Steve Erwin?? Jeff Corwin?? Come on. I am waiting!!!

In typical Deren fashion I have gone and koeksistered myself royally!! I have probably had one of the most legendary weeks of my life and I will have to sit down and think pretty hard to find something to beat it….besides flying of course!!

The Slate Foundation, whose slogan is “So the children of tomorrow might know the animals of today”, have spent the last week here at the Rhino Sanctuary filming a show that will be broadcast on Discovery Channel together with other animals such as manatees, wolves, wild horses and whales, focusing on educating children on the importance of wildlife conservation. The show revolves around a day in the lives of the biologists, scientists and conservationists who dedicate their lives to save these magnificent animals.

So why have I gone and thrown myself a curve-ball and confused the hell out of myself? Well my whole idea- personally, is to educate people and particularly kids in the role they can and should play to conserve wildlife. Working with Madison, Bill and the rest of the crew made me realise just how powerful film can be in getting this message over to the kids of today. So yes, Deren is considering a career change!

Five days of chock-a-block filming that resulted in around 40 hours of footage and some unforgettable experiences has had a noticeable effect on my outlook on wildlife conservation. When I was first approached by Madison I had no idea what to expect as our last film crew who visited was rather disappointed and the rhinos did not co-operate and neither did I, as I went down with malaria the day they arrived! But these guys were incredible. Passionate, motivated, outgoing and just up for anything- it is just what I needed, and I think at the end of the day everyone involved took something special away from their time with the rhinos at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. And me who didn’t leave, my life was was enriched by a tiny self-funded, non-profit and motivated film crew who are striving (and succeeding) to educate the kids of today about our endangered species.

Check out their website. They do some incredible stuff!

To Bill, Madison, Seth, Carrie, Jason and Doc, a massive, massive thank you. See you all in LA sometime. Good luck with all your work and if you need someone in your team in the future you know where to find me! And watch out for those damn sticker bushes!! Keep on keeping on guys!