Chalupsky and Bartlett lead SA sports stars in conservation drive

South African sports legends Oscar Chalupsky and Shaun Bartlett will each captain a stellar lineup of sports stars who will come together to compete for the second Conservation Cup at Pearl Valley on Thursday, 4 September, to raise funds for local conservation projects.

Chalupsky will captain Team Rhino and Bartlett will lead Team Pangolin as their respective 44-player teams battle it out in a mini Ryder Cup 27-hole tournament format on Pearl Valley’s Jack Nicklaus Signature Course in what is the flagship fundraiser for the conservation work of The Fisher Foundation.

Sports stars such as Akona Ndungane, Odwa Ndungane, Gcobani Bobo, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Graeme Smith, Gary Teichmann, Neil Tovey, Mark Fish, André Joubert, Robbie Fleck, Schalk Burger Jnr., Marco Wentzel, Schalk Brits and Marc Watson will join an array of business leaders in the tournament, followed by a gala dinner and fundraiser, with coverage on SuperSport.

As part of the drive to inspire community action around conservation, The Fisher Foundation is also launching a new Champions in the Wild series, which highlights the role sports legends can play in inspiring the next generation.

The Conservation Cup supports The Fisher Foundation’s ongoing work of conservation and education among the youth living in communities adjacent to South Africa’s national parks and protected wildlife areas, as well as the relocation of vulnerable species.

FISHER FOUNDATION PROJECTS

The inaugural Conservation Cup (2024 Conservation Cup https://conservationcup.org/broadcast-video) was a resounding success and provided valuable support for numerous Fisher Foundation projects, including:

A football and life skills coaching clinic for 140 children conducted by Bafana Bafana legends Neil Tovey and Doctor Khumalo and supported by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sports, Arts and Culture and the Big 5 Hlabisa Local Municipality SAFA. This also included an immersive conservation education camp with a select group of Grade 7 learners.

The collaring and translocation of five elephants from the Asante Sana Reserve to Longhill in the Eastern Cape as part of The Fisher Foundation’s support of the movement of vulnerable species to safer and more sustainable habitats.

The translocation of five cheetah from the Waterberg to the Lowveld as well as cross-border into Mozambique in collaboration with the Wildlife Emergency Fund and the Endangered Wildlife Trust. This particular intervention assisted in strengthening genetics and contributing to the cheetahs’ metapopulation programme.

Rhino dehorning projects as well as the supply of GPS tracking devices to help combat poaching and provide real-time location and behaviour monitoring.

“We are extremely grateful to our sports stars who are a powerful voice in driving home the message of conservation of our most precious wildlife assets. We believe that investing in conservation education during the formative years of our children’s lives will translate into a more sustainable future for generations,” says Richard Fisher, the Founder and Executive Chairman of City Logistics and President of The Fisher Foundation.

“Our immersive education camps in protected wildlife areas go a long way to ensuring that future generations will conserve, protect and cherish our gifted natural heritage.”