Wildlife film-maker Gareth Pyne-James had a midnight brainwave a couple of years ago, but he could not imagine that his idea would turn into an immense project that may help save South Africa’s national parks from financial ruin.
“For a long time I’d been aware that something drastic had to be done to help South Africa’s parks receive life-saving funding. I couldn’t sleep and this wonderful idea started developing in my head. I was still scratching away at the idea, long after the sun had risen,” he explains.
His idea turned into My Acre of Africa, an initiative launched by former president Nelson Mandela last November. Since then it has grown into an international project that might be the salvation the embattled parks were praying for.
The principle is simple. Sponsors are called upon to buy into conservation by sponsoring a brick in a 110-acre scale model of the Kruger National Park. The bricks symbolise the borders, rivers, roads and camps of the park. Each brick represents an acre of the Kruger, symbolising Southern Africa’s threatened national parks and wildlife.
Sponsors buy one or more paving bricks inscribed with their names and a message of their choice. Five million bricks will eventually form a micro-model of the world-renowned Kruger National Park. The cheapest bricks represent the border of the Kruger and cost R500; the most expensive represent the camps and cost R5 000. If all the bricks are sold, the project will raise more than R2-billion for conservation.
It was important to Pyne-James that his idea became more than a midnight meander. He contacted several interested groups such as Fauna and Flora International to become part of the project. My Acre of Africa has the backing of heavyweights in international business and conservation. Mandela is head patron and the project is backed by Johnnic Communications, which is providing financial help until an endowment fund is set up.
Mohammed Valli Moosa, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, veteran local conservationist Ian Player, the Humane Society of the United States, the Wild Foundation and Earthvoice have all endorsed the project.
The scheme hopes to raise a sizeable endowment fund, which will help fund the parks from the interest. A board of trustees has been appointed to oversee the allocation of the funds.
The model centre will be more than just a giant map of the Kruger. It will also function as an environmental education centre, catering especially for South African schoolchildren. Brick pathways will wander through the environmental education facility and an interactive centre will help teach children about conservation.
Pyne-James says the concept capitalises on children’s willingness to push buttons and to be part of the bush experience. Teaching all South Africans conservation skills is important to Pyne-James and his team, who hope to achieve their goal through the project. My Acre of Africa hopes every schoolchild in South Africa will have the opportunity to visit the facility at least once during their schoolgoing days.
The centre will also boast an astronomy centre, an open-air amphitheatre, a wetland, an eco-cinema, an aquatic centre, a wildlife care centre, a cultural market and multipurpose learning resources. There are plans to display rotating exhibits from TV’s Discovery Channel, National Geographic and the London Natural History Museum among the environmental exploration exhibit clusters.
Find out more about My Acre of Africa.