Wildlands and Old Mutual team up at Comrades
Visitors to the Old Mutual stand at the Comrades Marathon Expo, which took place at the Durban Exhibition Centre from May 28 to 30, supported Wildlands and their various rhino conservation projects.
The Old Mutual & Wildlands stand at the Comrades Expo included the ground-breaking Oculus Rift, a three-dimensional immersive video which makes use of cutting edge technology to give visitors a vivid glimpse into what the iconic race entails. Old Mutual has combined this technology with running guidance from marathon legend Bruce Fordyce. Once inside the world of Oculus Rift, Comrades runners are joined by Fordyce as he gives essential advice on the Big Five Hills that formed part of this year’s up run.
There were fun opportunities to donate at the stand (involving a life-size rhino sculpture that needed to be coloured in), merchandise that flew off the shelves and also plenty of information available on the Old Mutual Wild Series endurance events for runners. The Wild Series events take place in various protected areas around the country to raise funds to conserve endangered species or protect that specific habitat (www.wildseries.co.za).
Wildlands made in excess of R42 000 through merchandise sales and all monies raised will go towards their three rhino conservation projects – namely, Project Rhino Tracker, Aerial Support and Investigations and Prosecutions.
On race day, Sunday May 31, Wildlands hosted the last refreshment station for the runners in Alexandra Road, Pietermaritzburg (1.9km from the finish), where entertainment was provided by Umlazi’s Prince Mshiyeni Choir, one of the top performing choirs from the Old Mutual National Choir Festival (NCF).
Wildlands also had 63 registered runners under the Amabeadibeadi Race4Charity campaign, who raised R300 000 for their rhino conservation projects. They were spotted on the route in their unique, bright green RUN FOR RHINO running kits.
Wildlands was also responsible for all the recycling from halfway (Drummond) to the finish, a project they have undertaken for the past two years in an effort to make Comrades a “green” marathon. The Wildlands recycling team collected just over 10 000kgs of waste and this will be sorted and distributed from their depot based in Howick.
“Comrades and Old Mutual are both very environmentally conscious organisations,” said Lauren van Nijkerk, Deputy Director of Marketing at Wildlands. “We would not have been able to elevate our brand presence or our fundraising efforts without their support, and them sharing a vision for activating in a sustainable manner helps us tremendously.”
Wildlands’ Rhino Conservation projects include:
Project Rhino Tracker:
This project includes the use of satellite transmitters and UHF data-loggers, which provide the most real-time information on the rhino that is available to date. These are fitted onto rhino in protected areas to allow for more efficient use of field rangers. This allows rangers to have better knowledge of rhino movements and behaviours. The rangers can then be deployed at strategic locations to counter any vulnerable situations.
Project Rhino Aerial Support:
This project has proven to be an essential element of addressing the rhino poaching crisis. Through this aerial support initiative Wildlands aim to raise the funds required to support and maintain aircraft in order to allow them to fly a minimum of 40 hours per month, covering the key properties where rhino populations occur. Additional aircrafts and helicopters across northern KZN will have a significant impact on reducing rhino poaching, especially in the private and communal areas that do not enjoy the same level of paramilitary support that Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife’s conservation areas do.
Project Rhino Investigations and Prosecutions:
One of the key gaps identified in addressing the rhino poaching crisis is in providing a professional and well-coordinated prosecution of key individuals or syndicates known to be involved in poaching around rhino reserves. To address this, Wildlands aims to support a team of investigators and attorneys to prosecute known individuals in KwaZulu-Natal, with the aim of setting a precedent for other poachers, who will then know that the conservation sector is serious about taking these culprits to task.