Snake Awareness Talk for Suurbraak

Hello, my name is Russell Perks and I live in a beautiful rural village called Suurbraak in the Overberg of the Western Cape.

We have a wonderful diversity of wildlife and natural landscapes around us and there are also many snakes that play an important role in the ecosystem including Puff Adders, Night Adders, Boomslang, Herald snakes, Egg-eaters and Olive snakes and others. Some of these snakes are dangerous and some are harmless however many are persecuted, injured and even killed because people are afraid of them, can’t identify them and don’t know what to do when they encounter a snake in their home or their garden. The village urgently needs a professional snake handler to share their knowledge and give advice about snakes to help educate and empower people. That’s where Gerrie Heyns comes in. Gerrie is well known and a respected snake handler from Montague who has devoted his time and energy to rescuing and relocating snakes as well as educating the public about snakes. I met Gerrie a few years ago when I became interested in snakes and did my snake training courses through the African Snakebite Institute. 

Gerrie is highly trained and experienced in handling snakes. It would be so valuable and helpful if Gerrie could do a snake talk and presentation for the people of Suurbraak especially because he can speak Afrikaans. I believe this will help to keep people and pets safe as well as protect and preserve our local snake species. 

Gerrie has given snake talk presentations at many schools, farms and business establishments throughout the Western Cape. Having a snake presentation in Afrikaans is important as most of the residents of Suurbraak are Afrikaans speakers. But as valuable and important as his services are, it costs Gerrie a lot of money to do the snake relocations and talks. He has to travel great distances which costs fuel and he also has to apply for and maintain particular legal permits to offer his services. Please consider helping us get Gerrie to Suurbraak so that he can offer one of his much needed presentations for our village. I believe it will have a positive impact for the people and the snakes. Gerrie’s presentation will help people learn to identify snakes and know what to do when they encounter a snake. Gerrie will also have snakes on display which attendees can interact with, which will hopefully help them to make a connection with snakes and help overcome fears. 

The funds raised will be used to pay for Gerrie’s  travel from Montague to Suurbraak and back again, as well as to advertise the snake talk presentation by designing and printing flyers to be handed out and to pay for the venue in Suurbraak that will be used for the talk which will likely be the village hall on the main road. Any additional funds will go to refreshments which can be offered to attendees and an extra donation to Gerrie for all of his hard work. I would like to have the presentation in August or early September 2024.

Thank you