No longer will nature-curious children have to explore the outdoors in flip-flops or beaten-up school shoes.
Hogsback, South Africa (13 May 2025) — The Wild Bird Trust are on a mission to ensure that forest-edge-dwelling children can explore and appreciate the outdoors safely and freely. The team has launched their annual hiking boots initiative, a crowdfunding campaign that makes sure youngsters won’t need to adventure about in old school shoes or flip-flops.
The Wild Bird Trust team are deeply involved in conserving habitats, especially forest hotspots that South Africa’s only endemic parrot calls home, through the Cape Parrot Project. However, they also know that it takes a village of environmentally-conscious humans to protect these spaces and the animals who live there, which is why efforts are poured into local communities.
As such, the team extend knowledge to community members in and around Hogsback. The kids are a big focus, considering their position as the future of tomorrow’s forest, and they connect with them via exciting walks, educational sessions, and camps.
Through the on-the-ground experience, the children get to learn about and interact with nature in the most important way, being in it. But they cannot do this effectively in the wrong shoes.
As the Wild Bird Trust team explain, many of the children show up in the only shoes they own, school shoes or flip-flops.
“We need to raise R20 000 to buy durable hiking shoes for 60 children, ensuring they can explore their environment safely and comfortably,” the team explain. “Any additional funds raised will go towards our next camps—we host 12 children across two camps each year, and every child receives a pair of shoes.”
Little boots exploring the Earth today, an eco-steward saving it tomorrow. You can support the hiking boots for forest-edge childrens’ mission here!
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