Share this blog with someone

World Environmental Education Day: A post dedicated to our Trainers at Ulovane

 

 

𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝔼𝕟𝕧𝕚𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝔼𝕕𝕦𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝔻𝕒𝕪

“𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣’𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨, 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙜𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨” – 𝘿𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙞 𝙇𝙖𝙢𝙖.

Environmental education day is important to transfer the knowledge needed to practically apply to a world that is becoming increasingly interconnected as time moves on.
It is important because the action of passing on knowledge and transferable skills of our environment means a direct impact on the mindset of our youth, which sets the tone for how decisions are made in the future regarding the natural environment and the undeniable link and reliance we have on it.
Here at Ulovane, our Trainers impart not only knowledge and a particular skill set to our students, but also passion and enthusiasm as they genuinely love what they do. It is a lifestyle, not just a job to them, with each trainer providing something unique.
To listen to Schalk when he is describing how the woodpecker’s tongue is specially modified compared to other birds, he creates an image so strong with the enthusiasm and gestures he uses, that you could almost see the bird in his hand as he speaks! Or when Piet finds a set of porcupine tracks on the dirt road we just crossed, and he goes down onto his haunches, using his hands to gesture how the animal moves, describing how they have different quills for different purposes, and how they create drag marks when they walk – and then the conversation integrates smoothly into HOW the quill itself actually works as a mechanical defence mechanism!


Shani sitting there in the warm sand with that smile she always wears when she is doing one of the things she loves most – TRACKING! Shani is an incredible mentor to learn the skill of tracking from; she has garnered her skill over many years, landing herself an esteemed Tracking Award last year. Tracking is an art – the way Shani imparts her knowledge and passion has just about every student hungry for more!


Justin is incredibly passionate about photography and the smaller things too, like his newfound passion for plants and flowers occurring on Amakhala. His flower book is a blur of colored sticky notes on the pages of all the ones he has identified, this mere fact alone, one that rubs off on students that there is always more to learn, no matter how long you have been doing this for!
The landowner of Ulovane, Ben brings his own spark to our students, offering a different perspective to how things run on Ulovane Reserve, and how all the work he has put in over the years has had the incredible impact it has, allowing us today to have the myriad of wildlife on our doorstep – one special such species being the Cape Mountain zebra!
Education keeps our world alive; it is the one thing that when imparted with love and passion, will leave an imprint forever.

  • Melissa Gomes

“𝙸𝚏 𝚠𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚑, 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚕𝚢 𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚞𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚑 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎 𝚊𝚜𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚝”.𝚄𝚗𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚗.