Here at Morukuru Family Madikwe, we are immersed in the bush and get to witness amazing sightings of the Big Five, interesting sighting of the Little Five and unusual sightings of everything in between. We feel lucky and grateful … and often feel we are living our dreams.
Other members of our Morukuru Family like our reservations team in Johannesburg, get to enjoy our wonderful reserve remotely - we keep them up to date with any exciting news but they are slightly removed from the day to day bush business. However, these urban warriors didn’t let their location get in the way when they got together and championed a new conservation project.
April and Melanie who man our reservations office in Johannesburg were already supporting the Owl Rescue Centre in Hartbeespoort, by recycling waste plastics which are used to build owl houses for rescued birds.
The Owl Rescue Centre put word out on Facebook that they were looking for a possible site in the Northwest Province for release of Southern White-faced owls (Ptilopsis granti). Thanks to the power of social media and the passion of our reservations team the Morukuru Goodwill Foundation (MGWF) partnered with the Owl Rescue Centre. We are proud to say that the rescued owls have been recently been released and they are living on the Morukuru property. We hope to use this site for further releases.
If you are interested in the ongoing efforts of the Owl Rescue Centre and would like to get involved, you can make a contribution by buying an owl house made from recycled plastic, which provides shelter and creates a possible nesting site. You can put this up in your garden. You can also “adopt” an owl - which means you will financially support an owl during the rehabilitation process until it can be released into the wild. You can visit the centre to find out more about the owls and the work of the rescue centre or you can make a monetary contribution, as the Owl Rescue Centre is a non-profit organisation and relies on the support of donors.
Our Reservation office continues to support the Owl Rescue Centre by making eco-bricks. This involves filling up 2L plastic bottles with non-recyclable materials like cling wrap, crisp packets, wrappers, tinfoil etc. This waste is compacted to create a “brick” which is then used to build homes and schools.
Climate change activist Greta Thunberg said, “We are going to change the fate of humanity, whether you like it or not”. Be like Greta and April and Melanie - and make a difference.