Rehabilitation of Cecil Kop Nature Reserve

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About ZENWE TRUST

Location:

Tigers Kloof, Mutare, Manicaland 105, ZW

Mission Statement

Volunteering at Cecil Kop Nature Reserve includes many tasks in order to provide a safe place for animals in the park, according to your skills and wishes. . Re-fencing of the whole perimeter. Construction of bomas (temporary enclosures) to acclimatize game to the surroundings during restocking. . Fence patrols and maintenance as well as anti-poaching patrols and setting up of trail cameras and regular downloading of footages for animal census. . Opening footpaths for nature walks and educational programs and maintain them during and after the rainy season. . Eradication of invasive species and planting of indigenous tree seedlings. . Restocking and monitoring and survey of the existing species. Feeding certain animals such as our crocodile at the pond and the rescued snakes in their enclosures. . Zenwe Trust is also committed to helping the inhabitants of Mukahanana village, located near Osborne Dam : helping at school, at the clinic or in the fields.

Description

The 1500ha Cecil Kop Nature Reserve is located 3km from Mutare CBD, in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe and close to the Mozambican border. Much of the terrain in this Reserv is mountainous, with an elevation of an average 1300m above sea level.

Through the dark days of Zimbabwe’s economic crisis and due to mismanagement of the Reserve, 2006-2012 by certain people with the wrong motives, the reserve suffered heavy poaching and most of the electric fence was stolen or destroyed. Therefore a vast number of species including orphaned elephant, white rhino, giraffe, sable, eland, wildebeest, kudu, impala, pangolin.. were killed.Thanks to generous donors, approximately half the reserve has been re-fenced to date. But there’s still a lot to do to bring it back to its golden days.

Thus, in 2015, Zenwe Trust was created in order to, amongst many projects, rehabilitate Cecil Kop Nature Reserve while creating a working relationship between people and nature in which they both benefit and thrive. Part of it, the Zenwe Trust Volunteer Programme has been initiated in order to improve and maintain the reserve in its diversity and beauty with the help of motivated persons willing to give some time for a unique experience...