People, Preschoolers, and Planet – Community Conservation with Wild Tomorrow’s Aphiwe Notshaya (Part 2)

What if saving wildlife starts with school lunches, backpacks, and bush walks? In Part 2 of the Wild Tomorrow series, community leader Aphiwe Notshaya joins Dr. Diane to share how a community partnership approach to conservation in rural South Africa is feeding preschoolers, supporting orphaned and vulnerable children, opening doors to university, and building real climate resilience—one partnership at a time.

Summary

In this episode, Dr. Diane continues the Wild Tomorrow series with community conservation manager Aphiwe Notshaya. Aphiwe describes her path from aspiring accountant to environmental manager and how Wild Tomorrow lets her merge people-centered work with habitat protection. 

Aphiwe shares how the Early Childhood Development (ECD) program supports preschools with teacher training, toys, and monthly food so young children receive two meals a day and learn to love school, and how a partner community center provides uniforms, stationery, backpacks, and academic support for orphaned and vulnerable children. Aphiwe highlights a local mentor helping graduates apply for university, learnerships, and internships in a rural area with limited digital access, and explains how environmental education days bring children into the reserve for bush walks, outdoor journals, and close-up encounters with insects, birds, and habitats, not just the “big five.” 

She talks about choosing strategic partnerships with traditional leaders, women’s climate‑smart agriculture projects, and Zulu cultural practices tied to healthy rivers, all while avoiding conservation models that fence people out. Looking ahead, Aphiwe shares her dream of deeper climate resilience work, seed banks, and disaster centers—and why her love of snakes surprises people. What keeps her hopeful is simple -- communities that are still willing to listen, learn, and change.

Chapters

• [00:01] Welcome & Meet Aphiwe: Part 2 of the Wild Tomorrow series and the woman leading community partnerships.
• [01:11] Discovering Conservation as a Career: From “future accountant” to environmental management and Wild Tomorrow.
• [04:34] Community-Centered Conservation: Why Wild Tomorrow centers local needs alongside wildlife.
• [04:58] Preschools, Food, and Early Childhood Development: Supporting ECD centers with teacher training, resources, and monthly meals.
• [08:10] Orphaned and Vulnerable Children: Uniforms, stationery, backpacks, and extra classes for kids who need it most.
• [09:50] Helping Youth Reach University and Jobs: Backing a local mentor who guides applications for university, learnerships, and internships.
• [12:16] Game Drives, Bush Walks, and Outdoor Journals: Bringing local kids into the reserve to notice insects, birds, and habitats.
• [15:35] Partnerships with Chiefs, Culture, and Climate-Smart Farmers: Working with traditional leaders, Zulu maidens, and women’s agriculture groups.
• [20:40] Breaking Down Fences: Making the reserve feel like “our future” for neighboring communities.
• [23:55] Aphiwe’s Practical Wish List: Fire extinguishers, first-aid kits, and basic school supplies with big impact.
• [25:36] Dreaming of Climate Resilience and Disaster Centers: Teaching about wetlands, floods, and planning for a changing climate.
• [28:49] Favorite Animal: The Dramatic Rinkhals: Why a snake that plays dead has her heart.
• [29:51] What Brings Aphiwe Hope: Communities that listen, adapt, and choose sustainable paths.

Links:

• Episode 189 – Part 1 of the Wild Tomorrow series with co-founders John Seward and Wendy Hapgood
• Wild Tomorrow Community Programs and opportunities to support
• Follow Aphiwe and Wild Tomorrow on Instagram
• Follow Aphiwe and Wild Tomorrow on LinkedIn

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Adventures and Learning Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Diane, and we are continuing to explore the amazing world of wild tomorrow, and particularly today you get to meet somebody who was one of my absolute favorite humans I met while we were on our trip. A Pewinnach Daya does an amazing job setting up community partnerships and working with the preschools and the community centers and really bringing the message of conservation to the community. Wonder, Curiosity, Connection. Where will your adventures take you? I'm Dr. Diane, and thank you for joining me on today's episode of Adventures in Learning. I am so excited to welcome you to the show. Welcome. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Thank you. It's so great to be here. I'm looking forward to this as the exciting.

