Think about how you or your Company can make an environmental difference!
Let us know what you are doing, in your own individual or corporate way, to make a difference in even the smallest way!
World Environment Day 05 June 2013
May 23, 2013 at 12:53 pm (Ezemvelo KZNWildlife)
Carbon Tax policy deadline 02 August 2013
May 23, 2013 at 12:22 pm (NGOs and Conservation Bodies, Other Organisations)
Carbon Tax Information Session with the Department of National Treasury The National Business Initiative is convening an information exchange engagement between the Department of National Treasury and relevant company representatives.The much awaited final Carbon Tax Policy Discussion Paper was launched recently for public comment with a submission deadline of 2 August 2013. Perspectives on this policy […]
Read more of this post (http://sustainabilityforum.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/carbon-tax-information-session-with-the-department-of-national-treasury/)
URL : http://sustainabilityforum.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/carbon-tax-information-session-with-the-department-of-national-treasury/
Posted : 23 May 2013 at 10:47 am
Author : Karen Zunckel
Tags : Carbon Tax, Greenhouse Gas
Categories : Environmental Education, Green Jobs, Renewable Energy
KZN Rhino Summit 22-23 May 2013 University of Zululand
May 20, 2013 at 2:32 pm (Ezemvelo KZNWildlife)
The CEO of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife , Dr Bandile Mkhize, is holding a KZN Rhino Summiton 22-23 May 2013 at 09h00 at the University of Zululand (King Bhekuzulu Hall).
Visitor Story – Flat Tyre Leads to Exciting Sighting at HIP
May 20, 2013 at 1:25 pm (Other Organisations)
Tourists should’nt take Lions lightly – they move at tremendous speed and have immense physical strength. If they have cubs with them, they can be unpredictable! Maybe they should just have disconnected the cord from the cigaret lighter??? Just saying……
Flat Tyre Leads to Exciting Sighting
“Let me tell you a story of two girlfriends having coffee and chatting – as we tend to do – but this time not in a shopping mall but each sitting in our cars on a dirt road in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Reserve – for those who know the park between 25i and 26i. When our mugs were empty we decided to continue on our search for wildlife. As I started to drive off I heard a strange sound and realised my back tyre is flat and I mean flat; right down to the rim! Thankfully I have a compressor in the car and with C ‘standing guard’ (never thinking we would really need it, but girls will be girls), I got out my vehicle, attached the hose to the wheel, plugged it into the lighter and the tyre started to inflate, and like most girls with time on their hands began chatting again, this time we were out of the vehicle.
Suddenly, C yells “lions, lions!!” with disbelief I glance to where she is looking and over the crest of the hill, not 20 metres from us, walk two lionesses (followed by another two – seen by cars travelling behind them). My adrenaline shoots through the roof and my decision process flounders ( I guess my hubby would say that’s quite normal) – should I get back in the car and let the tyre over-inflate and explode or continue pumping and not get caught in the middle of a pride with a flat or take photographs (which C is doing).
When the lionesses realise there are people in the road, they react by dashing off into the bush and peering out at us, it was at this stage that we see the glint of a car roof also cresting the hill and I can just imagine the conversation in the following vehicle – “Look at those two stupid bl….dy woman – what are they thinking”. On very shaky legs I decide to stand my ground, “lionesses be damned” I have a flat and I want to carry on driving and looking for lion. ‘Oh yes, they are already here!’
The highly amused occupants of the other vehicle stopped and waited with us until my tyre was inflated enough to allow me to drive to a more open piece of ground (with no felines lurking) to put in a bit more air, and then followed us to the Mpila Camp, this required a further three stops for a pressure top-up. We would so have won the May @latestimfolozi “Airborne” photo competition if anyone caught us on camera, ‘Because we both leapt in the air’! Members of the HIP sightings reporting network, response was, “we didn’t see a report on lionesses in that area, are you holding out on us”.
