SanParks, Good Work Foundation partner to expand rural conservation education and jobs
South African National Parks (SanParks) and the Good Work Foundation (GWF) have joined forces to expand digital learning and skills training near key national parks, aiming to provide rural youth with career opportunities in conservation and environmental management.
Source: SanParks | SANParks CEO Hapiloe Sello and Good Work Foundation CEO Kate Groch sign a cooperation agreement that will see the establishment of more digital learning campuses in the vicinity of national parks, benefiting township and rural communities.
The collaboration will initially focus on the Greater Kruger National Park, with plans to extend across other regions, including the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, and Free State.
Under a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), GWF plans to grow its footprint by establishing additional digital learning campuses adjacent to national parks. The non-profit currently operates five campuses in Mpumalanga — including a central campus in Hazyview and four satellite campuses around Sabi Sands — and one in Philippolis, Free State.
SanParks, which manages 21 national parks, will work with GWF to expand access to digital education and skills training in rural and township communities surrounding these parks. The Hazyview campus will serve as a gateway hub to the Kruger National Park, offering conservation-focused education and job-readiness programmes for local youth.
Source: Good Work Foundation | Schoolchildren attending supplementary classes at Good Work Foundation’s digital learning campuses learn how to make and code Lego Spike robots using technology.
Closing the digital divide in key regions
GWF campuses will also be established near SanParks’ "mega living landscapes", including the Addo Elephant National Park (Eastern Cape), Golden Gate Highlands National Park (Free State), and Augrabies Falls and Namaqua National Parks (Northern Cape).
GWF CEO Kate Groch said: “GWF’s mission is to connect young South Africans with the skills they need to access opportunities for careers in South Africa’s rural spaces.” She added that the partnership aligns with SanParks’ 2040 vision for people-centred, climate-resilient protected areas.
Groch highlighted GWF’s track record, saying, “GWF already has more than a decade of proof of the effectiveness of our digital education model. We have also been wanting to scale our operations by identifying more local economies we can tap into in rural spaces. So, we started to talk with SANParks about being their education partner and supporting them in achieving their 2040 vision, while aligning with our own 2030 strategy.”
Source: Good Work Foundation: Good Work Foundation Conservation Academy students marvel at seeing an elephant up close in its natural habitat. More young people adjacent to South Africa’s national parks will soon have the opportunity to access vocation-specific conservation education, thanks to a new partnership between SANParks and GWF.
Empowering communities and creating jobs
The partnership aims to strengthen local conservation economies, including opportunities for teachers and youth. With GWF already serving over 13,500 young people, Groch expects the new campuses to provide tens of thousands more with education, skills, and employment prospects.
She noted: "Many children living near game parks have never seen a lion or elephant in the wild…Opportunities are also set to open up for students at GWF’s Career Academies and Bridging Year Academy to undertake internships and work placements at SanParks establishments."
Groch, a qualified zoologist and former teacher, said: "If the work we do to connect young people to these job opportunities and careers ends up supporting a vision to protect our beautiful wild spaces, that’s an added impact. The bigger picture is about nurturing young people who can work in those spaces, who are connected to those spaces and who also start to develop those spaces thoughtfully."
Long-term impact
“The opportunities are endless for the development of those regions and communities, as we seek to challenge what we learn, how we learn, who has access to learning and how we get young rural South Africans into career paths in the economies where they live," Groch said, emphasising the initiative’s potential to build both skills and conservation stewardship across South Africa’s rural landscapes.