As the sun shone true over the acacia trees on a crisp May morning, along came the Lessons in Conservation bakkie - affectionately known as “Kili” - once again carrying eager team members ignited with passion, hoping to light the flame of conservation within more of our precious youth.
They set off early with the morning sun, making their way through to Mongena Private Game Lodge to teach a new group of bright souls and grow our army of conservation warriors.
A sea of smiling faces was ready to greet them as they hopped out of Kili, each carrying a pen and notebook, eager to learn - the day was about to begin.
As they navigated one-by-one through the lessons, the sparkle in their eyes grew and grew, seemingly never ending – the biggest reward they could hope to receive.
The true rewards, however, were yet to come - the first being the kids’ answer to what they wanted to do when they grew up.
Almost every answer related to making a change in our natural world - success number one!
The room was filled with such personality and interaction, making teaching every lesson such a rewarding and enjoyable experience.
With every slide came at least three hands, budding with questions, and with every activity came 10 volunteers, ready to throw themselves into everything that stood before them.
Through their own curiosity, firing question after question and openly discussing the topics at hand, they expanded their understanding of our natural world one raised hand at a time.
As the day drew to a close, the team were rewarded furthermore with practice turning to play after the final lesson when the kids experienced the joy of their very own game drive.
All identified animals, plants and the importance thereof is just that much more special when the fresh passion for conservation of every smiling face shines through.
And along came another incredible gift - a male lion eating its prey directly in front of the vehicle, in full site of all the kids.
The true beauty of seeing these majestic creatures in action lay in watching the kids realise that they want to do whatever they can to help protect this natural peace.
Experiences like this remind us how special what we do is, and how privileged we are to be able to spread this passion and love for conservation far and wide.
“I believe that education is all about being excited about something. Seeing passion and enthusiasm helps push an educational message” Steve Irwin
Thank you to the Kevin Richardson Foundation and Mongena for allowing us to ignite a fire in our sleeping lions once again - together we can change the world.
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