COMMUNITY PROJECTS
Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre has opened its doors to the local communities surrounding Plettenberg Bay in an effort to educate and raise awareness about wild animals and what is causing their decline. Many cultural practices in South Africa which are no longer appropriate, are causing the unsustainable depletion of our wildlife populations whilst at the same time, the insidious creep of urban sprawl is replacing their habitat. This double-edged sword is leading to a significant decline in our free-roaming wildlife outside National Parks and private Game Reserves.
Much of our focus is working on the value systems of our children. If you plant the seed of empathy in a child’s heart, it will grow; until as an adult, alternative methods to extermination will be explored. This may be too late to save some species, but education is the long term solution. Tenikwa’s conservation philosophy of Rehabilitation – Awareness – Promoting Biodiversity led to the purchase of a 4300ha private reserve in 2011, set aside to ensure that wild animals will always have a future.
Tenikwa is cautious to ensure that all the community projects that we support, in some way encourage the integration of environmentally-friendly practices into every-day life and encourage change of behaviour towards a healthier environment where wild spaces and the role of wild animals in our eco-system are respected.
