The beauty of Suni-Ridge

"The upside of our life in the bush, as usual, is the beauty of Suni-Ridge. Every day is a gift and one feels the renewal of nature and God's presence. This time of the year is especially uplifting - not withstanding the heat - as all the young animals are born now.

The land is as beautiful as ever and the trees continue to revegetate. It is now a fully-fledged wildlife reserve. Animals are all over and numerous species are seen during any walk or drive. Impala, wildebeest, zebra, nyala, duiker, reedbuck, bush pig, suni, red dyker, grey duiker, tortoises, mongoose and many others including our tame zebra, "Old Boy" who lives on our lawn and often sleeps on our veranda.

We have a pair of green wood pigeons and 2 pairs of kingfishers that have made their home in our garden. There are also many hornbills, boerbuls, mossies, finches, sunbirds (3 varieties), starlings, and the list goes on. At the water holes we have Egyptian geese and white face whistling duck. There are also many hadeda shouting their wake up calls each morning. At night the owls, nightjar and bats can be seen and heard. Together with the screeching beetles and the croaking and squeaking of a myriad frogs, they make a loud chorus of African bush sounds as they serenade the waxing and waning moon.

When it is a clear night the sky is so close one can touch the stars. In the early morning the sunrise over the east always brings huge lung fills of crisp fresh air and sometimes a touch of the homely smell of a wood fire drifts across from a worker's home.

These indigenous people, the Zulu's, are a wonderful nation. We have great affinity with them and a peaceful existence in our area where we seem to be well thought of by them. For this we are truly thankful."

This article was written a few years ago by Janet Cutherbertson of Suni-Ridge Org. ZA.

Environmental Education for Local Zulu Communities

To preserve the natural heritage of this amazing area, we have a great challenge to reach as many rural children in our area with the message that wildlife and it's habitat is their natural heritage, to be protected, cared for and held in trust for present and future generations.

We offer an environmental course to youth leaders who set up conservation clubs in their schools. We estimate that for every one learner taken through our intensive environmental awareness and leadership course, 50 other learners will be gathered into the circle of concerned young conservationists.



These environmental leaders from Makhasa High School have been awarded their certificates for completing the Young Environmental Ambassadors Leadership Course. View the full program of Suni-Ridge's 5-day environmental course.

Wildlife Protection

At Suni-Ridge we do not utilise our wildlife as a resource.
Many wildlife reserves in South Africa use these "protected" animals for hunting, for the meat market or to be sold to others as breeding herds of wildlife for the same market.

This is a cruel exercise as wildlife families are displaced, mothers are often separated from young and beautiful animals in their prime are are killed for some hunter's wall.

Because of the high poverty levels, wildlife is also killed for meat (or for money, when it can be sold). You can see what we're currently doing about providing a sanctuary for the wildlife in and around Suni-Ridge.

You can also read about what happened to Silky the Zebra and her Mom, and about "Old Boy" Suni-Ridge's first territorial Zebra stallion.

Our Main Goals

In order to achieve our mission statement (see our first post), we've identified four main goals that we need to achieve:

1. Provide a Wildlife Sanctuary
2. Involve the Local Zulu Community
3. Young Environmental Ambassador's Leadership Course
4. Set up an orphanage for local Zulu children, most are HIV/AIDS orphans (FUTURE PROJECT)
5. Set up an orphanage for wildlife babies (FUTURE PROJECT)

Each of these goals covers different aspects of our daily life, and will be covered in detail on our website. A brief glimpse of the tasks ahead will follow shortly.

Our Mission Statement

Mission Statement of Suni-Ridge Sand Forest Park Environmental Rehabilitation Centre

Whereas the inhabitants of Suni-Ridge and the surrounding region share a set of common natural resources and depend upon these resources for their livelihood and quality of life and being mindful of the fact that the long-term survival of a man depends on ensuring that natural life support systems continue to operate at optimum levels:

It was and is therefore agreed that:

An Environmental Rehabilitation Centre be established and that the name of the Centre shall be the SUNI-RIDGE SAND FOREST PARK ENVIRONMENTAL REHABILITATION CENTRE.