a very successful initiative, and we have had some fascinating talks about topics such as wild dog conservation, vultures, southern ground hornbills, tracking, and even butterflies,” he added.
He said they have recently started to collaborate with PaintedDogTV to film the talks allowing for a larger audience. “The talks are freely available on PaintedDogTV’s YouTube channel. Our next talk will be by Marine Servonnat about the Ingwe Leopard Project on May 23.” It is also available on Facebook at Hoedspruit Conservation & Research Club, on Instagram at @hoedspruit.conservation, and on YouTube at PaintedDog TV.
