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To the greens for Sanparks
The SANParks Honorary Rangers held a golf day at the Pezula Championship Course on Sunday 17 October to raise funds for the Knysna Lakes section of the Garden Route National Park (GRNP).
The Honorary Rangers are the official volunteer organisation for SANParks and carry out various kinds of work in a bid to promote sustainable conservation in national parks around the country.
They also assist SANParks through numerous fundraising efforts, which helps ensure the parastatal can continue with sustainable conservation throughout national parks.
The two ball/better ball format was well-received by locals and golfers from afar.
With 98 golfers laced up, gloved up, and ready to go, they teed off with a shotgun start at 12:00.
While the morning’s weather was less than desirable with pouring rain, the skies cleared up later and offered slightly windy yet sunny conditions. At the end of the 18 holes, Leon Bart and Stanley Williams emerged victoriously, but instead of accepting their prize, they offered it back to be auctioned off for additional fundraising.
Photo gallery: Golf day at the Pezula Championship Course
This together with other fundraising efforts on the day raised R150 000, which will go far in helping SANParks complete the many items on their ‘wish list’.
This includes diving equipment and training for SANParks rangers, tactical defence equipment, navigation aids, a weather station, recycling bins for their new educational garden, signage, and the installation of new channel markers in the estuary.
The Honorary Rangers in Knysna have through the years played a pivotal role in getting work done for the Knysna Lakes section of the GRNP. In 2018 they contributed R80 000 to a new seahorse tank which was installed at the regional offices on Thesen Islands.
In 2019 they carried out their “Sea Starts Here” project, marking all drains with stencil drawings to remind residents that their impact on the estuary and the ocean starts at the drains.
They were awarded the 2020 Initiative Award by SANParks Honorary Rangers for this project.
In 2020, funds raised were used to assist local feeding schemes and to establish a small feeding scheme of their own, doing food deliveries themselves. They also assisted SANParks in Knysna with bodycams and other equipment to aid in anti-poaching efforts in the region.