Many successes for the Honorary Rangers

SKUKUZA – The Lowveld Region of the official volunteer movement of the South African National Parks (SANParks) was established in 1964 – one of the first SHR regions in the country.

Since then, the region has come a long way from chairman Mr Martin Knoppe and the 30 members it started with.

The region’s longest serving member, Mr Riel du Toit, joined Lowveld in 1973 and has served for a remarkable 44 years.

By September 1989, the region’s membership had increased to 42 members and continued to grow. In nearly 50 years, the growth rate has been remarkable.

While there was a steady growth rate from 1964, the real growth in the region began in the year 2000, reaching the staggering number of 171 members by 2013. The Lowveld can proudly say that it is now the largest region in South Africa and will be hosting the SHR’s 50th Anniversary Indaba in 2014 at Skukuza Rest Camp.

“Lowveld is proud to reflect the rainbow nation by being fully integrated. The first black member joined the region in 1989, which paved the way for a non racial organisation. Mr George Mabuza joined our region in 1996 followed the year after by Mr Esrom Makhubela. There are now close to 50 historically disadvantaged members and the numbers continue to grow. It has been particularly delightful to have whole family units joining, which boosts Junior Ranger numbers too,” says region chairman, Mr Grant Coleman.

Mr André van der Merwe handed the reins to Mr Patrick Reniers in 2005 – he remained in office until 2009, when Coleman became the chairman, who he has lead the region for the last the four years.

Lowveld region focusses on the southern part of Kruger National Park (KNP), from Orpen Gate to Crocodile Bridge.

Members are drawn from surrounding areas, travelling from as far away as Sabie and Lydenburg to attend meetings and perform duties in the Park. Lowveld is a known as a duty region, which means that members are heavily involved in practical support activities in the park.

Lowveld has been involved in KNP since its inception in a variety of duties, including litter removal, environmental education, alien plant control, Skukuza Nursery, camp duties, maintenance, road patrols, gate duties, and snare removals. The Lowveld Region also sponsors equipment for anti poaching activities through their fundraising initiatives.

Duties are performed in all the camps in the Marula Region of Park – Orpen, Satara, Skukuza, Lower Sabie, Pretoriuskop, Berg en Dal, Biyamiti and Crocodile Bridge camps. During weekends, peak periods and school holidays, Lowveld members assist the hospitality managers of these camps in their duties. In addition to the camp duty in Skukuza, the region also assists over weekends, public holidays, and during KNP staff leave by manning the Skukuza Museum and running the Skukuza Nursery.

With 171 members, Lowveld has the benefit of extensive talents and expertise. This diversity means that Lowveld is well able to accommodate requests for assistance from SANParks, at the same time giving members the opportunity to work in environments that best suit their experience and personalities.

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Kruger National Parks support activities

The key ingredients to the success of the Lowveld Region are the leadership of the Regional Management Committees (RMC) and the enthusiasm and dedication of the members. A challenge of such a large membership is to ensure that members are inspired and motivated to stay active while providing for everyone to contribute their time and energy to SANParks. With this in mind, the region became more involved in other activities in the KNP over and above the national projects.

Lowveld currently performs the following duties in KNP:

•Gate duty

•Alcohol duty at gates

•Snare removal

•Alien plant removal

•Lebombo overland 4×4 trail maintenance

•Litter and road patrol

•Sand River Bush Camp

•Maintenance in the rest camps and Wilderness camps

•Public education & awareness project – public exhibits

•Junior rangers

•Lion demographic project assistance

•Annual DASHA outreach – Bringing disabled kids into the park.

•Annual Skukuza Marathon water points and guarding

Specialist Projects

In addition to these activities, Lowveld has over the years been privileged to participate in a number of specialised projects such as:

•Development of the Rhino Hall at Berg en Dal rest camp

•Pretoriuskop Information Centre

Invasive Species Eradication

The Invasive Species Eradication Group (ISEG), is an innovative and highly successful project that was established by Lowveld Region and later chaired on a national basis by Mr Grant Coleman. The first “hack” to remove alien vegetation took place in 2007.

The fiftieth hack was completed in KNP in 2012, an amazing achievement. Each hack focuses on specific species of alien vegetation to ensure that the correct tools and pesticides are available. Teams of hardworking members spend their weekends walking through designated problem areas of KNP eradicating the alien vegetation.

Invasive species removed include Prickly Pear, Queen of the Night, Lantana, Triffid Weed, Demoina Weed, and Guava. Follow up hacks have proved the effectiveness of this project, witnessed by the significant reduction of these invasive species that threaten to overwhelm the indigenous vegetation.

Sand River Bush Camp

Probably the biggest fundraiser in the region is the Sand River Bush Camp (SRBC). SRBC is a dedicated SHR bush camp that allows private guests to experience KNP in an up-close and personal way. SHR regions are allocated camps which they can sell to raise money for SANParks. There is a very high demand for these camps by corporates and other organisations. Lowveld has been involved in the SRBC for the past 15 years with a great deal of commitment and effort having been put in particularly by Mr Francois van der Merwe. SRBC has proven to be a great fundraiser for all SHR regions.

Meetings

Lowveld Region meets on a regular basis, usually in either Skukuza or Berg en Dal rest camps, about every six to eight weeks, depending on the availability of the venue. The average attendance of regional meetings is 100 members. Meetings are held on a Saturday morning to encourage the best possible attendance and SHR’s are encouraged to stay in the camp and spend time socialising with their fellow members and families or performing duties.

Any member of the public with a love for nature and a willingness to volunteer their services without any payment are welcome to join the SANParks Honorary Rangers.

With 31 regions across the country and involvement in every national park, the SHR offers the ideal opportunity to become involved in our parks.

Equirires: www.sanparksvolunteers.org