Sheila Berry is an ecotherapist and wilderness psychologist who reconnects people to the Earth as the source of physical, mental, psychological and spiritual well-being. For the past two years, she has headed the Save Our iMfolozi Wilderness campaign and worked closely with the Fuleni communities to prevent Ibutho Coal’s proposed open cast mine on the boundary of the iMfolozi Wilderness Area, a rhino sanctuary. Her work with indigenous people in Africa, particularly hunter-gatherer communities and rural Zulu Communities, has been a vital source of inspiration for her.

Lihle Mbokazi’s passion and compassion for the Earth, for all creatures and people who are suffering, pushed her from her humble beginnings to becoming the first Zulu woman wilderness trail guide with the Wilderness Leadership School. Her enthusiasm for Wilderness has taken her to the UK and the World Wilderness Congress in Spain. She is currently working as a community animator for EarthLore in KZN, engaging with the elders and gleaning wisdom from them. She co-founded FezaFunda, an environmental education centre at the beautiful Kei mouth in the Eastern Cape and is part of the Zulu Trail Team that exposes young students to the culture and traditions of rural Zulu families. She is currently studying psychology.

Sipho Msiya’s love for nature and plants started when he was at school. In the afternoons, over the weekends and holidays, he worked at the local nursery in Howick. When he left school, he was employed by the Dusi-uMngeni Conservation Trust in their alien clearing programme along the banks of streams and rivers. When Beacon Hill, a 40 ha gem of mist-belt grassland in Howick that supports many critically endangered plants, needed to be cleared of invasive aliens, Sipho was the obvious choice to direct this project. More recently, he  became a trail guide with Zulu Trails.