SPEAKER_00 0:56

I am so happy you are here. So let's start by talking about you. Tell me a little bit about your background and how you found Wild Tomorrow because you've been interested in conservation since you were a little bitty girl.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Yeah, yeah, definitely. I think, you know, I've always known that I was going to be in conservation since I was young. My father was in conservation before that. And so I think it just, it was one of those things that just ran in our blood. And when I went into high school, I didn't know at the time that there was something called environmental management, environmental science. I never knew that conservation existed. I mean, we were told about the the roles that you find to the like an accountant, a teacher, a police officer. I mean, those were the things that we knew. And so for most of my life, you know, in high school, that's grade eight all the way until grade 10, I knew that I wanted to be a chartered accountant. Because, I mean, that's what we were told. We were never, you know, nature conservation was not a thing. The environment was not a thing. And then I remember taking those subjects. And when I was in grade 11, we had a change of teachers, and this teacher was just teaching about conservation, like throughout. So she was teaching us geography, and then she just mentioned about the environment and careers in it. And I was like, I want to do that. I do not want to be stuck in the office all day. That's that's what I've always wanted to do, but you know, I we never knew how. And so with all the wrong subjects that I did in high school, I somehow managed to get into university and do environmental management. And, you know, it has opened so many doors for me because I then went from there to volunteering in an aquarium, teaching basic marine ecology. And then I went to volunteer somewhere else where we were partnering with communities and looking at projects of how to stop plastic from entering the ocean, but not stopping it like at the river mouth, but stopping it from where the communities are. So that was a very interesting project. And then working at the beach, you know, exploring coastal environments. And then I moved from there and I worked in government under climate change. And that's when basically when I was there, I was like, okay, I feel like I want to explore a lot. I feel like I've been exposed a lot to the marine environment, and I don't know anything about the terrestrial environment. And I kind of want to know more about that. And that's when I saw like a job post from Wild Tomorrow, and I was like, okay, let me take my chances. You know, let me apply, let me see what happens. And, you know, I got called to the interview, and I met some of the most amazing people at the interview, actually. And I just fell in love with Wild Tomorrow, and now I'm here from working in government where we are people-centered and working in an NGO space where we were focusing on conservation at Wild Tomorrow. Now I get to merge the two roles and say, yes, we are conserving, but we need to think of the people. So I love that.

SPEAKER_00 4:34

And so tell us, because for me, one of the most interesting things about my Wild Tomorrow experience was the work that you do in bringing conservation to the people. So talk a little bit about what your job is and the kinds of partnerships you're working to build, because I think that that's so important. We can't save animals and can't save habitats without considering the impact on the community.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

