Foto: Lapalala Wilderness School staff68 Spotlight 14/2019 NATURE
Paradise found
LWS welcomes 3,000 children each
year, most of whom come from within a
100-kilometre radius. Places are awarded
on a first-come, first-served basis. “The
school is already booked up for the rest of
the year,” Monyeki tells me.
The school sponsors poor children,
who make up 70 per cent of the partic-
ipants. Rich kids from private schools
pay for the experience, bringing in funds,
boosted by donations, for those less for-
tunate.
I meet the current group’s teachers, and
together, we follow Monyeki into the can-
teen. Over a pot of rooibos tea and a plate
of biscuits, we discuss the programme for
the next few days and the teachers’ goals.
“We want the children to learn how
to take care of animals and the planet,”
says one teacher. They’re certainly in the
right place. LWS offers environmental
education programmes for primary and
secondary schools, for university stu-
dents specializing in conservation and
the management of biodiversity, as well
as for teacher training.
Some former LWS pupils go on to be-
come teachers. Others become environ-
mental leaders. Monyeki first came to
LWS as a high-school student, and was
inspired by his experience to study con-
servation. LWS paid for his studies. He
now works full-time at the school, helping
to spread the environmental message to
the next generation of pupils.
Director Mashudu Makhokha hopes
that all of them will become ambassa-
dors for conservation, regardless of their
chosen field. “Our mission is to identify
environmental champions of the future,”
he tells me. “Our youth development pro-
gramme hopes to identify and nurture po-
tential leaders in conservation.”
This has to be the best learning envi-
ronment to get the green message across:
no rows of desks in an airless classroom;
instead, the great outdoors, where pupils
are exposed to the wonders of nature. In-
stead of rote learning and multiplication
tables, subjects on the curriculum include
game drives to view creatures such as ele-
phants, educational talks about snakes
and other creepy-crawlies, and guided
nature walks.
While walking, climbing and simply
having fun outside, the children soak up
knowledge in a natural environment.At the same time, they learn the basics,
especially reading. “LWS has notably in-
creased the quality of academic pass rates
at local schools by highlighting literacy
and the ability to read with understand-
ing,” Makhokha says.
Tonight, the children will start to read
the story of the rhino. Then, over the next
few days, they will learn about issues such
as climate change, recycling and biodiver-
sity, do activities such as a game drive and
hear a talk about saving the rhino.
First, though, there’s an introductory
talk to welcome the children to LWS. I
watch a sea of bewildered faces looking
up at their teacher as she explains the
ground rules. For most of the children, it’s
their first time away from home, offering
a glimpse of a whole new world. It’s sure
to be a bit overwhelming.Breaking the ice
An obstacle course serves as an icebreak-
er. The children line up in teams, ready to
race against each other while clearing a
set of physical obstacles. Running around,
playing, the kids are back on familiar ter-
ritory. Soon, excited laughter and raised
voices take the place of silence.
Some children jump easily over the
obstacles, while others have trouble. Chal-
lenges include wriggling through old car
tyres, balancing along wooden poles, us-
ing your weight as a team to tip a see-saw
and assembling as a team on a tyre. “This
last one really inspires team building,”
says Makhokha.
Leaving the children behind, he leads
the way through an electric gate, opening
it very carefully. “Is the electricity still
on?” I ask. “Yes,” he says with a laugh, as I
carefully squeeze past.
After a couple of hundred metres, we
arrive at the clear waters of the Palala
River. Makhokha reaches down and fills
his water bottle before taking a long gulp.
“Look, clean drinking water,” he says.
We step over rocks to reach the middle
of the river so that Makhokha can show
me the children’s favourite activity, “the
bum slide”. The name says it all: the chil-
dren slide down over the rocks, pushed
along by the current. Life jackets are a
must. “Most of them can’t swim,” he tells
me.
I’d like to give the bum slide a go my-
self, but decide to leave it to the kids. I
look at the fence sticking out of the water,ambassador
[Äm(bÄsEdE]
, Botschafter(in)
assemble [E(semb&l]
, zusammenkommen
award [E(wO:d]
, vergeben
awkwardness
[(O:kwEdnEs]
, Unbehagen, Ver
legenheit
bewildered [bi(wIldEd]
, verwirrt
boost [bu:st]
, unterstützen
bum [bVm] UK ifml.
, Hintern, Popo
bumpy [(bVmpi]
, holprig
conservation
[)kQnsE(veIS&n]
, hier: Naturschutz
creepy-crawly
[)kri:pi (krO:li] ifml.
, Krabbelgetier
current [(kVrEnt]
, Strömung
donation [dEU(neIS&n]
, Spende
exposed: be ~ to sth.
[Ik(spEUzd]
, mit etw. in Kontakt
gebracht werden
funds [fVndz]
, Geldmittel
game drive [(geIm draIv]
, SafariTrip
gulp [gVlp]
, Schluck
issue [(ISu:]
, Thema, Problemlife jacket [(laIf )dZÄkIt]
, Rettungsweste,
Schwimmweste
literacy [(lIt&rEsi]
, Bildung, Alphabe
tisierung
nurture [(n§:tSE]
, erziehen, fördern
obstacle course
[(QbstEk&l kO:s]
, Hindernisparcours
overwhelming
[)EUvE(welmIN]
, überwältigend
participant
[pA:(tIsIpEnt]
, Teilnehmer(in)
pole [pEUl]
, Stange
regardless of sth.
[ri(gA:dlEs Ev]
, unabhängig von...
rote learning
[(rEUt )l§:nIN]
, Auswendiglernen
seal off [si:&l (Qf]
, abriegeln, absperren
see-saw [(si: sO:]
, Wippe, Schaukelbrett
soak up [sEUk (Vp]
, aufsaugen
squeeze past
[skwi:z (pa:st]
, sich durchquetschen
tip [tIp]
, kippen
tuck into sth. [tVk (IntE]
ifml.
, sich etw. schmecken
lassen
wriggle [(rIg&l]
, schlängeln, sich windensealing off the area. I sure hope crocodiles
can’t climb.
Back at the school, the children eager-
ly tuck into their lunch, all sense of awk-
wardness forgotten. It looks as if they’ve
always lived here. After lunch, they run
around barefoot, playing football in the
sand, smiling from ear to ear.Walker on the wild side
I leave them to their games and laughter
and go on a bumpy 4x4 drive to outside
the small town of Vaalwater to meet
LWS’s founder and one of South Africa’s
best-known conservationists, Clive Walk-
er. A small man with a bushy white beard