Prince William took a walk through nature in the Table Mountain area, one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, located in South Africa. The objective of the walk was to promote the work of forest rangers in a unique urban national park.
The Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne met with some of the rangers who protect the Table Mountain National Park, an area of 85 square miles (220 square kilometers) that dominates Cape Town and extends to the suburbs of the city in some areas.
William did not reach the top of the flat-top mountain, but walked along nature trails on Signal Hill, a hill that is on the edge of the ocean.
The prince was accompanied on the walk by Megan Taplin – the park manager, and Robert Irwin – an Australian conservationist and son of the late Steve Irwin, who was known as “The Crocodile Hunter”. Guillermo met with rangers, park firefighters and members of a K-9 canine unit.
“He was able to learn about what they do on a daily basis and the challenges they face,” Taplin said. “We also talked a lot about the well-being of the rangers and how important it is that the rangers receive support, that their families receive support, because they are doing a rather dangerous and difficult job.”
William was in South Africa last month to promote his annual Earthshot Award, which awards $1.2 million in grants to five entrepreneurs or organizations for innovative ideas that help the environment and combat climate change. William created the Earthshot Award in 2020 through his Royal Foundation and the awards ceremony was held in Cape Town, the first time it was held in Africa.
The prince’s four-day visit was a kind of environmental tour and focused on climate and conservation, although also in Cape Town he attended a rugby practice at a local high school to play some of South Africa’s favorite sport with some of the children.
In addition, William met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the president’s residence in Cape Town and was accompanied by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom, David Lammy, who was in the country for a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Africa.
Cape Town is famous for its natural beauty and, although Table Mountain is its most emblematic monument for being one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, the national park is part of the Cape Floral Kingdom, which is a world heritage site. Some of the plants that grow on the mountainsides and throughout the Cape Peninsula are not found anywhere else in the world.
EarthShot Award 2024: The winners
Protect and restore nature: Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative, a project that has saved the critically endangered Saiga antelope in Kazakhstan.
Clean up our air: Green Africa Youth Organization, which uses behavior change to help communities clean up waste and build circular waste management infrastructure in Africa.
Revive our oceans: High ambition coalition for nature and people, an alliance of at least 119 countries with the ambitious goal of protecting 30% of land and oceans by 2030.
Build a waste-free world: Keep It Cool, a Kenya-based company that uses solar-powered refrigeration to help reduce crop waste for farmers
Setting our climate: Advanced thermovoltaic systems, an American company that converts the excess heat produced during the manufacture of steel or cement into electricity.
With information from AP.