Tag Archives: wildlife conservation

A fundraising talk by wildlife film producer Alastair Fothergill

December 5, 2016Africa, Charity, Charity fundraising event, Community projects, Nature Conservation, The Waterberg Trust, Uncategorized#wildlifephotography, behind the scenes in tv and film, behind-the-scenes, Charity fundraising, Charity fundraising event, Charity fundraising talk by Alastair Fothergill, Elfinglen trays, Fundraising event, Fundraising for the Waterberg Trust Challenge Ride, How the BBC series 'The Hunt' was made, inspirational talk, Juliet Maddan, make a difference, Making a Difference, natural history filmmaking, Nature Conservation, new techniques in wildlife filming, Save the Waterbeg Rhino, Talk on wildlife filmmaking by Alastair Fothergill, television producer, wildlife conservation, wildlife filmmaker, wildlife filmmaking, wildlife photographySophie Neville

alastair-fothergill-speaking-about-his-series-the-hunt

Multi award-winning filmmaker Alastair Fothergill, who’s produced most of the landmark natural history series presented by Sir David Attenborough, along with five feature films for DisneyNature, flew from Los Angeles to speak at our charity fundraising event in Yorkshire hosted by TWT rider Juliet Maddan and her amazing team.

sophie-neville-alastair-fothergill-and-juliet-maddan — TWT Trustee Sophie Neville with Alastair Fothergill & Juliet Maddan

Every penny raised by the talk went go straight to The Waterberg Trust who have a cost-effective way of sending it to projects in South Africa.

50% of funds raised went to Save the Waterberg Rhino and 50% went to educational projects benefiting the rural community including Lapalala Wilderness School and Lethabo Kids Club

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Sponsorship was found for the drinks reception held before the talk when TWT riders served wine and canapes

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This enabled people to meet Alastair and learn about projects in the Waterberg

caroline-gardner-with-peter-scrope-vice-lord-lieutenant — Former High Sherrif Mrs Caroline Gardner with Vice Lord Lieutenant Peter Scrope

The Yorkshire Party Company supplied delicious things to eat, while others kindly donated wine. Asygarth School gave the use of their auditorium and facilities free of charge.

canapes

Juliet Maddan saw everyone was settled in their seats

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before Alastair’s multi-media talk on his series ‘The Hunt’ made for BBC Television.

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It featured animal behaviour never before captured on film.

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We also learnt quite a bit about how the sequences were made.

A couple of questions from the audience were taken after the talk.

juliet-maddan-with-her-audience

A fundraising raffle run by Jolenta Henderson was drawn for a case of proseco donated by Edward Theakston, Alastair’s book, an Elfinglen tray and other lovely prizes.

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TWT rider Mairi Hunt painted two watercolours of rhino for the event, one of which is depicted on this special limited edition Elfinglen tray, now available for £100

limited-edition-watercolour-of-rhino-on-an-elfinglen-tray

To buy one of these large handmade trays made in aid of The Waterberg Trust please contact Elfinglen by clicking here.

Limited edition bird trays are also for sale for £100 each

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A sculpture of a rhino with her baby by Unity Heald was sold in a secret auction.

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Very many thanks to all who supported this memorable event

that has been covered by The Northern Echo and other regional newspapers.

Here are some of the film clips Alastair showed us:

Wildlife spotted on The Waterberg Challenge Ride 2016

April 9, 2016Africa, Charity, Charity fundraising event, Nature Conservation, Nonprofit, South Africa, The Waterberg Trust, Travel, Uncategorized, Waterbergadventure, Africa, Baby rhino at Ant's Nest, Charity, Charity fundraising, Charity fundraising event, endangered wildlife, Fundraising event, Game viewing at Ant's Hill, Game viewing at Ant's Nest, horse safari, Horseback, Limpopo Province, Long distance riding, photo of Livingstone eland, photos of buffalo, photos of rhino calf, photos of white rhino, Riding, riding in Africa, riding with game, South Africa, Sponsored ride, Watching rhino at Ant's Nest, Waterberg, wildlife, Wildlife at Ant's Hill, wildlife conservation, Wildlife on Ant's NestSophie Neville

Buffalo by Anne Lester

Anne Lester, who came on The Waterberg Challenge Ride in South Africa this March, has just sent in some of the photographs she took of wildlife encountered on horseback.

Giraffe by Anne Lester

We rode close to giraffe, and were able to watch a group of eleven browsing.

Livingstone eland by Anne Lester

This is a breeding herd of rare Livingstone eland, the largest antelope species found in South Africa. We also spotted waterbuck, kudu, nyala, grey duiker, sable, roan, blessbok, oryx, red heartebeest and numerous herds of impala.

Riding with rhino by Anne Lester

You can see how close we were able to get to animals on Ant’s Nest game reserve, a sanctuary for white rhino. Poaching in South Africa has become such a threat that these rhinoceros have had their horns impregnated with poison so they have no market value.

Rhino cow by Anne Lester

The rhinos are accompanied by armed guards 24 hours a day. This is expensive but meant that the animals are well habituated to horses and we managed to get very close.

Baby Rhino by Anne Lester

The good news is that the rhino are breeding well and are in good condition. This calf was born two months ago after a two-year birthing interval.

Riding up to a rhino calf by Anne Lester

We are currently fund-raising for Save The Waterberg Rhino who are striving to protect this special area as well as organising community projects so that local children can learn about the importance of nature conservation and ecology. If you can help, please go to The Waterberg Trust Justgiving.com page here. We have a Facebook page here.

Making a Difference: Teaching Conservation Skills at Lapalala Wilderness School in South Africa

January 26, 2016Africa, Charity, Charity fundraising event, Education, Limpopo Province, Nature Conservation, Peer Education, South Africa, The Waterberg Trust, Uncategorized, Vaalwater, Vulnerable Children, Waterberg, YouthAchievement, activity holiday, adventure, Africa, Charity, Charity fundraising, Charity fundraising event, Community, Community Programmes, conservation skills, conservation training, eco school, Education, environmental education, Fundraising event, horse safari, Horseback, Justgiving, Limpopo Province, Long distance riding, make a difference, Making a Difference, Nature Conservation, raising awareness, Riding, riding in Africa, South Africa, Southern Africa, Sponsored ride, Transformed Lives, Waterberg, wildlife conservation, youth empowerment, youth opportunitiesSophie Neville

Lapalala Wilderness School wins Eco School Award and inspires others

The Waterberg Trust Challenge Ride 2016 is currently raising funds and looking for sponsorship to help this award winning eco-school on the Palala River in the Limpopo Province of South Africa.

The Lapalala Wilderness School was established thirty years ago to give children from disadvantaged areas to have the opportunity to spend a week learning about nature conservation while gaining practical skills in the African bush.

If you would like to support this excellent educational project, you can make a donation on JustGiving via The Waterberg Trust and add a note with your donation specifying “Lapalala Wilderness School”

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