Zipline Forest Fun

On Monday, 4 June 2018, eight excited learners from our local farm schools were ready to be brave and zipline in the canopy of the Karkloof’s magnificent indigenous forest. Earlier in the year, these learners achieved first prize in their age categories at the Three Cranes Big Day Out event, where they ran a mini […]

KRANES Family Camp 2017

There was great excitement as families arrived at Bushwillow Park in the Karkloof on the 9 December 2017, and started setting up camp together. Grown ups were prepped beforehand to be patient and to teach their kids the practical skills of setting up camp. It was great fun watching the kids learn (and in some […]

Deploy the Troops

It was a warm Autumn morning when the troops assembled for duty at the Karkloof Conservation Centre, ready to be deployed for a snare patrol and animal tracking activity on Gartmore Farm. We started by looking at Di Martin’s exciting collection of signs and scats, then had a briefing on snares and poaching. No snares […]

Freedom Day Family Hike

On a beautiful sunny Autumn morning about 40 parents and kids met for a family hike to the base of the Grey Mares Tail Waterfall. Although families did not necessarily stick together, the day provided wonderful memories for all who attended. The hike started with a tough uphill through the plantations, but the energy lift […]

Wings and Rings

The 1st April was a beautiful day for our KRANES bird ringing activity – the winds were at bay and the sun was shining. Karin Nelson, a qualified bird ringer was up with the sparrows to set up her nets and get started for the day (anyone who know Karin, will picture her drinking tea […]

Ribbet, Croak, Kwaak

KRANES Go Frogging Armed with headlamps, bare feet and gumboots, an excited group of froggers set off into the wetlands at the Karkloof Conservation Centre to search for some amphibian friends. Along the way, children learnt some fascinating facts about frogs from our favourite ‘frogspert’, Charlene Russell. Kezia Crow, who is only 7 years old, […]

Forest, Fireflies and Camping

Written by Janine Smith, Regional Secretary for the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Honorary Officers. Sixteen kids aged between 3.5 years and 11 years old spent two wonderfully exciting days at Bushwillow Caravan Park in the Karkloof, accompanied by parents and grandparent. This is thanks to the founders John and Linnet Crow, and Twané Clarke whose dream […]

Bugging Around

Thirty-five eager kids met on a misty morning at the Karkloof Conservation Centre for a morning of “Bugging Around” with the KRANES. Alex Jenkins, a local entomologist, presented a brief introduction into entomology (study of insects) to the eager kids and described all the unique characteristics of insects to them. The group then moved along the […]

An Eagle’s-Eye View

Learners from our 3 local farm schools, namely Hawkstone, Triandra and Yarrow Primary, participated in our Annual Conservation Art Project during June 2016. The theme for this year’s project was “An Eagle’s-Eye View”. Margaret Neunborn, our volunteer farm school project coordinator, set up some of the most delightful activities to teach the kids about the […]

KRANES At The Beach

On the 17 September 2016, a small group of Kranes joined Di Martin and the Durban North Honorary Officers for the 20th International Coastal Cleanup at Beachwood Mangroves on a cool overcast Saturday morning. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this outing and were surprised (and horrified) by the quantity and variety of litter strewn across the beach. […]