News
Exploring conservation futures in Africa
Wilderness Foundation Africa (WFA) recently hosted a workshop in Gqeberha on “Exploring Conservation Futures in Africa” from 29 September – 1 October 2024. Facilitated by WFA Board Member, Professor Nicholas King, and Professor Laura Pereira, from the WITS Global...
Creating pathways for South Africa’s youth through Siyazenzela
August 2024 saw our Youth Development team facilitating the LCPA Packaging Southern Africa / LC Supports Foundation funded Siyazenzela course in Kwa-Zulu Natal. This year the programme was implemented in the rural area of Swayimane, at the Ithembalethu...
Celebrating a decade of conservation in the Northern Cape
Over the past 10 years, the Northern Cape Land Project has enabled the declaration of five new nature reserves and one new protected environment with several more in the pipeline. Conservationists gathered in Namaqualand recently to celebrate a decade of successful...
Empowering Futures: Youth Development Programme Celebrates 41 Graduates in Mpumalanga
On the 3rd July 2024 WFA’s Youth Development Programme graduated 41 Siyazenzela Basic Employability, Wellness & Leadership training course beneficiaries at a formal ceremony held at the Malelane Golf Course in Mpumalanga. The majority of the graduates hailed...
A boost for Addo Marine Protected Area celebrated on World Environment Day
On the occasion of World Environment Day, Wilderness Foundation Africa (WFA) today handed over a cheque from the Oak Foundation to Addo Elephant National Park (AENP) for the purchase of a new patrol boat for its Marine Protected Area (MPA). World Environment Day is...
Art for conservation: new partnership with the Kulinda Project!
This International Day for Biological Diversity, we are excited to announce a new partnership with the Kulinda Project! Faced with increasing funding challenges, it has become vital for organisations who are engaged in caring for the planet to find new and...
Celebrating 10 years of reducing the demand for rhino horn
In 2014, at the height of the rhino poaching crisis in South Africa, Wilderness Foundation Africa initiated a campaign in Vietnam with the aim of reducing the demand for rhino horn. Ten years later and with rhino poaching numbers significantly lower than they were...
Celebrating the first Siyazenzela graduates of 2024!
The first WFA Siyazenzela Employability, Wellness and Leadership training course for 2024 was conducted at the picturesque Nyosi Wildlife Reserve during the month of February. The course is funded annually by Community Conservation Fund Africa in aid of previously...
Taking on the Arctic for Wilderness Foundation
The vast, frozen expanse of the Yukon awaits John Beel and David Abratt from Medivet UK. They're not just seeking personal conquest in this 430-mile ultramarathon; they're on a mission to raise awareness of the rapidly changing landscape, and crucial funds for...
Nelson Mandela Bay set to become Climate Resilient City through ground breaking pledge
Nelson Mandela Bay is embarking on a proactive and comprehensive approach to addressing climate change, aiming to become a climate-resilient city within the next year. This initiative prioritises both adaptation and opportunity, recognising the challenges posed by...
Wild steeds of the great Namib desert
One might expect to see a gemsbok, a jackal or even a springbok on the trackless plains and dunefields of the great Namib Desert. But a horse?... All photographs by Teagan Cunniffe. It had the makings of a joke, crouching beside a drinking trough in the blistering...
Going to ground: navigating a way out of climate grief and finding hopefulness
As scientists and politicians argued and bargained about the future of Earth’s life-support systems at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, Don Pinnock went to ground to mourn what is being lost. In a quiet cottage, he found a path back to hope. I’ve come to this cottage on...
Of rain and reflections
Cities are home to more than half the people on Earth. Cities are noisy, crowded, complex, often smelly and can be so stressful. They’re all the things a calm home in which to lay your weary head should not be. True peace lives elsewhere – in the natural world, our...
No bugs on your windscreen is bad news for swallows
If you want to gauge the state of the planet, you don’t have to be a scientist, you just have to look for what’s missing around you. We are essentially creatures of two dimensions and only slightly of the third: up. Above us is the kingdom of air, clouds, flying...
Antarctica’s water wonder
Water is so common it hardly bears notice until rain takes a holiday and the taps run dry. Nearly three-quarters of the planet is covered with the stuff. But in fact, it’s an absolutely magical substance – and when it becomes ice it can blow your mind. Water breaks...
South Africa: On Geological Timescale and Travelling Backwards
Gazing across the wild, rolling nothingness of the Kalahari or the ramparts of the Drakensberg, have you ever wondered how that bit of scenery got there? To a geologist the answer is all in the name, but ask them to elaborate at your peril. The film Jurassic Park,...
Brilliant bees that waggle with intent
It’s now common knowledge that bees communicate by dancing. But the extent of their intelligence deserves a hard look at just how smart insects are. Bees pose a problem. Not because they sting – all creatures have the right to defend themselves – but because they...
WFA 50: Katherine and Andrew — of wild things, magical music and being creative
Katherine Jenkins performing at Sanbona. (Photo: Don Pinnock) Katherine Jenkins, a singing superstar, and her husband Andrew Levitas, a top US movie producer and director, jetted quietly into South Africa with their children over Christmas for some game park time...
The mysterious travels of sea turtles: ocean gyres reveal an astounding story
For reasons hard to explain, the word ‘gyre’ holds a mysterious allure for me. It comes from the Latin word gyrus and means a ring, spiral or vortex. It’s a small word, which, in oceanography, describes vast pulses of water that flow to the heartbeat of sun, moon...
The panda’s ‘thumb’ — biological wonders that navigate the odds to ensure survival
The biologist Francois Jacob once wrote that nature isn’t a divine artificer but an excellent tinkerer. Its dictum is: never invent when you can adapt. Take the Epipactis, a marsh orchid. It uses two petals as a trap. One of these is a nectar-filled cup desirable...
