SANParks.org Forums

I agree, SA has a complicated history but why should the visitors to the park be reflective of the population?

Why should anybody be encouraged to visit the parks, shouldn't anybody decides for him/herself to visit the parks?

Because they think it's for ______ people only?
You fill in the blank, could be rich, or higher schooled, or...

TheunsH - wanda explains it way better than I ever could - have a read here

Thanks for the link DinkyBird. Wanda did explain it clearly, but still I'm not so sure that it's possible for visitors to any holiday destination to be reflective of the population...it doesn't make sense to me.

In any case it is a complicated situation!!

I'm off to think about existential angst

seriously though, I did enjoy our few days of freedom, even if we did act like a group of nuns out on midnight feast.

As for thought provoking topics, well that's a challenge to us all.

TH - I think our SANParks need to be seen more than a holiday destination. And need to be seen by all in SA as 'their' parks.

We need to grow a culture of appreciation for nature conservation in SA and we need to grow support for the parks to ensure they will always be treasured and important to all.

I do agree with you on this post.

This is so great to read.

There will always be issues regarding topics on this site..If I can recall the amount of topics of mine that has been swept over the years then I won't have enough fingers or toes to count.

IMO, Sanparks, being the leader in Wildlife and nature conservation within South Africa, should allow this website to discuss conservation across Africa to a degree where it is not promoting other parks and .... well let us put it this way.. not promote other business on the website. I do not go to Sanparks.org to find out about Durban accommodation...to be fair, but where else am I going to go to find out and discuss marine life be it within Sanparks parks or not? (this is purely an example).

Truth be told I do visit other website's ...perhaps for birding... perhaps for accommodation...but the bottom line is, there is no other website that has the resources and info that has been built up over the years, like this one.

Then again. If it was not for the Kruger National Park, then this website would not even be 10% of what it is now.

My reply to Africat

Hello Africat

DB wrote that she would like to attract communities bordering the parks but who do not have internet access..

Bordering the park I presume means within a half hours drive, and I must say I dont know of many on the forum who live that close or who write trip reports etc (Maybe I havent been around long enough or read enough!)

However I do have a friend who lives really close to KNP and its not unusual for her to go and have tea with a friend in the area and a zebra or the likes walks past...so, although she does visit KNP(for one day a year!), it doesnt hold the same fascination for her as it would have for a Forumite living in the middle of a big city....or overseas.

When DB said she wanted to attract more people from the area bordering the park, I just wondered if one of the Sanparks isnt so much part of their daily life that joining a forum to discuss it just lacks appeal, whether or not they have access to internet.

Have I uncrossed a few wires Africat?

And a question..if people dont have internet access, live near the park, and visit it often, why doesnt someone start a 'forum' for them where by they can attend lectures or meetings about subjects they/we find interesting....and then give them a thread on this forum where one of them could update us on their thinking, ideas, etc.

Perhaps internet forumites could be notified of when these meetings will be held and those able to can attend.

Thanks, DotDan, for the great input. Your take on things makes perfect sense too, as some topics indeed will be rehashed and revisited over and over, with repetition of ideas and criticisms. So fresh topics are a must. I, for one, will keep my ear to the ground and my corneas peeled, and whatever strikes my fancy that may generate useful debate, I will proffer forward. The difficult thing is fresh topics, but creativity is always rewarded - so watch this space - or any other ...

Seems to me like if anyone wants to change the behaviour of a society its good to start with the youth..so what are the chances of starting an abbreviated forum for the under 18's?(Under supervison of course)

What are the chances of any of the parks running youth camps for these children? Why not run a youth camp even for children who arrive with parents so that they can be physically active and learn about the park during the day whilst their parents are out game spotting?

Do the parks have resident 'advisers' or those trained to deal with educating youth about wild life, conservation etc? Are these people going to schools showing video's etc and educating children about their natural heritage?

A zillion more questions..but has anyone got the answers to these?

SZ - there are many programmes that do this, but they probably only reaching a very small percentage of the youth.

Often when in the park, one will see bus loads of young children being brought in for the day to visit the park.

There is also the My Acre of Africa facility just within the park's border that does good work with children.

Then there are the HRs that visit schools to educate children.

SANParks also runs various programmes to reach the children and educate them in nature conservation.

Alongside Kruger for example, are towns and settlements - in the settlements very poor communities live. Many of those folk not being able to afford to visit the park, let along pay the toll fees required to get there. I doubt they have computers or access to internet.

Is this last group the one you were referring to earlier?

One of them yes.

I think this is a situation to which Maslows hierarchy pertains but I presume you want to encourage them to take a greater interest in wild life?Visit the park?