• Crocodile River Reserve

    School Programme

CRR Environmental Education School Programme

“If we want children to flourish, to become truly empowered, let us allow them to love the earth before we ask them to save it”

-David Sobel

The Wild Crew

Every month, young explorers join the Wild Crew for hands-on adventures in nature!

These events are designed to spark curiosity, build environmental awareness, and connect children with the wonders of the natural world—one fun, interactive outing at a time.

From wetlands and wildlife to geology and culture, there’s something new to discover each month in the Crocodile River Reserve.

Each session is led by qualified environmental educators and passionate volunteers who guide and inspire the children through age-appropriate, curriculum-linked activities.

The Crocodile River Reserve (CRR)

The Crocodile River Reserve is an important natural environment that lies in the biodiversity rich grassland biome. It conserves threatened ecosystems; the critically endangered Egoli Granite Grassland.

The CRR was proclaimed and declared a protected area in 2019 under the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act 57 of 2003 (NEM: PAA).

The CRR falls within the UNESCO Magaliesberg Biosphere and is a buffer to the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage site.

School Programmes We Offer in the CRR

The Primary School Programmes teach children about nature in a fun and interactive way, helping to grow their awareness of all the incredible natural phenomena around them.

The High School Programme encourages the learners to take an interest in nature and teaches them to recognise the vital role the environment plays in the survival of our and all other species through interaction with nature itself. Seeing is believing.

Our in-house and CRR venue school programs also cater for Scouts, Girl Guides, Eco and Nature Clubs, Honorary Rangers and other special groups.

Sponsor the Wild Crew

Inspire a Love for Nature That Lasts a Lifetime

The Crocodile River Reserve School Programme has been reaching children across our communities for years—offering them a chance to connect with nature in a deep and lasting way. In 2025, we’re taking that mission even further with a fresh new identity: The Wild Crew.

Our vision is simple yet powerful:

More children. More access. More impact.

Thanks to generous sponsors, many children who would never have had the opportunity to explore our natural world have been able to attend our events. But the need continues to grow—and with your help, we can reach even more young minds in 2025.

Here’s what’s new:

  • The Wild Crew gives the programme a fun, modern identity that all age groups can connect with.

  • Monthly events will replace the previous quarterly schedule, ensuring regular exposure to nature throughout the year.

  • Separate age groups at events allow educators to tailor content and interaction.

  • New learning tools like microscopes and specimen boxes, generously provided by the GSA, enhance the experience.

  • All sessions are curriculum-based, and every child receives a snack pack and a Wild Crew file to collect event stickers.

  • At year-end, each child earns a certificate of participation—a proud reminder of their journey with nature.

We are also introducing two relaxed school holiday programmes, focused on play and appreciation rather than curriculum—perfect for nurturing a lifelong love of the outdoors.

The cost to sponsor one child is just R90 per event, with a full-year commitment of 10 events (R900 total). We aim to fill a 15-seat taxi each month with children from under-resourced areas and give them a consistent, immersive experience throughout the year.

You can help us do that.

Your support will cover not only the event itself but also transport and resources to make every experience memorable and meaningful.

🌱 Sponsoring a child means giving them a deeper understanding of nature, their place in it, and why it’s worth protecting.

Let’s grow a generation that understands and values the environment—one child, one adventure at a time.

Email Us About Sponsoring

What does the CRR environmental education school programme include?

Field outing in the CRR:

  • Qualified Facilitator/s
  • Conservation Fee
  • Educational Activities, including a nature walk
  • Resources for the activities where applicable

Excludes:

  • Transportation

In-house at a school:

  • Qualified Facilitator/s
  • Conservation Fee
  • Educational Activities
  • Resources for the activities where applicable

Note:

The in-house school programme timetable can be tailored to the needs of the School.

Want to Chat to our Environmental Educationists?

If you would like one of our environmental educationists to contact you, or to make a booking, please email us on schools@crocodileriverreserve.co.za.

Be sure to mention if the School is a Primary or a High School.

Contact Us To Book Download our Brochure
All 18 /Amphibians 0 /Articles 0 /Birds 1 /Cycling 0 /Education 9 /Events 0 /Fire Management 0 /General 0 /Grasses 0 /Invaders 0 /Mammals 2 /Plants 1 /Reptiles 3 /Spiders, Scorpions & Insects 1 /Talks 0 /The Wild Crew 0 /Trees & Shrubs 3 /Walks 0
Lannea Edulis

Lannea Edulis

Lannea edulis has shiny green leaves that are hairy when young and leathery when matured, with creamy white flowers from August to October. It bears bright red ovoid berries from October to December that become purplish black when they become ripe, which have a juicy and pleasantly sour flavour and are eaten by mice, birds and humans.
February 23, 2021/by admin

Our first post-lockdown scorpion walk

After months in lock-down, it was a joy to get back outdoors and into nature, as our creepy crawly expert, Jonathan Leeming, shared fascinating facts about why all arachnids should be treated with respect rather than fear.
October 12, 2020/by admin
A Cape Skink in the Crocodile River Reserve by Anthony Stewien

Cape Skink

The Cape skink is live-bearing and the female may take up to a week to birth her litter of offspring - often between 8 and 18 per brood. Each baby is born in a thin, membranous bag or 'shell' that it breaks out of within seconds. Newborns measure measure 5 to 7 cm.
April 7, 2020/by admin

The Wild Crew’s Wetlands Expedition: Here’s What Happened! – 8 March 2025

The Wild Crew met on the 8th of March, and what an exciting outing this was! A good walk, mud, water, tadpoles, and fun experiments—everything needed for a truly great event. As we reached the top of the hill on our walk, we paused to take in the wetlands below and learnt how the landscape influences where wetlands are found.