Moral to the story – never, ever get out of your car and always have Tyre Weld in your car unless you have to. I guess some lionesses are probably sitting around their latest kill saying, “let us tell you a story – we came over a hill and saw some humans standing in the road ……..”
Kindly sent to us by the following site:- Email: admin@latestimfolozi.co.za
Website: www.latestimfolozi.co.za
LEATHERBACKS – MAY 2013
May 8, 2013 at 1:27 pm (Ezemvelo KZNWildlife, Rhino Club Benefits, Specials and Promotions)
SOME GREAT SAVINGS
(Terms and Conditions Apply)
TAKE AN AUTUMN BREAK!!! Follow the call of the wilderness! Hear the call of the majestic Lion and the melodic cry of the Nightjar. Book a DISCOUNTED Wilderness trail and walk through the vibrant African Bush; hike in the rolling foothills of the world-reknown uKhahlamba-Drakensberg mountain range, along with the Bearded Vulture and Jackal Buzzard; camp on the banks of the inland waters; snorkel, dive, swim or fish in the sparkling Indian Ocean!!!!
AMENDED DEADLINE: The expiry date for current Rhino Card benefits has been extended to 30 JUNE 2013 so make renew for two more months.
CONTACT OUR HELPDESK ON 033 8451008/1009 or rhinoclub@kznwildlife.com
LAST MINUTE LEATHERBACKS – NEW BOOKINGS ONLY – 40% DISCOUNT – Valid from 14/05/ 2013 TO 30/06/ 2013 (excludes Cape Vidal, iMfolozi and Hluhluwe accommodation) The Leatherback Discounts will apply only to the ACCOMMODATION ie Breakfast will not be discounted.
In the AFRICAN Bush: Ithala Bushcamps only (Thalu, Mbizo, Mhlangeni), Mkhuze (includes Bushcamp) – excludes camping, Ndumo, Chelmsford Dam, Midmar Dam (Chalets, cabins), Oribi Gorge, Vernon Crookes.
In the AWE-INSPIRING Drakensberg: Thendele, Mahai, Injesuthi, Kamberg, Lotheni, Monks Cowl, Highmoor
In the WARM Ocean: Amatikulu, Maphelane, St Lucia Campsites, Umlalazi, Sodwana Bay, Kosi Bay
MORE SAVINGS!!!
Please note: Dependent on AVAILABILITY. Gate times: strictly 06hoo to 18h00 Packages which include meals are discounted on accommodation only.
1. Hilltop Resort (in Hluhluwe Game Reserve): 25% discount in Rest Huts, non-catering chalets and 4-bed Chalets (self-cater) – Valid from from 14/5 TO 30/6/2013
2. Ntshondwe Resort at Ithala Game Reserve – All chalets and Lodge – 30% discount including BED and BREAKFAST – VALID TO 30/06/ 2013 (excludes long weekend 14, 15, 16 June 2013)
Plus ALL Rhino Club members can enjoy:- Game Drive for R100 per adult/R50 per child under 13 years – regret no children 3 years and under.
Ntshondwe Resort in Ithala Game Reserve offers a 10% discount to all Gold Rhino Club Members on standard priced meals, including all bar beverages – (Discounts not applicable on any other Special packages which may be advertised from time to time).
Our popular Sunday Lunch Buffet continues to be a bargain at R145.00 per person, but after discount for Club Members only R110.00 per person.
3. DIDIMA RESORT at Cathedral peak – All chalets – 30% discount including BED and BREAKFAST – VALID from to 30/06/ 2013 (excludes long weekend 14, 15, 16 June 2013)
4. GIANTS CASTLE – All chalets – 30% discount including BED and BREAKFAST – VALID to 30/06/ 2013 (excludes long weekend 14, 15, 16 June 2013)
5. WILDERNESS TRAILS and GIANTS CUP TRAIL – call Lwazi on tel 033 8451067 for details of his Trails discounts: Valid to 31 July 2013: Weekend Short, Extended Short, Base Trail & Explorer Trail packages.
