UCT congratulates the Mazda Wildlife Fund on its 20th Anniversary

Driven by the spirit of commitment since 1990, the Mazda Wildlife Fund reaches out far beyond its vehicles, showrooms and factories, by nurturing our nation’s wildlife through the loan of Mazda vehicles to high-priority conservation projects. “The Fund is dedicated to protecting and preserving our rich and irreplaceable natural heritage, having invested over R23 million, and is committed to a future investment of R1.5 million per year, contributing towards a multitude of conservation endeavours critical for the survival of our planet in areas such as education, conservation and research” says Humphrey LeGrice, Manager of the Fund. The Fund currently supports 30 non-government and non-profit organization projects.

Of particularly good news to UCT is that during the past two decades, seven Mazda Wildlife Fund vehicles have been loaned to UCT research projects in the Departments of Zoology and Botany, including the Animal Demography Unit and the Percy FitzPatrick Institute. This amounts to more than 21 years of research support, including vehicle servicing – truly a driving force behind conservation research. These projects have ranged from Bird and Frog Atlasses, to conservation of coastal birds and the Cape Flora. The FitzPatrick Institute’s Ludwig’s Bustard conservation project currently has a loan Mazda 4x4 double cab and our Cape Parrot Forest Ambassadors project has been approved to receive a loan vehicle in 2011.

“It gives us great pleasure therefore in the FitzPatrick Institute’s 50th Anniversary year to extend our warmest congratulations, on behalf of UCT, to the Mazda Wildlife Fund”, says Dr Rob Little, Manager of the Fiztitute’s DST/NRF Centre of Excellence. Without the fund value of these MWF loan vehicles, many of the projects that they have supported would have had serious budgetary constraints on their successes and outcomes.

IMAGE: Ludwig’s Bustard Mazda Wildlife Fund vehicle: left, Humphrey LeGrice, Manager of the Fund, and right, PhD student Jess Shaw (Photo by Chris Tobler).