Let’s play football to celebrate wildlife!
A fun-filled day in South Africa celebrated wildlife and brought the community together as Rotondwa Sithagu, Born Free’s Education Coordinator, reports.
Every year, the United Nations World Wildlife Day takes place on 3rd March to commemorate nature, and highlight the significance of wild animals and plants.
Rotondwa Sithagu (c) Lyndon Brandt
Here in South Africa, Born Free’s Education team – based at Shamwari Private Game Reserve – held a special celebration with our neighbours, at a sports field in the nearby township of Paterson. We sponsored a football tournament with six Paterson teams taking part. But how does playing sport help wild animals?
It was an exciting tournament, with a close-fought, evenly matched final decided on penalties. After a nail-biting finish, the overall winners were delighted to be awarded medals, a football kit and ball, with the runners-up receiving medals and a ball, and the other teams receiving participatory medals. Everyone had a fantastic day. But, even better, the event was a brilliant opportunity to tell people about wildlife.
Our gratitude goes out to the community representatives who organised the teams for the day and helped facilitate the event. One individual, thanking Born Free, said the event not only raised awareness about conservation among young people, but kept them away from trouble and motivate them to play more sports. How incredible to see how sport can unite a community.
Our partners at Shamwari Private Game Reserve – home to two Born Free big cat sanctuaries – and the Lavelikhwezi Empowerment Project, joined the celebration with stands, talks and displays at the event. During the games there were opportunities for spectators to learn from various conservation organisations, including a new vulture project Vulpro, who explained why these birds of prey are vital for our ecosystem.
Our aim was to tell the community about wildlife through raising awareness and building knowledge. Small animal toys were used to teach younger audiences about the different types of wild animals found in the area, and their importance in nature. A conservation Q&A game was also played with the young people, with the winners presented with the toys.
The joy the day brought to most of the young children cannot be explained in words. The noise was spectacular, from the uproar of the fans watching the games, to music playing in the background, people dancing and a crowd of young children raising their hands and screaming out answers to the Q&A games.
Another objective was to foster empathy and respect for nature. We taught the audience about why recycling and sustainability are essential to keep our environment clean. It was amazing to see the youth gleaming with excitement when learning about nature and the animals found in close proximity to their community.
It did not take long for them to jump into action, as they took over recycling duties and walked all around the field with rubbish bags collecting tins, plastic and paper. Some of the older youth were especially interested in our work and how they could potentially carve their own careers in the conservation field.
The day went so well we’ve already been asked if we could make this annual event even bigger by including sports such as rugby and netball, and inviting more communities to join in. The event had been planned to run from 9am until 5pm, but we actually ended at 7pm due to the celebrations and the excitement it brought to the community.