Sun Destinations

In honour of Women’s Day in South Africa, we are celebrating the trailblazing women who have made radical contributions to the world of conservation.

These remarkable role models have and are shaping a more sustainable, inclusive, and wild future for generations to come. We honour their legacies and the powerful impact they’ve had on how we protect, respect, and care for our Earth.

Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall is one of the most respected and influential female conservationists in history. Her journey began in the early 1960s, when she ventured into the forests of Gombe, East Africa, to study wild chimpanzees. This bold move as a young 26 year old secretary from England would change the world’s understanding of primates.

This happened at a time when it was almost unheard of for women to work in the field of primatology. Jane broke these barriers and paved the way for future generations. Thanks to her, the once male-dominated field is now made up almost equally of women and men.

Her revolutionary discoveries included the first recorded observation of chimpanzees using tools and their emotional and social connection. These reshaped the world’s understanding of animal behaviour. It brought to light the social similarities and emotional connections between humans and chimps.

She found that “it isn’t only human beings who have personality, who are capable of rational thought and emotions like joy and sorrow.” She also observed behaviours such as hugs, kisses, pats on the back, and even tickling, what we consider “human” actions. Goodall insists that these gestures are evidence of “the close, supportive, affectionate bonds that develop between family members and other individuals within a community, which can persist throughout a life span of more than 50 years.”

 

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. what you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make”

Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall rose to fame and used this as a way to champion conservation efforts. In the 70’s she began a The Jane Goodall Foundation

She realised the vital importance of raising awareness about conserving chimpanzees and the shrinking wild spaces of our world. She has been a tireless advocate for preserving our natural world with a career spanning over 6 decades.

She continues to inspire countless individuals. She founded the Roots & Shoots programme which focuses on educating and empowering the next generation of conservationists. It has inspired tens of thousands of young people around the world to care for and take action in protecting nature and its inhabitants.

A documentary on her life Jane is worth watching. It has incredible footage from her early years in Gombe as well as depicts what life was like for Jane as both a mother and conservationist.

Wangari Maathai

Wangari Maathai was a remarkable Kenyan enviromental and political activist that founded The Green Belt Movement. 

 

 

The Green Belt Movement encouraged rural women in Kenya to plant trees.  Through planting trees it not only combatted deforestation but generated income for the communities and empowered the women. It conserved and uplifted the environment while vastly improving livelihoods. Since Maathai founded the Movement, over 50 million trees have been planted and over 30,000 women have been trained in forestry, food processing, beekeeping, and other sustainable, income-generating activities.

In 2004, this inspiring woman became the first ever African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

This speech depicts her practical, radical and sustainable approach that helped conservation efforts benefit communities. Lasting conservation uplifts and protects people, the land and wildlife.

“When we plant trees, we plant the seeds of peace and hope”
– Wangari Maathai

Joy Adamson

Joy Adamson was a wildlife activist, naturalist, artist, and author. She is best known for her book Born Free which tells the extraordinary true story of Elsa, a lioness that Joy and her husband, George Adamson (a game warden in Kenya), raised and successfully rehabilitated into the wild.

Elsa was the first lioness ever to be reintroduced to her natural habitat and her story captured the hearts of millions. Published in 1960, Born Free became an international bestseller, spending 13 weeks at the top of The New York TimesBest Seller list. It was made into a box office movie which solidified Elsa’s story and Joy’s work as iconic in the world of wildlife conservation.

She went on to rehabilitate a cheetah named Pippa and well into her late 60’s, a leopard named Penny.
These amazing experiences are chronicled in her books The Spotted Sphinx and The Queen of Shaba. 
They provided fascinating insights along with deeply personal stories that bridged the gap between humans and wild animals.

Joy was one of the founding members of the World Wildlife Fund and established the Elsa Conservation Trust.
She dedicated her life to raising awareness and funds for the protection of wildlife. She pioneered helping to shift public perception and policy at a time when conservation efforts were just beginning.

Daphne Sheldrick

Daphne Sheldrick was a conservationist and an expert in raising, rearing and reintegrating elephants into the wild for over 30 years. She founded the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. A haven for orphaned elephants and rhinos that rescues and reintegrates them.

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Her story in conservation began when in the years 1955-76, she was co-warden of Tsavo National Park with her husband. During this time she rehabilitated all kinds of wild creatures back to the wild from elephants to elands, kudus, impalas, duikers, reedbuck, dikdiks, warthogs, civets, mongooses and birds. She became an authority on rearing wild animals and was the first to perfect the right formulas for young elephants that had lost their mothers. The Sheldrick trust continues on today and has saved over 300 orphaned elephants and many other wild creatures.

She wrote an autobiographical memoir on her life in Kenya and journey with conservation called An African Love Story: Love, Life, and Elephants.

Greta Thunberg

This young, straight-talking, fearless woman is a symbol of youth-led environmental activism and a powerful voice in the global climate justice movement.
Greta gained recognition during a solitary school strike that she did in Sweden at the age of 15.

Since then she has challenged world leaders and remains dedicated to fighting for climate justice.

“How dare you? You have stolen my dreams and my childhood”

Watch Greta Thunberg’s speech addressing world leaders here

She began the Fridays for the future movement, a youth-led and organised global climate strike movement. It encourages youth all over the world to stand together and take action. Their call for action sparked an international awakening, with students and activists uniting around the globe to protest outside their local parliaments and city halls. Fridays for Future is part of a hopeful new wave of change, inspiring millions of people to take action on the climate crisis.

Zandile Ndhlovu

Zandile became the first black female free-diving instructor and is a passionate ocean advocate and conservationist based in South Africa. After her affectionate nickname, she founded the Black Mermaid Foundation .

The foundation organises ocean exploration programmes for children and young people across the country, where they learn to swim, watch penguins play, and discover the African Sea Forest, a vast underwater ecosystem. She saw the need for the ocean to become accessible for all South Africans. By sharing and exposing them to the wonders of the marine world and fostering a deeper connection to the ocean, it encourages African communities to also become part of the climate change conversation.

Follow her inspiring stories on instagram @zandithemermaid

 

These inspiring leaders of change remind us that conservation is not just science—it’s a deeply human effort rooted in justice, courage, and care. We all have a part to play and we all have the ability to make a difference.
Their voices inspire hope, resilience, and a call to action. By protecting our oceans, wildlife and wilderness, we also protect one another and ensure a bright future for all to still come.

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