Other discounted Packages:
1. FIVE LODGE GOLD SPECIAL: 15% discount all year round (except Easter, Christmas and New Year) at Thendele Lodge, Rock Lodge (Giants), Ithala Lodge, Mtwazi and Masinda Lodges
2. Santa Lucia launch tour –25% Gold discount – enquire at St Lucia Estuary Office tel 035 590 1340
Kids Club 1 – The Price is ONLY R170 (new/renewal includes Backpack or Fleece)
1. African Bird of Prey Sanctuary. Show your member card and get 20% Discount on your Entry ticket. Tel 031 7852981. See the Aerial display and enjoy lunch at their Coffee Shop.
2. Kids Club Members – Free entry to Midmar for you, if you produce your valid Kids Club card!
3. ASK about the KIDDIES Menus at Hilltop, Giant`s, Didima and Ntshondwe Resorts We give them what they like!!!
FOR Information speak to your Rhino Club Consultants, Kay or Nomfundo on 033 8451008/1009/1011/1013
Candice’s Pentravel Gold Special. Speak to Candice, produce your valid Rhino Gold Card and claim R 250 per person discount on International travel packages and flights booked through Candice. Contact her on tel +27 033 3946961, fax +27 033 342 7835 or candice.jack@pentravel.co.za
Ask her about special packages on offer!
Visitors to All Parks are also reminded that while wildlife is often seen amongst the chalets and campsites in the protected areas, these animals are not tame and members of the public should not try to touch them or feed them.
Plan your arrival at the Reserve – try to avoid travelling after 4pm (16h00) and give yourself time for unexpected delays en route. Check Gate closing times.
Giants Castle Photography Workshop
May 3, 2013 at 12:32 pm (CAMPS WITH RESTAURANTS, COFFEE SHOPS OR TAKE-AWAYS, Ezemvelo KZNWildlife)
SLIP-DUCT Public Tree Donation Campaign
April 24, 2013 at 8:45 am (Kids Club, NGOs and Conservation Bodies)
At the Pietermaritzburg Botanic Gardens from 25/04 to 28/04/2013
SLIP-DUCT Public Tree Donation Campaign
While you are shopping for trees and shrubs amongst the hundreds of indigenous species on sale at the Sustainable Living and Indigenous Plant Fair, buy a couple for a good cause at the same time. Duzi-uMngeni Conservation Trust (DUCT) is engaged in clearing thirsty invasive vegetation along the banks of the uMsundusi and uMngeni Rivers and rehabilitating the riverine environment. The uMngeni River is a highly stressed catchment which supplies water to Pietermaritzburg, Durban and surrounding areas – over 5 million users, including you.
Amongst the wide variety you might choose River Bush Willow, Combretum erythrophullym , a medium sized tree which occurs along river banks. Often it leans at an alarming angle over the river – possibly due to frequent floods. Or the evergreen Syzigium cordatum (uMdoni) which dominates riverine areas in the warmer parts of the province. Syzigium is host to the Charaxes butterflies.
Ouhout (Leucasidea serica) and Buddleja sp are shrubbier and occur naturally high up the catchment, both are important pioneers in rehabilitation projects, frost hardy and important for wildlife.
Buy and donate a tree to offset the carbon emitted while driving to SLIP and support DUCT in their efforts to protect biodiversity and our precious water resources.
Kids Club will have a stand there throughout the weekend.
A very exciting project is the replanting of indigenous trees along the length of the alien infested Umgeni and Dusi Rivers. People can buy trees at the fair for 20% off the sale price, and donate the tree to DUCT at their stand. They will plant the trees in the correct ares, Doug Burden is GM of Duct and this project!
Blue-tailed day gecko (Phelsuma cepediana )
April 23, 2013 at 2:39 pm (Kids Club)
Yashoda took this photo of a gecko when she was on holiday in Mauritius so we asked our scientist friend, Dr Adrian Armstrong to identify it for us.