Upon reaching the wetlands, Suretha and Sulize discussed the different types of wetlands, after which we took soil samples using a tool called an auger.
March 17, 2025/by Susan Long
Brown House Snake

Brown House Snake

The Brown House Snake, is one of the most common and most useful snakes in South Africa. It is attracted to human dwellings where it feeds on rats, mice and lizards. They are not venomous and are completely harmless to humans. House snakes are powerful constrictors which rely on their muscle power to constrict prey.
March 15, 2020/by admin

The Wild Crew – Seeds

Although the focus for this outing was seeds—particularly grasses—the rich biodiversity of the grasslands meant we discovered all sorts of interesting things along the way. We came across beautiful flowers, unusual plants, butterflies, grasshoppers, and other fascinating creepy crawlies that demanded our attention.
April 20, 2025/by Susan Long

The Wild Crew – Seeds – March 2026

The weekend of the 14th and 15th was very busy for the School Programme team, with a Wild Crew outing on the Eastern side and another one on the Western side on the Sunday. The theme was seeds - those tiny little things that seem so insignificant but feed the world!
April 1, 2026/by Susan Long
Blesbuck

Black-Backed Jackal

The Black-Backed Jackal is a wonderfully resourceful scavenger and cleans up all the offal and remains of dead animals when not dining on scrub hares, mongoose, mice, rats, lizards and snakes.
March 15, 2020/by admin

The Wild Crew – Wetlands & Water – February 2026

Testing the water and finding healthy results reinforced the importance of wetlands as natural filters in our water systems, and highlighted what can be achieved when a natural environment is properly cared for.

With so many hands-on activities, we did not even have time to examine our finds under the microscope, but there was no doubt that the children appreciated the vast biodiversity we discovered in such a small section of the wetlands. We made sure they understood the functions of wetlands and the important role they play in the lives of so many species, including our own.
February 17, 2026/by Susan Long

The Wild Crew – Seeds – September 2025

Looking back on what the CRR School Programme has achieved so far in 2025, and seeing the little veld flowers popping up in the Egoli Granite Grasslands even before the first rains, I am reminded just how important our lessons on seeds have been. This topic may not seem quite as exciting as water, history, or geology, but without seeds—where would we be?
September 4, 2025/by Susan Long

Living with Baboons & Monkeys in the Crocodile River Reserve

One of the great privileges of living in the Crocodile River Reserve is sharing your space with free-roaming wildlife. But when baboons and monkeys start helping themselves to your kitchen, what can you actually do about it?
September 2, 2026/by admin

The Wild Crew – Bugs – Nov 2025

Before we’d even reached the veld, everyone had already caught their first bug, causing great excitement! Once in the long grass, each child had a turn using the sweep nets, and on our return to our ‘base’ at The Sheds, we identified the insects, observed them under a microscope, and then, of course, released them back into their habitat.
November 20, 2025/by Susan Long
Crinum Bulbispernum

Crinum Bulbispernum

The Crinum lily is a large bulbous plant up to 1m high, which produces attractive grey green gracefully arching leaves during the summer months, and is often seen in the Crocodile River Reserve.
January 8, 2020/by admin

Birds of the Crocodile River Reserve Talk

Justin guided us through a carefully curated selection from the CRR's impressive bird list — and while covering all 255 recorded species in one morning was never going to be possible, he chose beautifully. The majestic Brown Snake Eagle, the charismatic Arrow-marked Babbler, the humble Dove, the mystical Grass Owl and the very special Orange River Francolin were among the stars of the show. The presentation was, however, occasionally — and hilariously — interrupted by a group of Hadeda Ibis who clearly felt they deserved a mention too.
August 31, 2026/by admin

The Wild Crew – Rivers

Rivers are such a vital resource that inspiring the next generation to care for them — and teaching them how — is a no-brainer. So on Saturday, we headed off to a small stream in the CRR with our Wild Crew. And on this outing, they really lived up to their name.

True to nature, the children couldn’t wait to get their feet wet despite the cold. They were told to remove their shoes and socks, roll up their pants, and were handed water testing strips, petri dishes, and little bottles with pipettes.
June 20, 2025/by Susan Long
Handling Tortoises

Handling Tortoises

Tortoises store water in a cloacal bursa or sack in the rear of the body for use when required. They will also excrete this water supply as a defence against predators [or humans!] and to dampen dry soil when digging holes in which to lay eggs. If you pick up a tortoise trying to survive in very dry conditions it may excrete its valuable water supply, resulting in the eventual death of the animal.
February 9, 2020/by admin
Large Sourplum

Large Sourplum

The ripe fruits of the Ximenia Caffra or Sourplum are eaten by birds such as barbets, bulbuls and starlings and mammals such as giraffe, impala, kudu, grey duiker, steenbok, bushbuck and eland enjoy eating it's leaves. The larvae of a number of butterflies feed on the leaves, some examples being the Bush Scarlet butterfly, Natal and Silvery bar, Bowker's and Saffron sapphire and the Brown playboy.
February 24, 2021/by admin
Buffalo Thorn Tree

Buffalo Thorn Tree

The Buffalo Thorn Tree is widely used for magical and medicinal purposes because of the spines or thorns, which are paired; One is hooked, and the other is straight. According to Nguni legend, the thorns of the Ziziphus tell us something about ourselves - that we must look ahead to the future (straight thorns) but we must never forget where we have come from (hooked thorns).
February 23, 2021/by admin
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