WHALE COAST CONSERVATION AND RIVENDELL ESTATE
JOIN HANDS FOR RHINO CONSERVATION
Spring arrived this first weekend of September with the Botriviera Spring Weekend at Rivendell Estate. The ‘pink’ theme included the Rivendell Rosé and the pink flowers decorating ‘Wetsi’ the wire replica of a rhino orphan. As part of the festivities Whale Coast Conservation and Rivendell Estate joined hands in a project to promote awareness of the serious threat to rhinos and to help raise funds for their conservation.
The two organisations signed an agreement setting out the roles of each of the partners. Whale Coast Conservation, together with Alda du Plooy of ‘Friends of Metsi’, will manage the Whale Coast Rhino Project in the Overstrand through a schools awareness programme, competitions for groups and individuals, rhino conservation and fundraising initiatives in schools and the community, and promotion of conservation awareness at special events and through the media. Rivendell Estate will support the WC Rhino Project as part of their environmental and social responsibility programme, by exhibiting Wetsi as a rhino ambassador, inserting pledge requests for the project into the Rivendell Bistro bill folder and tying coloured pledge ribbons onto Metsi, selling bead crafts and allocating a portion of profit earned from the sales of Mitzi Blue Africa chocolates to funding the Rhino Project.
Despite the formal tone of the agreement, the result is an exciting partnership that provides sound environmental education in schools and the community, great competitions, fun activities and innovative fundraising and will result in a positive step forward in the fight for our rhinos.
The Whale Coast Rhino project partnership agreement between Whale Coast Conservation and Rivendell Estate is viewed as a pilot for other similar agreements for other projects to protect the biodiversity of the Overberg District.
