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Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre is situated at The Crags, a little rural suburb outside Plettenberg Bay. Tourism and a Brick-making factory are the main source of employment for the residents of Kurland Village, the neighbouring disadvantaged community.
As such, Tenikwa recognizes the importance of sourcing local suppliers and where possible, employing people from the local area. This not only ensures job opportunities, community upliftment but also forms part of the whole conservation awareness program that Tenikwa has evolved.
Skills such as builders, bricklayers, fencers, carpenters are available and have been used to build Tenikwa reception, the meerkat meander, ZweLakhe’s enclosure and recently the penguin splash pool.
The majority of Tenikwa’s employees live in or around The Crags.
It is a well known fact that for each person who holds a job, they directly or indirectly support 80 people! This is particularly applicable in the rural areas, like The Crags, where unemployment is exceptionally high at around 70%.
Apart from providing employment, and allowing a sense of self-respect and responsibility, Tenikwa employees and people in the community who are given sub-contracting work to do on Tenikwa projects, experience self-growth and an upgrading of their skills which is so imperative in the evolving new South Africa.
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Tenikwa hosts a conservation program which is aimed at grassroots level; to work with the children of our communities to question accepted practices and customs, to raise awareness about habitat loss, the impact of environmentally insensitive farming practices and what each one of us can do to preserve our wildlife.
School
Encourage recycling
If there is a municipal or voluntary recycling system in your community make sure that your school is making the most of it. Encourage students and staff to always sort out their recycling and let the kids know why you are doing it. If there is a refund on certain items, such as aluminium cans, then you can also encourage student's to collect cans as part of a fundraising activity for the school or an environmental charity organisation.
Switch off the lights and other appliances
Classrooms use a lot of energy in lighting. When you are out of the room make sure the lights are switched off. You can often leave the lights off during the day if there is enough natural light through the windows or you are doing an activity that does require the extra lighting, such as story time. If you have DVD players or computers in the room make sure they are completely turned off when not in use.
Walk or ride a bike to school
Okay, this might not be possibility for everyone, but if school is close enough and the route is safe enough then encourage students to walk or ride a bike. By walking or biking students are getting some exercise and parent's are saving money by conserving energy as well being a bit easier on the environment and climate. Another possibility may be public transport.
Pack a healthy lunch
In the morning rush it is often easier to throw in a pre-packaged lunch from the grocery store than to make something with fresh products. But the ingredients for a healthy diet can also help the planet, especially if those ingredients are locally grown. Resources are also required for all of the additional packaging for those processed lunches and that packaging, which is typically non-biodegradeable, adds to growing mountains of landfill.
Office
Save paper
How much paper is simply thrown away in your office every day? Reuse paper for scrap and recycle. Print on both sides of a page when possible. Companies can save significant sums on printing costs by publishing reports electronically rather than on paper, and customers have instant access to the report. Use e-mail and websites to market your products. Save money on printed publicity material and postage costs. Aim for the paperless office.
Find out how to reduce paper consumption in your workplace
Turn it off
Use a large power strip for your computer, broadband modem, scanner, printer, monitor and speakers. Switch it off when equipment is not in use. This is a practical way to cut 200 kWh per year. Make sure computers are switched off at night.
Love your laptop
Ask for a laptop instead of a desktop - it consumes 5 times less electricity. If you must have a desktop, make sure that you get an LCD screen instead of an outdated CRT screen.
Save power with you PC
Enable the power management function on your computer; contrary to popular belief, screen savers do not save energy.
Recycle office equipment
Donate old computers and office equipment to other organizations and institutions such as schools.
Don't travel unless you really have to
Use phone, e-mail or video conferencing wherever possible and/or organize a Climate Care Day.
The following link shows a slide show for residents wanting to know more about co-existing with baboons and monkeys.
To view it you can click on the link below .
Darwin Primate Group
http://www.darwinprimategroup.
http://picasaweb.google.com/battaleur/COEXISTENCE02?authkey=Gv1sRgCPqdy9b39_WDDA&feat=email#
In South Africa you require a special permit to own a meerkat as a pet. They are some of the most amazing creatures ever, and they make awesome pets. I would compare it to a ferret. They are amazing, but require a lot of attention.
Meerkats are cuddly creatures, however they bite.
They bite for all sorts of reasons and sometimes just for fun. They have long and very sharp canines that easily puncture the skin. Bites tend to go in deep and they easily become infected. They heal slowly and can be very painful.
Meerkats are soft and cute, but they smell!!
We once knew a meerkat called 'Stinky'. He wasn't especially smelly - just as smelly as they all are. As they grow up meerkats begin to scent mark their territory - your home and the objects in it - as well as scent marking those they love - i.e. you. They use their anal glands for this. It is dirty and smelly. Yuck.
Meerkats are diligent hunters
Meerkats are inquisitive animals that love to dig and burrow... they will cheerfully tear your house to pieces.
Breeding Meerkats
For every captive bred meerkat that survives many will have died. Meerkats don't breed well in captivity. Females often abort or eat their own babies.
Caring for Meerkats
No human can give a single meerkat the constant care and attention it craves - many literally go insane, most probably from anxiety over lack of social contact. Others self-harm. One meerkat we knew of was so upset that it literally chewed its own paws off.
Where to buy a Meerkat
Most meerkats are purchased from an illegal source. Sadly many meerkats in captivity have been taken illegally from the wild and by purchasing a pet meerkat you may be encouraging a trade that's detrimental to wild meerkat populations.
Meerkat Fans
Please help stop the exploitation of these wild animals and say NO to having a pet meerkat. It's cruel. And if you just love meerkats so much you can't bear to be without one in your life, there are alternatives:
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Why not adopt a wild meerkat instead?
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Or visit a whole family at your local zoo?
Real meerkats fans love their meerkats wild!
