Wilderness Leadership School hosts information sharing morning in Cape Town and Durban for prospective students
The Wilderness Leadership School, based at the Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve in Durban, will host an information morning for its Nature Guide Training Course (FGASA Level 1) for its January 2018 intake, at Bishops Diocesan College Library in Rondebosch, Cape Town on Saturday, 11 November from 10am to 12noon and at the School in Durban on Saturday, November 18 from 10 to 12 noon.
The Wilderness Leadership School, founded by the legendary Dr Ian Player in 1952, who together with his friend and mentor Magqubu Ntombela, recognised the necessity for people to connect with the environment. “Long before ecology had become a vogue catch-word, the Wilderness Leadership School foresaw the urgent need for a large body of well-informed, conservation-oriented leaders, capable of and dedicated to the defense of the planet’s irreplaceable natural resources,” says Cherryl Curry, CEO of the Wilderness Leadership School
The School provides opportunities for trailists from around the globe to experience real wilderness, which in turns helps to instill a sense of appreciation for the needs and laws of the natural environment, as well as a meaningful personal growth experience. But besides the various trails, the school understands the constant and urgent need for more passionate people to become qualified nature guides to continue educating and exposing people to the importance of conserving our natural heritage.
In an effort to continue the legacy of Player and Ntombela, the School offers a Field Guide Association of South Africa (FGASA) Level 1 training course for nature guides which are CATHSSETA accredited and meet the required legal standard for guiding tourists.
The training is offered for a period of three months and students are able to live at the school’s accommodation in the reserve, or live out. The course work includes theory and practical sessions in Tembe Elephant Park, as well as first aid training. Experts in various fields are invited to give presentations, and students are also given an opportunity early on in the course to experience a five day wilderness trail in the iMfolozi Wilderness Area.
“We do not just want to train guides, we want to train exceptional guides, guides with unparalleled understanding of our planet and her ecosystems, guides that can interpret the magic of a butterfly opening its wings with as much enthusiasm as the magnificence of a herd of elephants crossing a river, guides who can use their time with tourists to spread the conservation message, guides who can become future conservation leaders, guides who can open people's eyes to the power of mother nature and wilderness,” says Cherryl. “But this course is also so much more, it's an opportunity for personal growth, for learning new skills and an experience of a lifetime.”
For more info or to book a seat contact reservations@wildernesstrails.org.za. Details of the school’s activities can be found on the website www.wildernesstrails.org.za
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