A total of 8 300 hours were contributed to SANParks in the form of online duties by members of the Virtual Region. These duties include: • Moderating the SANParks Forums by keeping them spam-free and user-friendly, posting SANParks media releases, fostering engagement by forum members, assisting with bird identifications and sharing webcam highlights. • Moderating the SANParks Facebook platforms, working closely with the SANParks communications team. With international followers, these platforms need to be monitored 24/7, so Virtual Region members living in New Zealand, Europe and the UK take up the slack after hours. Members are responsible for alerting SANParks of posts that need attention or a response. During 2023/2024, 32 compliments were forwarded to SANParks and 22 requests for Tusker identifications were forwarded to Kirsty Redman, the Emerging Tuskers Project Coordinator in the Kruger National Park. During 2023, the region ran a campaign to sell a coffee table book showcasing spectacular wildlife photography taken by a regular contributor to SANParks’ Facebook groups. The R 156 000 raised from the sale of the book was allocated to waterhole renovations and two solar pumps for Shivulani and Erfplaas in the Kruger National Park. Water hole repairs and solar pump installation in the Kruger National Park. Contact Dalene Preston Dalene@Sanparksvolunteers.org 140 SANParks Honorary Rangers 2024 ONLINE SUPPORT FOR SANPARKS Members’ activities continued
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