United by a passion for nature, culture and community, the Kingsley Holgate Foundation has been supporting conservation efforts and communities bordering wildlife parks throughout Africa for more than a decade, starting with the Boundless Southern Africa expedition, which spread a positive transfrontier conservation message to hundreds of communities across ten southern African countries. We are proud to count the acclaimed African Parks, Gorongosa National Park (Mozambique), Tembe Elephant Park, SANParks and private/community-owned game reserves in South Africa as conservation partners, along with many other wildlife parks throughout Africa.
Wherever possible, on all our expeditions we assist game reserves, their field rangers, anti-poaching units and families through our Malaria Prevention, Mashozi’s Rite to Sight and Water Purification humanitarian work, and support conservation agencies in their efforts to uplift impoverished communities living close to wildlife areas.
In South Africa, our Early Childhood Development programme works in partnership with Zululand game reserves to improve the nutrition and education of approximately 3,000 children in the critical 0-6years age group, who live in rural communities on the boundaries of wildlife reserves.
Instilling a passion for wildlife in the hearts and minds of today’s youth is another of our driving forces and in 2013, the Land Rover-supported Izintaba Zobombo expedition launched our Community Conservation Education programme.
RHINO & ELEPHANT ART CAMPAIGN – ‘LET THE CHILDREN’S VOICES BE HEARD’
More than 10,000 of Africa’s iconic rhinos have been brutally killed for their horns by criminal poaching syndicates in the past decade. At the same time, elephant populations across the continent have plummeted by over 60% – ivory poaching is the main reason. Both species are now on the edge of extinction.
This campaign’s objective is to gather the largest number of children’s voices ever recorded in support of rhino and elephant conservation, and to use their ‘hearts and minds’ messages as a worldwide call to action against the ongoing scourge of poaching.
In partnership with the Project Rhino Alliance and other conservation groups, the campaign has now reached 700,000 young people throughout Africa and beyond, including Nepal, Malaysia and Vietnam, one of the main Asian countries driving the senseless demand for rhino horn and elephant ivory. It is one of South Africa’s most comprehensive youth-focussed conservation education programmes and has been recognized by the prestigious Mail & Guardian newspaper and the GRAA Rhino Conservation Awards.
Through vibrant community events that include soccer, netball, drama and music (the award-winning Maskandi duo of Qadasi & Maqhinga are long-time ambassadors), our conservation work also reaches deep into the heart of communities, helping to improve relationships with their game reserve neighbours. Furthermore, this programme takes pupils, teachers and community leaders on Wildlife Camps; for most, it is the first time that they see live rhinos and elephants in the wild and they return to their communities as ardent, budding conservationists and vocal advocates for ending the senseless slaughter of Africa’s endangered wildlife.
CARBON NEUTRAL EXPEDITIONS
Over the past 30 years of exploring the length and breadth of Africa, we’ve seen first-hand the devastating loss of vast tracts of natural habitat. Regions that were once verdant with vegetation that could sustain healthy populations of both wildlife and humans are now, in many instances, barren dustbowls that cannot support any life. We’ve also witnessed the destruction of tens of thousands of hectares of Africa’s magnificent, centuries-old indigenous forests through widespread indiscriminate logging and charcoal production.
We’re vocal advocates for biodiversity protection and the urgent need to safeguard and restore Mama Afrika’s remaining wild spaces. And so, with climate change high on the world’s agenda and the need to play our own part in reducing carbon emissions, all our geographic and humanitarian journeys are now Carbon Neutral.
In 2021 the Kingsley Holgate Foundation planted 6,000 indigenous Albany Thicket trees as part of a world-class biodiversity restoration project in the Eastern Cape, which will benefit both people and planet for 100 years and more. In partnership with Rhodes University, Conservation Landscapes Institute and the Tanglewood Foundation, this initial planting is offsetting 9,000 Kg of carbon every year (31 tonnes of CO² annually), fully covering the carbon emissions of our expeditions. We will continue to expand our support for this excellent project and other tree-planting initiatives across Africa in the years to come, so increasing our Carbon Neutral footprint. We encourage you to do the same.
For more information on our Conservation & Communities work please email: sheelagh@kingsleyholgatefoundation.org
