It's a minefield!

A farmer was digging drainage channels when his excavator cut through the main Durban – Johannesburg fuel pipeline. The fuel spill contaminated many dams, but again the damage was only visible from the air.

These are just two of the many examples of aerial surveys provided by volunteer private pilots flying under the Bateleurs banner.

The Bateleurs fly missions at the request of policy makers, scientists, community leaders, conservationists and environmentalists. It is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation (NGO) of pilots who freely give their aviation skills, the use of their own aircraft and their time, in support of conservation in Africa.

The Bateleurs flies for NGOs, government departments, the media, educators, researchers, parks and reserves to give them an aerial perspective of environmental problems. There is no charge to a beneficiary organisation or individual. When a beneficiary asks for a flight, the Bateleurs’ assess the request and, if it is approved, find a volunteer pilot willing to fly the mission for them.

Pilot members and their aircraft provide the equivalent of 70 per cent of the annual budget. The balance is sourced through fundraising activities. Since it is not commercial, the pilot can be a private pilot. To qualify as a Bateleurs’ pilot, fixed-wing, helicopter and light-sport aircraft pilots must have at least 400 hours flying time, at least 250 hours of which must be as pilot in command. Weight-shift microlight pilots must have at least 120 hours. All pilots must own, or have the use of, a suitable aircraft.

The Bateleurs is supported by grants from a number of foundations and trusts, in particular two from the UK. The organisation operates on a very tight budget. They have been in existence since 1998 but employ only one staff member on a full-time basis, to manage membership, co-ordinate missions and fundraising efforts and run the office.

The Bateleurs say that it would be out of the question for an NGO to source the funds to acquire, maintain and insure a fleet of 160 plus light aircraft – plus reimburse the costs of the pilots and aircraft owners who fly the missions requested by beneficiary organisations.

In the spirit of the maxim which says “one volunteer is worth 20 pressed men” the Bateleurs is proud to be able to say that most of their pilots come looking to fly for them, rather than in response to recruitment drives. But then the flying can be idyllic and tremendously rewarding.

In addition to flying conservation and environment missions for beneficiaries, the Bateleurs has developed an educational outreach programme called The Bateleurs Bonizwe programme.  (Bonizwe is a Zulu word which means “look at the country”.)

They hope to stimulate in young South Africans an awareness of conservation and environmental issues and aviation, by providing them with the hands-on experience of flying, and the insights of an aerial perspective.

The Bateleurs was started by the inimitable Nora Kreher who was heavily involved with opposing the mining of sand dunes. In the late 1990s Nora conceived The Bateleurs – based on a similar organisation of volunteer pilots in the United States, called LightHawk.

Nora played a key role in the successful fight to save the Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park from mining, was a well-known environmentalist and was also a patron and trustee of several South African conservation organisations.

The Bateleurs is now run by Steve McCurrach who can be contacted by phone on +27 828911 689 or through: www.bateleurs.org.

Some of the recent beneficiaries of The Bateleurs:

• • Vulpro – several rescues of injured birds of prey. 
• • Wild dogs and cheetahs to and from Malawi.
• • Project Rhino: anti-poaching support, patrolling and de-horning ops.