Walking for rhinos

A LARGE-scale community conservation and rhino awareness programme, involving over 11 000 pupils from 75 schools around the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, will see pupils and teachers embarking on a ‘rhino walk’ with numerous stakeholders.

Starting yesterday and finishing on 2 October, pupils, principals and teachers will walk, from school to school, the full length of the wetland park with conservation agencies, NGOs, traditional leadership, land claimant groups and local, provincial and national government.The walk will provide an opportunity for all these groups to show solidarity for the conservation of rhinos and other iconic species within iSimangaliso.

‘The aim of this environmental awareness and rhino protection intervention is to nurture a generation of wildlife ambassadors and leaders who are committed to all threatened species, big and small,’ said Andrew Zaloumis, iSimangaliso CEO.

‘We will achieve long term success in stopping rhino poaching only if we have the support of conservation-minded local communities and, most importantly, the next generation’.

‘Critical mass is key to beating this epidemic,’ said Sheelagh Antrobus, Co-ordinator of Project Rhino KZN, an 18-member conservation association that represents provincial, private and NGO stakeholders in the province.

Commitment

During the walk, a celebratory event will be held on World Rhino Day, 22 September, to highlight the youngsters’ conservation commitment. All stakeholders will come together and join hands as a united front in the fight against poaching, and our combined efforts to tackle the greatest threat to this iconic population – human greed.

The initial phase of iSimangaliso’s ‘My rhino, our future’ campaign concluded last month with rhino art at each of the 75 schools.

Through their artwork, pupils sent their own messages of support for conservation and expressed their feelings about rhino poaching.

These works have been collated into a powerful visual message.