The Herald and Weekend Post reporter Guy Rogers has won the SANParks’s 2021/2022 Kudu Award for environmental journalism in the print category.
He received the award at a gala event at Gallagher Estate in Midrand in Gauteng on Thursday night.
The Kudu Awards, now in its 16th year, celebrates conservation across the SANParks system, bringing together the top achievers at every level from field rangers and receptionists to scientists and managers.
It also recognises key sponsors, non-governmental organisations and media outside the parastatal that focus on environmental issues.
The Kudu Award for “media contribution to conservation” is presented to journalists who have “conducted their reporting in a socially responsible manner and have also given extensive and balanced reporting on conservation-related matters”.
Rogers submitted a range of reports published in both publications, including on the Addo wind farm, an environmentally-friendly approach to curbing locusts, the discovery of a 250-year-old elephant tooth on Kabeljous Nature Reserve in Jeffreys Bay, and the water supply crisis in Nelson Mandela Bay and Port Alfred.
He also submitted his report on the link between collapsed sewerage systems in the Karoo, the delay in the completion of Nooitgedacht Water Treatment Works — and consequently the contamination of tap water in the Bay.
For his win, Rogers received a distinctive sculpted brass kudu head and plaque, and a cash prize.
This is his third Kudu Award for environmental journalism in the print category.
The Herald and Weekend Post editor Rochelle de Kock said Rogers was extremely passionate about preserving the environment and this shone through in his work.
“He has become an advocate for the environment and for animals through his extensive coverage of various topics over the years.
“This award validates the hard work that he has put in over decades in the industry, and we cannot think of anyone more deserving of this than Guy.
“We are immensely proud of him and we are humbled, as The Herald and Weekend Post, to have received this award,” De Kock said.
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