Born in Africa newsletter Aug 2011 English ... - Helloplett.co.za

Camping for a greener future!
Nature’s Valley is situated in the heart of the Garden
Route, 30 km from Plettenberg Bay and surrounded by
pristine indigenous forests and picture perfect sandy
beaches…This exquisite setting is where Born in Africa
recently held two camps to commemorate the “2011
International Year of the forest.”
The GR9 & 10 Born in Africa girls and GR8, 9 & 10
Born in Africa boys both took part in the fun filled
weekends. The superb programme was prepared by the
Nature’s Valley Trust. SANPARKS provided us with
tents fit for an authentic bush experience. The river was
to be our first activity where river monitoring took place.
This is where the children were given the task to collect
insects and identify the various species. Once this was
done, the pureness of the water could be tested.
After undertaking a bush hike where trees were identified,
the fun in the sun began. Sandcastle competitions,
beach soccer, volleyball, swimming and touch rugby
were a few of the activities the youngsters enjoyed.
The children also took part in a treasure hunt within the
very special “Phil Martin” botanical garden where various
clues to our special “fynbos” flora were given. The children’s
enthusiasm and knowledge of plants was inspiring
to the facilitators who battled to keep up! A tree
planting ceremony was held to emphasise the importance
of conservation.
No camp is complete without a true South African “braai”
and bonfire. Evenings were spend swopping stories under
the African stars.
Born in Africa would like to extend a warm thank you to
the following organisations who made these two camps
memorable: - Cindy-Lee Cloete of Nature’s Valley Trust,
Richmond of SANPARKS, Mac of WWISA, Debbie Fermor
and Rikke Dammann of the Greenticket.org, Pete
Wilson, Born in Africa staff and volunteers and most of
all the two groups of Born in Africa children who attended!