So Waltimore has given me a very unique plaffer because in most places they always focus on one or the other. It's never both. You know, so you find that conservation has always, you know, just blocked people out. It's always been, no, stop using the water. Stop, stop doing this, stop cutting the tree, stop. But there has never been an explanation to say, this is why we say this, you know, and so that's why I'm here. So basically going into the community, you need to realize that you're working with different communities, people of different backgrounds, and mostly people that are so unemployed and are some of them living in poverty. And the first thing or the priority for them is not conservation. It's more where do I get my next meal? How do I get to school? What am I going to do? My child needs school uniform. And so that's where we step in. We say we want to show the community that we just not, we're not only focusing on conservation, we're not only cutting them out, but we're saying, let us help you whilst we still continue our conservation efforts. So some of the projects that I do is the the the my favorite one is the preschools. So this is our ECD program, Early Childhood Development. So this is from zero to five years old. And basically, we just coming into the schools, equipping the teachers, training the teachers. I just came from fetching some of the teachers at a training they had all week, and they came back with big boxes full of toys and new resources. So, you know, uh helping them to see that they can actually go out there into the world, get training and come back, you know, assisting them. Some of them don't have transportation to go to these trainings. And basically the kids, the kids that go to these schools, you know, they they some of them are orphans, some of them live with unemployed parents, and so they can't afford school fees, which means that when they get to school, they can't afford to carry a lunchbox. And so we come in at the ECD census and we provide food every month to make sure that those kids get at least two meals a day of food. So it's it's basically, and when you go out and you understand who you are working with, that's when people will, you you as an organization will kind of understand, okay, working with people that are unemployed. So we need to prioritize job security. We are working with people that dropped out of school. We need to understand what is happening. Why are they dropping out of school? They don't have uniform, they don't have stationery, and we then can see as an organization, how do we help? So that's why we're helping ECD Census. That's why we're going in there with the food. So to actually put in the culture of learning, we want kids to love. We want to have a population or a community that is educated, that will take big decisions on conservation in the future. And, you know, if we leave them be as they are, chances are that, you know, uh somebody who wants to build or who wants to like drill or mine in this wetland, they'll be like, yes, because all they see is job opportunities. You know, whereas when we come in and we educate and we partner with them, they see the value of conservation. They see that the organizations that are helping us are conservation-based. So, yeah, that's one of the reasons why we do what we do. And we also have out a community center that has orphaned and vulnerable children. And so these kids would range from two years old up until 18 years old. And so they would need uniforms, they would need stationery, they would need food parcels every month, and they would need exam, like it's so every time in June they would have like extra classes. So we assist with these things. We assist with camps, we assist with um clothing for kids, we assist with uniforms, and we assist with stationery. And right now we're currently on the we have ordered, I think, backpacks, yes, for the kids. And because that's one of the well, carrying a backpack most of the time is like a luxury. You know, you don't get to carry stationery in general is a luxury. I mean, all the parents can afford is maybe to buy you a shirt and uh and pants and send you off, you know, so you don't have a pen or different color pens or a highlighter or an eraser. So, I mean, that's where we step in. We still want these kids to fall in love with school. We still want them to be like, I love school, I have my backpack, I have this, I have my notes organized. We still want that so much for them. And so what we do with these kids is we also bring them to the reserve and to teach them. Because I mean, that's the nice thing. When you help the community, you know, you gain so much access to the people, you gain access to the kids, you gain access to the parents. I mean, who knew that supporting an ECD sensor would open you up to like meeting the parents, you know, getting the parents involved, you know. So these are, you know, just some of the things that we do. And I mean, I think one of my favorite programs in the whole world is one where we support this young gentleman who helps these students after soon, after Matric. Then he helps them to apply to universities, he helps graduates apply for learnerships, internships, and he does this all for free. And we've come in as well tomorrow to say we're gonna make sure that you got data, we're gonna make sure that you have ink, because I mean, dooku is a rural area and there's so much disconnect. People don't have smartphones, you know. So, how are they going to apply? And we need to partner, we need our neighbors to have jobs and to participate in the economy. And so, young, so he's my favorite because he also goes into schools and he does career guidance with the kids. I mean, I never knew that there were environmental careers until I was in grade 10. So imagine, yeah, you know, the difference that we're making to say there are careers in in conservation. And I'm hoping so much that we get to do a woman in woman in conservation careers this year. I'm really hoping we can do that. I feel like while tomorrow has the space to actually really change the the space that we have here. I'm really excited.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

I love that. And the fact that you've got the conference center and you've got the ability to provide a safe space to do this kind of work, but also to be able, and you said something earlier that I went, oh yeah, to be able to have the kids come out and to be able to see a zebra or a giraffe or a hippo. You know, because that's we have that here in America as well, where kids don't get to see those things that tourists from away get to see. And they're in their own backyard. And that's another powerful entree into conservation is when you see it and know it, then you fall in love with it.

SPEAKER_01 12:57

Definitely. I mean, I think one of the things that I found when I was young, like this this is also from my personal experience. The only time I ever went to a game reserve was with the school that I was in, and that was one time. So before Wild Tomorrow, I'd only gone on a game viewer once in my life, and I joined Wild Tomorrow at the age of 28. So when you look at your budget in an in a general African household, you know, budgeting to go to a big five game reserve, you know, doesn't make it. No. We we focus on food and we focus on and other things, housing and and shelter, and you know, so it it's not a surprise for me that these kids don't go there, but it's also so sad because they're missing so much. And and you know, that's why we have these environmental education programs. We we bring the kids out to the reserve, we do bushware bushwalks. Um so we developed this last year. Oh, that's wonderful.

