Honorary Rangers - Johannesburg South,
held it's first public awareness campaign at
Trade Route Mall from
14 to 16 June
2008. There was an overwhelming response from
visitors young and old.
The display
included displays of various animal skulls such as white
rhino, hippo, buffalo, impala and lion. Visitors to the
display got to touch and feel other smaller skulls and items such as
crocodile, tortoise and vervet monkey. Two huge model
Elephant tusks
were very popular amongst visitors to the stand.
There was an array of animal skins displayed and
colourful
visual displays
of a wide range of animals found in
SANParks.
There was an intriguing display of Kruger Park elephants, called ”The
Magnificent Seven”. These were elephants recorded with the
largest tusks.
Visitors were made aware of the harm that
poachers
caused in the Parks with exhibits of some of the deadly and cruel trapping
devices used by poachers.
Honorary rangers
from the Lenasia area were assisted by experienced rangers from the
Johannesburg region. Johannesburg South chairperson,
Ashraf Sayed
was pleased with the enthusiastic way in which everyone supported SANParks
Public Education and Awareness Project (PEAP). He said "This is a first for
our community and the response has been phenomenal. The outreach program
will definitely benefit those interested in nature conservation"
Johannesburg Region's
Rob Beckwith
was impressed by the interest shown by visitors to the stand who were
interested in volunteering for conservation.
Various wildlife videos were screened throughout the weekend.
A display of live
snakes
on Sunday afternoon drew huge crowds. Many showed a keen interest to the
efforts of the Honorary Rangers,
some donating funds towards the cause and some showing interest in joining
up as an Honorary Ranger.
The Honorary Rangers Johannesburg South Region
is planning other similar outreach programs for the Johannesburg South area
and is hoping to grow its membership base and provide assistance to SANParks.