HERD - Community Development Project

We are happy to report back on our community work at HERD Trust.

On our recent visit to Jemeyana Primary School, formerly known as Mpisi Primary School, we delivered new boxes of Nkosi Super Bars to very eager young students. In South Africa, we have begun the second quarter of the school term, following a two-week holiday.

We welcomed some of the Jemeyana school students for an activity in our reserve, working together with a youth-led organisation called Lessons in Conservation, on 23 March. This was a huge success, as 20 children attended and truly enjoyed every moment. It gives us immense joy and a sense of purpose to be able to engage with and give back to our community in different and important ways, and to show new generations the value of conservation.

It is these students in our outlying communities around our nature natures that will be the next generation to care for our natural and wildlife areas. Many of the children in these areas have visited the reserves around them, not had the opportunity to witness the beauty of nature whether fauna or flora.

The HERD conservations students joined with Lessons in Conservation and the Jemeyana school students for activities both at the school and on the ground at HERD, surrounded by the wilderness with its elephants and other animals. We engaged in different games that shed light on recycling, water usage, the prevention of water wastage, and the effects of poaching with a particular focus on how damaging a snare placed in the bush can be to humans and animals. These specially designed games and interactive lessons helped the pupils to understand the subjects better and to keep them motivated and wanting to learn more. lessons are easily understood and can be slightly modified to accommodate children of all ages.

On the visit to HERD, the young learners were able to view many animals on their drive into and out of the reserve. They also met three of the bull elephants in our rescued herd, including Sebakwe, Somopane and Jabulani. While they were nervous at first, the students slowly gained confidence and relaxed into this unique opportunity to witness elephants up close.

This is the second year that we have had the privilege to be part of this important project, and in the future, we are looking to assist Lessons in Conservation with the work they do by running the lessons throughout the year so that more and more pupils at the school are able to benefit from these opportunities.

In 2021, we implemented an on-campus vegetable garden at the Jemeyana school, providing daily nutritional and economic support for the school. The vegetable garden teaches the pupils how to grow food and how to utilise the produce effectively in the kitchen. The garden includes a row of young fruit trees which will soon be providing delicious, healthy fruits for the learners to enjoy throughout the day. Planning is underway for work that needs to be continued in the vegetable garden. We have found a teacher who will take care of the garden even during the school holidays which is an exciting new development as the gardens need to be maintained constantly. The fruit trees are doing well at this stage and have even produced a crop of mangoes for the school.

Thank you for all your support for our community school initiative and for helping us to build strong little learners who will become our next generation of conservation custodians.

Warm Regards,

Adine and the HERD Team