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KZN Conservationist accepted as Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in the UK

KZN Conservationist accepted as Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in the UK

Date: 2019-12-06

Well-known KwaZulu-Natal conservationist Sheelagh Antrobus has just been accepted as a Fellow of the prestigious Royal Geographical Society, the professional body that advances geography andsupports related fields of interest across theglobe.

Antrobus,the founder of conservation organisation Project Rhino, is one of the integral members of the Kingsley Holgate Foundation expedition team,which specialises in using geographic adventuresto conduct humanitarianwork and raise awareness about Africa's endangered wildlife. ThisSouth Africa-basedFoundation now boasts four Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society including Ross Holgate, who heads up theFoundation, Mike Nixon, thecelebrated mountain biker who cyclesthe expeditions, and the legendary adventurer and humanitarian himself, Kingsley Holgate.

Over the past three years, Sheelagh has been part of the team that completed three world firstexpeditions in theirLand Rover Discoverys. In 2017, they reached Africa's most easterly point in Somalia on the Horn of Africa; in 2018, a transcontinental journey took them from Cape Town to Kathmandu in Nepal andontoIndia; more recently in 2019,theireast-to-west Zambezi to Congo expedition included helping the Doctors for Life volunteer medical team to conduct life-changing eye operations. Intrinsically embedded into all their expeditions, which continue to be supported by Land Rover, is communicating the urgent need to conserve Africa's wildlife and in particular, the rhino.

"Through these Land Rover Discovery expeditions we have traversed Africa and beyond, visiting more than 25 countries in the past three years," says Antrobus. "We have been very blessed to have such incredible opportunities to go to places where few "outsiders" venture in our modern world. While doing our humanitarian and conservation work, we see some incredible sights, meet extraordinary people from many cultures, and are able to report back on some of the remotest and often forgotten locations in Africa."

To be accepted as a Fellow of the 190-year-old Royal Geographical Society, a person must have sufficient involvement in geography or an allied subject through their training, profession, research and publications, or demonstrate expertise in related fields such as the environment, conservation and ecology.

Previous RGS Fellows includeSir Charles Darwin, Dr David Livingstone, polar explorers Sir Ernest Shackleton and Sir Robert Scott, mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, Michael PalinandJoanna Lumley.

Speaking from Afrika House on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal, an excited Antrobus said, "I am still pinching myself, this is a huge honour for me. It is quite incredible that there are now four of us in the Kingsley Holgate expedition team who are now Fellows of the RGS. Holding a Fellowship opens up many doors to network and share information, but it comes with some important responsibilities, such as continually enhancinggeographical knowledge and understanding of related critical issues among the wider public."