DGR COMMUNITY
DGR COMMUNITY
DINOKENG VOLUNTARY RANGER ASSOCIATION A YEAR OF POSITIVITY
To Our Cherished Visitors,
the Tshwaraganang Children’s Home for example. During these visits, we collected generous donations, including clothing and food. We arranged braai days to foster relationships and uplift the community’s perception of the Dinokeng Game Reserve’s value and partnership. Public awareness is paramount to our mission, and we held 30 awareness projects within the reserve to educate visitors about its significance, how to enjoy it, and promote local resorts and bed & breakfasts. As we ventured into 2025, we kicked off on January 18th and have already found success in various projects. Notably, we removed 35 active
tasks such as checking permits—3,714 in total—road cleaning from broken trees, vehicle recovery efforts for both visitors and Lodge owned game- viewing vehicles etc. Our dedication extends beyond public safety; we successfully conducted 10 snare removal projects, extracting 134 active snares with the participation of 36 dedicated members. Additionally, our invasive plant removal initiatives saw over 4,000 Lantana bushes removed from the riverside area, safeguarding our precious trees, animals, and insects. In our commitment to the local community, the Voluntary Rangers organized and participated in 46 visits to community centres in Hammanskraal: Pat-Rico and
snares during two snare sweeps. We also hosted a Birding course led by expert Rinze Woude, which drew an enthusiastic response with 637 requests with 40 seats available—an exciting indicator of the growing interest in birding within Dinokeng! One of the highlights so far has been our inaugural Children’s Day “Earth Project”. We welcomed 16 children from the Tshwaraganang Children’s Home—all of whom had never set foot in a game reserve. The day was filled with educational and fun activities, igniting a spark of curiosity and love for wildlife in these young hearts. The children were divided into teams named after iconic African animals, and they engaged in various games, crafts using recyclable
As I sit back at my desk today, reflecting on how swiftly time has passed since New Year’s Day, I am excited to share some significant achievements of the Dinokeng Voluntary Rangers Association (DVRA) from the past year. With our team now comprising 43 fully enlisted members, we’ve dedicated ourselves to numerous projects that protect and honor the remarkable natural environment we all cherish. Between February 2024 and February 2025, our committed team logged an impressive 5,676 ( 473 individual days) hours patrolling the self-drive route. This time was not merely spent observing nature; it included vital
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