Dr Armstrong says that this is a male blue-tailed day gecko (Phelsuma cepediana ), an important pollinator of a rare plant Trochetia blackburniana now that the plan’s main pollinator, a bird called the olive white-eye ( Zosterops chloronothos ) has disappeared over much of its range. See http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0417-gecko.html
If you have any interesting sitings in your garden or on one of your Outings, please share them with us!
IFAW – UNVEILING THE IVORY TRADE
April 23, 2013 at 11:34 am (NGOs and Conservation Bodies, Other Organisations)
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
To find out more about the ivory trade read IFAW’s free online magazine IFAW – Unvelining the Ivory trade
EXTRACT (April 04/2013)
“Poachers in Chad had slaughtered 86 elephants, including 33 pregnant females, in less than a week.
The elephants were killed close to the Chad border with Cameroon and their ivory hacked out. It is the worst killing spree of elephants since early 2012 when poachers from Chad and Sudan killed as many as many as 650 elephants in a matter of weeks in Cameroon’s Bouba Ndjida National Park.
“This is completely shocking,” said Celine Sissler-Bienvenu, Director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare in France and Francophone Africa (IFAW – www.ifaw.org).
“Elephants in Central Africa continue to be under siege from unscrupulous poachers. The killing of 86 elephants, including pregnant cows, is evidence of the callous brutality demanded to feed the appetite of the ivory trade,” said Sissler-Bienvenu.
Information received by IFAW indicates that local communities close to Fianga city, in south-west Chad, where the elephants were killed have been asking their government for help in resolving local elephant conflict issues for at least two years.
No support has been provided, which may be why the elephant massacre was not reported for some days – the killing of the elephants by poachers offering some sort of relief to local farmers unable to protect their crops and livelihoods from being damaged by elephant herds.
Jason Bell, Director of IFAW’s Elephant Programme, said it was now almost inevitable that certain regions of Africa faced the total decimation of their elephant populations.
“The poaching of elephants for their ivory is an issue of global significance, and needs a global response if we are to turn the killing fields of Central Africa into safe havens for elephants. This cannot happen in a vacuum. Ivory consuming nations – notably China – have to make a concerted effort to reduce the demand for ivory in their own backyards. Otherwise, the battle to save elephants will be lost,” said Bell.
In early 2012, poachers from Sudan and Chad, riding on horseback and with camels to carry their booty, killed almost 650 elephants – about 50 per cent of the elephant population of Cameroon’s Bouba Ndjida National Park.
Poaching parties are typical during the dry season when heavily armed groups of poachers with military issue automatic and semi-automatic weapons, launch well co-ordinated attacks on elephant herds for their ivory.
In 2012 IFAW signed a memorandum of understanding with the Republic of Chad to provide anti-poaching support to the Sena Oura National Park, including conducting training sessions for conservation officers. Sena Oura NP in Chad is part of a cross-border national park which has Bouba Ndjida National Park in Cameroon on the other side.
“Cross border cooperation and intelligence-led enforcement are the only way we can bring these ivory traffickers to justice. It is too big a problem for any one country to tackle,” said Kelvin Alie, Director of IFAW’s Wildlife Crime and Consumer Awareness Programme. “We need range states, transit countries, and destination countries to share their law enforcement resources, including intelligence, or we’ll never be in a position to shut down the kingpins of the international ivory trade.”
To find out more about the ivory trade read IFAW’s free online magazine IFAW – Unvelining the Ivory trade
Sea shells and hermit crabs!
April 23, 2013 at 9:50 am (Kids Club)
We loved this comment sent to us by one of our readrers!!! Everyone loves to hold a seashell or conch to their ear, to listen to the “sound of the ocean”………………
“Today, I went to the beach front with my kids. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear.
She never wants to go back!”
Have you had an interesting experience on the seashore or in the rock pools?