SPEAKER_00 14:10

So it basically just yeah, so I think So it's a guide to is it a guide to the various animals and plants in the reserve? Is that what I'm seeing?

SPEAKER_01 14:20

So it's a journal. It's an outdoor journal. We spent like a whole of last year just busy on this, and we made sure that it is also in a language that the kids can understand, that the family can understand as well. So basically, it just encourages kids to go out there and look around. You know, it encourages you to draw and observe that what are you hearing, what are you seeing. So when we take the kids, we don't only just take them on a game drive because you know a game drive will be like, oh, see the big things, oh, the lion, the elephants, and you're like, we forget that the bees are important. The dumbeetle is important. The dum beetle's my favorite. Exactly. So you know when the kids go on a bushwalk, then they look at the little insects, and then they look at the birds, and where do all these things live? What is their habitat? So that they understand that there's so many things that lives out there that make up our ecosystem. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

I love that. So you're building that connection, and again, you're opening doors to new worlds, worlds that are right outside the door.

SPEAKER_01 15:35

Yes, yes, definitely.

SPEAKER_00 15:37

Oh, I love that. So when you're deciding sort of what partnerships to pursue and how to help the community, how do you go about doing that?

SPEAKER_01 15:47

I think it's one of the things that I've found is that literally, you know what, you we can try and avoid this all we want, but I feel like there's always gonna be a little bit of politics everywhere, you know? And when we go into the community, we also need to be very strategic about who we partner with and why we're partnering with them. I feel like our vision and our mission as well tomorrow is very important and is very dear and close to our hearts. And that when we need to make sure that when we're passing it over to somebody else, it's somebody that has re is really gonna take it and run with it and not ruin it. And so most of the time when you're going to these local or rural communities, you have to consult with the traditional leaders so that they know that you are in the area and so that they give you permission to be in the area. So that is just a cultural aspect that we have to do. We're like, okay, we go to the chief, we are here, we are well tomorrow. This is what they've come to do. We want to educate. And then, you know, sometimes they would say, Okay, could you help us with a senior citizens event? And, you know, they give you a platform to be like, we we would love for you to speak on well tomorrow and what you guys do. And so choosing certain partnerships, it's like, okay, so these partnerships will give us access. We're not saying that like we be we like choose partnerships that benefits us, but we're saying that we need to make sure that we don't ruin our name, we don't lose the vision, we don't lose the mission. Because, you know, a lot of people out there are also desperate. And, you know, some people will be like, oh, this is a project I want to do, and you fund it, and then nothing happens, you know? And so we need to make sure that whatever we're choosing, whoever we're choosing is got a heart of conservation, or they've they're unwilling to learn about conservation, even, you know. So we've got like a group of women who are doing climate smart agriculture, you know, projects like those, you know, that align with our mission, that align with our vision, those are the projects that we go for. And projects that will help us in the long run. We believe very much in investing in the youth, investing in the kids, because they are the future of the world. And so we would choose like projects that target kids, children, school education. That is our biggest thing. That is our biggest strength, I would say, as well tomorrow, education. We've got biologists without borders, we've got, you know, Greg, who has a PhD, we've got so many if intellectuals at Wild Tomorrow when you guys came out and you you brought different types of skill. And so we we are huge on education and information and knowledge and skill. And so we want to take that knowledge and skill and give it to the kids. We focus a lot on education. We focus a lot on culture. We've got Zulu maidens, you know. We where, you know, these Zulu maidens will go in September for Umkursu Musanga, which is uh a beautiful event where they take reeds from the river and go to present them to the palace, you know, to the king's palace. And so you look at these things and you say, culture and conservation come together. You know, so we will we we target that because we don't want to come in and say, oh, we just teach in conservation. We want to say your culture is important and it is impacted by conservation. I mean, if you continue to pollute this river, chances are you won't get the reeds anymore. You know, things like that. You know, we show them, we make sure that they connect nature to themselves now on a personal capacity. So, and we we look at, okay, so that's cultural, and then we look at our youth. We we don't want to give up on our youth. They are our strongest workforce in South Africa, and we don't want to give up on them. And we want to say, we wanna make sure that you've got opportunities, you know, to go out there. So hence why we're supporting Sandele and he's helping them to apply to universities, to apply to, you know, internships and learnerships. And so he's connecting them to the world through the help of Wild Mara. So we look at, I think we're we would just look at different spheres of where we want to go and how we want to go. And so our next one would be obviously focusing on the men, you know, because mostly they're the ones that always getting into reserves. So we want to focus on the men, you know, but not all the men per se. We want to focus on the young, young guys, you know, our young boys, and we want to have a program for them to say, come through, see what is happening, you know, uh, know how the reserve works, know everything about it, so that, you know, as you are growing, you know that, you know what, that place is my future, that place is our future. So we don't want to put up gates and fences and and and shut the people off because they've been in this area for a long time. You know, chances are they've been using these resources way longer than we have, you know. And so we don't want to be that organization that comes in and just pulls up fences and puts up gates and is like, you're not really allowed to be in here. We wanna be like, you know, you are. Come through, we'll take you on a game drive, come through, we'll take you on a bushwalk. Come through, you know, that's what we want to do. We don't want people to feel like they can't access nature. We want to show them you this is yours too. You know? It's not only us, it's a partnership that we create with the peoples.

