How did this all come collectively to create a brand new wildlife reserve in lower than a decade?
It took onerous work and concerted conservation motion, requiring help from hundreds of particular person donors, and a pushed crew of individuals with totally different skills and backgrounds, all utilized with singular focus to guard and restore nature. Our systematic method will be summarized in parallel steps we took to PROTECT, RESTOREand REWILD nature.
We first protected Ukuwela’s habitat by land purchases, and by teaming up with conservation-minded neighbors who voluntarily included their personal land to sew collectively the reserve. We then employed a crew of rangers, which has grown from 4 to eight robust, patrolling day and evening and serving to handle the land.
Subsequent, work started restoring Ukuwela’s tapestry of ecosystems: from wetlands to combined grasslands and forest. Our crew rolled up their sleeves to manually fight the proliferation of invasive alien species, which pose a major menace to native wildlife and vegetation. We created a complete full-time (and all feminine!) ecosystem restoration crew, the Inexperienced Mambas, who take away alien vegetation on daily basis, whereas supporting their households because of their new jobs in conservation.
And probably the most inspiring step: rewilding. As soon as Ukuwela’s habitat was protected and main alien plant infestations tackled, we might then start reintroducing native species that had lengthy been absent. Many volunteers and donors have supported this work, and personally witnessed the primary giraffe, zebra, impala, wildebeest, reedbuck, waterbuck, nyala and kuda releases!
Nature then, as soon as protected and free of alien vegetation, will get to work restoring herself. You will notice this at present at Ukuwela in every new impala calf, zebra foal and newly noticed chicken species. Nature, when given an opportunity, will regenerate.