The jutting peaks and rutted ravines of the Cape Fold Mountains is a key geographical landmark in the Western Cape. Hundreds of thousands of people see it from a distance every day, and tens of thousands more live and farm on its slopes, drive through and around it and use it as a recreational area. Yet one of the most important inhabitants of these mountains remains unknown to the majority of people that live and visit here…
“No one will protect what they don’t care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced.”
~ Sir David Attenborough“Only if we understand can we care. Only if we care will we help. Only if we help shall they be saved.”
~ Dame Jane Goodall
These are the words of two of Nature’s most respected patrons. It is also the inspiration and motivation for our communication and media initiatives. In our modern era of societal disconnect from nature it is more important than ever to understand, care for and wisely manage our natural resources and wildlife. As an organisation focussed on the enigmatic leopard, we are ideally placed to use our voice and reach to raise public awareness about biodiversity and conservation challenges.
One way of doing so is by ensuring that our research, conservation and education messages are disseminated accurately in an accessible format to a wide audience. We maintain a strong presence in online, social, print and broadcast media via digital storytelling, content creation and popular articles. We give public talks and maintain regular communication and liaison with private landowners, partner organisations and funders. We publish our scientific results in peer-reviewed scholarly journals and feedback these findings to the general public in digestible language and visual representation. We have designed several information resources like large-format interpretive information boards, landowner’s guides (in collaboration with CapeNature), as well as various graphic aids, posters and flyers – explore our Resources section for more.
In our digital age of AI, misinformation and distortion of the facts, it is more important than ever to provide proper context and perspective. With the tap of a button, an unassuming post can be elevated to ‘viral’ status, reaching millions of people. We have learnt that clearly and unambiguously presenting simple results from robust research leaves little room for misinterpretation. We take great care and time to ensure that the messaging we put out aligns with our scientific findings and ethos as an organisation. We aim for communication with integrity that is simple, unambiguous, non-sensationalist, transparent and pragmatic.