SPEAKER_00 22:08

I love that. And when you create that kind of partnership, you create a dual investment for the future where everybody benefits. Yes. Imagine a space where curiosity drives innovation, where empathy fuels collaboration, and where learning feels less like a task and more like an adventure. My message isn't about adding more to your plate, it's about changing how you see the plate entirely. I'm Dr. Diane Jackson Schnorr, and through the power of purposeful play, I equip leaders, educators, and organizations with the tools you need to unlock creative problem solving, deepen human connection, and build resistant ecosystems of empathy and innovation. Attendees will walk away not just inspired but empowered, with immediately usable strategies to spark curiosity in teams, to lead with empathy, and to infuse learning into their everyday cultures. You'll learn how play isn't child's work, it's the secret weapon of the world's most effective leaders and change makers. This is not a feel-good talk that fades by Monday morning, it's a movement. A shift in how we engage people, solve problems, and lead meaningful change. My talks and workshops are shaped by decades of experience in education and a transformative message that connects across sectors. Whether your audience is corporate, educational, or nonprofit, they'll leave ready to rethink what's possible, both personally and professionally. Because when we learn and lead through play, we don't just change organizations, we change the world. Check it out at drdianadventures.com. It's amazing. So if you had a wish list based on the work that you're doing that people could support you with, what kinds of things are on that list?

SPEAKER_01 24:04

Oh my words, so many. I think what we're trying to do right now is to look at the priorities. I mean, off the top of my head, I know for a fact that the ECD sensors, they need fire extinguishers. You know, when you go in, it's so easy to get lost in the whole, okay, we're giving them food, but you know, when you look around and you're like, huh, I didn't see a first aid kit. Huh. I don't see the fire extinguisher. Like, how okay, you know, so you now have to come in and be like, okay, safety is an issue. We need to look at safety. So it's all of those things. I mean, there's there's so much. And I feel like what I would love to do is to just, you know, after we've completed our needs list, is to send it through to you and you know, send it through to everyone that has visited Baltimore so that you can see for each different program which one you'd like to support and which one needs what.

SPEAKER_00 25:06

See, it's so important and it's easy stuff to be able to provide as well. Yeah, it's a good idea. And so they stationary. I mean, it's you know, it's relatively easy. But it it's so crucial. So you're doing a job you love, and it clear, I mean, it's so clear you love what you do. It just comes through. What do you sort of dream about for the future in terms of your career in conservation, what Wild Tomorrow might be able to do, sort of what do you imagine it looking like?

