New conservation partnership aims to transform rural education and jobs around South Africa’s game parks
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.
Image: SANParks
New conservation partnership aims to transform rural education and jobs around South Africa’s game parks
A pioneering partnership between South African National Parks (SANParks) and the education non-profit Good Work Foundation (GWF) is set to reshape the future of conservation education and job creation for young people living near the country’s protected areas.
The two organisations this week formalised their collaboration through a memorandum of understanding that will see GWF expand its award-winning digital education model to rural and township communities surrounding key national parks. The initiative is expected to unlock unprecedented opportunities for thousands of young South Africans and strengthen conservation efforts across the country.
GWF currently operates five digital learning campuses in Mpumalanga, a central hub in Hazyview and four satellite campuses serving villages bordering the Sabi Sands Game Reserve. It also runs a campus in Philippolis in the Free State Karoo. From these centres, the nonprofit provides digital education to school learners and practical skills training to young job seekers.
Schoolchildren attending supplementary classes at Good Work Foundation’s digital learning campuses learn how to make and code Lego Spike robots using technology.
Image: GWF
Now, in partnership with SANParks, which manages 21 national parks nationwide, this footprint will expand significantly. The collaboration begins with the Greater Kruger National Park region, where GWF’s Hazyview campus will serve as the gateway hub to the country’s flagship reserve. Plans are underway to establish several more campuses around the Greater Kruger area to meet the high community demand.
Closing the digital divide
The initiative extends far beyond Mpumalanga. Under the new cooperation agreement, GWF campuses will be rolled out across additional “mega living landscapes” identified by SANParks, regions where conservation, community development, and economic growth intersect.
This includes communities neighbouring Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape, Golden Gate Highlands National Park in the Free State, and the Northern Cape’s Augrabies Falls and Namaqua National Parks. These centres will provide digital literacy, conservation education, and pathways into jobs linked to the conservation economy.
GWF CEO Kate Groch says the partnership was a natural alignment of vision and purpose.
“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 explains. “This aligns closely with SANParks’ 2040 vision to create mega living landscapes as part of a people-centred, conservation-driven future anchored by sustainable and climate-resilient national protected areas.”
Groch adds that GWF’s proven education model, now more than a decade in operation, is ready for scaling. “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,” she says.
At the heart of the partnership is a shared goal: to empower local communities, including teachers, as custodians of South Africa’s natural heritage. The model includes creating jobs within the conservation economy and equipping young people with the skills needed to thrive in it.
GWF currently reaches more than 13,500 young people across its operations. The addition of new campuses is expected to generate a “massive multiplier effect.”
“Tens of thousands of young South Africans will gain access to conservation education, skills, and job opportunities,” Groch notes.
Good Work Foundation (GWF) 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.
Image: GWF
She adds that many children growing up near iconic game parks have never seen a lion or elephant in the wild, a gap that the partnership aims to bridge. Students enrolled in GWF’s Career Academies and Bridging Year Academy will also benefit from internships and work placements at SANParks establishments.
For Groch, a zoologist and former teacher, the project feels like a homecoming.
“This partnership symbolises coming full circle, everything I’ve studied and been passionate about,” she says. “If the work we do to connect young people to job opportunities ends up supporting a vision to protect our beautiful wild spaces, that’s an added impact.”
Groch believes this collaboration will be a catalyst for long-term transformation.
“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.”
As the partnership unfolds, it promises not only to strengthen conservation efforts but also to build a generation of young people who are connected to, inspired by, and actively involved in protecting South Africa’s natural treasures.