The power of sport – awareness and conservation practice
As we all get back to our lives under the new normal post-COVID-19 and with people being allowed to gather in numbers again, we felt the need for some rigorous outreach to the local communities to catch up and address issues of poaching in particular, which has taken a worrying turn for the worse, induced by the lockdowns of the pandemic period. With support from Tusk, on the 9th of August 2022, we conducted an awareness campaign in Lupote, one of the communities on the boundary of Hwange National Park. We made sure it coincided with the Jane Bubear Sports Foundation (JBSF) sponsored Heroes Day Soccer Tournament final, being held in Lupote, which was organized by our co-sponsored Rhino Cup Champions League Zimbabwe - Iganyana Division with Wild and Free Foundation, and we brought in ZimParks, Forestry Commission, ZRP, Lupote Clinic and local leadership.
Together we mobilised more than 1000 people whom we entertained with a quiz competition (amongst other activities) and delivered an important message to conserve our fauna and flora. It was no surprise that most of the quiz prizes were scooped by kids who had gone through our Iganyana Children's Bush Camp!
Sport and wildlife conservation coming together is perhaps one of the most effective ways to engage with local communities and raise awareness. We are glad the soccer league has taken a centre stage in the community, reaching out to all ages from diverse communities and backgrounds.
The Conservation Award
Beyond the pitch, we encourage teams in our league, to engage in conservation activities such as tree planting, clean-up litter campaigns, and gulley reclamations, to name a few, in their communities. We encourage them to lead by example and teach their communities to live in harmony with nature. To this effect, we introduced the Conservation Award.
The award recognises a team or teams that have engaged in the most conservation activities in their community during the league season. This year’s inaugural award went to Chezhou’s Zebras FC. The team did not only do some of the prescribed activities but also went on to bring a new dimension by patrolling their community boundary as a team targeting and removing wire snares. Coincidentally, the Zebras FC are at the top of the league table! Painted Dog Conservation directly funded this award.
Our appeal is to have a dedicated sponsor to help support this award moving forward as we create an environment where not only painted dogs, but people and the rest of wildlife can thrive. A total of US$1000 annually would take care of this program.