SPEAKER_01 25:40

Oh wow. I it's such a I feel like I want Wild Tomorrow to be one of the first organizations that is really people focused, you know. I don't want us to leave behind on conservation, but I feel like most organizations focus so much on conservation they forget that people are part of it. And I want us to take that approach to say when you talk to a person, there's nothing literally um in all the time I've been here, all it takes is you talking to a person and the response that we've gotten from the community just by speaking. I mean, I've had calls all over from the community, you know, someone who called me at seven o'clock at night and you know, just taking the time to say hi, this is what Wild Tomorrow does. Unfortunately, we don't take bookings, unfortunately we don't we can't allow access to the swimming pool, you know, we're no longer a restaurant. Giving them that time, they are so grateful because they feel like they are being listened to. You know, I sat down with the local leaders and they said you guys are the first organization to call us to a meeting to strategically plan about our community. So I just hope that World Tomorrow continues to be an organization that listens to the people, listens to the communities, and continues to communicate about conservation with the people. You know. That's what I wish for Well Tomorrow. As for my career, uh, I wanna focus a lot on climate resilience. I've seen a huge gap, you know, and I'm so excited that this year we're actually going to start teaching. So in in in the rural areas, the the chiefs are the ones that will select a place if you want, like if I would go and say, uh I need a plot of land, I want to build a house, then they would be like, Okay, we can give you this land. And so often you find that maybe they they put them way too close to a wetland. So, you know, this year, so so uh we're gonna be actually teaching them about what happens if you put somebody close to a wetland, you know, what are the climatic impacts? You know, there's flooding that we've seen. So the fact that they they the community has been like, we want to listen to this and we want to know about this and we want to be educated, I'm thrilled. So I really want to focus on climate resilience in future because and obviously would love to officially have like a seed bank for the people of Nduku and maybe one day build disaster, I don't know what what but a disaster management center where if somebody's house is flooded, they can then temporarily sit sit there or stay there. I feel like we need so much more of those, especially with everything that's happening. So I think that's what I I want to do. You know, I need to need to start protecting the people as well.

SPEAKER_00 28:46

Absolutely. So I do have kind of a random question for you. Yes. Do you have a favorite animal or a favorite part of the reserve?

SPEAKER_01 28:56

You know, it's funny about my favorite animals. I love snakes. I I really do.

SPEAKER_00 29:01

Kevin must adore you then.

SPEAKER_01 29:08

And so it's very rare for someone like me to love snakes, you know, because in our culture we've been taught to stay away from snakes. So I love snakes, and I think one of my favorite snakes is the wrinkles. So the wrinkles is a snake that just plays dead, and so when it's playing dead, it's it lies up and then it takes its tongue out, like I just love the drama of the snake, and I'm just like, but that then that is a lovely snake. So I love the wrinkles.

SPEAKER_00 29:42

Oh, I love that. What a wonderfully unexpected answer, too. That's very cool. It is. So, my very last question for today, and it's when I ask everybody is what currently brings you hope? We need that question because it's a tough world these days.

SPEAKER_01 30:05

For me, it's the fact that people are willing to listen and are willing to change. That that you know, sometimes you you look at the stats and you look at conservation, you're like, oh my gosh, are we even making a difference? And then you get a call from one of the organizations that you support, and they're like, Oh, you know, I've just got funding for like 13,000 Rand, and you're like, we are making a difference because we want to teach them to be sustainable. And so you're kind of like, they are listening, they are trying to improve their lives. And so for me, it's that people are still willing to listen and people are still willing to change. So for me, that's that that brings me a lot of hope.

SPEAKER_00 30:48

Well, and you bring me a lot of hope because the work you do is so important. I've seen the faces of the kids at the early childhood centers and at the community centers, and I've also seen the joy you bring to the educators. And that's a huge thing, you know, to make that life easier, to give them the tools they need, that's so important. So, Peewe, thank you for joining us today.

SPEAKER_01 31:14

You thank you so much for the opportunity. It's been wonderful seeing you. I have loved getting to do this. I love it too. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 31:24

You've been listening to the Adventures in Learning podcast with your host, Dr. Diane. If you like what you're hearing, please subscribe, download, and let us know what you think, and please tell a friend. If you want the full show notes and the pictures, please go to drdianadventures.com. We look forward to you joining us on our next adventure.