Scott Ramsay has a dream. In June 2011 he will be embarking on an adventure of a lifetime. He and his crew of photographers and filmmakers will start their year in the wild. A conservation story that Scott hopes will reach the nation through all forms of media. Donna Verrydt chats to this Knight in green armor.

How did the idea for A Year In The Wild come about?

Ten years ago I was working in advertising and spent my days in Joburg traffic, calling on clients. My office was on the 17th floor of Sandton Office Towers, and I dressed in a suit and tie. Despite my success, I really struggled with the concept of spending the best years of my life behind a desk, dealing in an industry that promoted the sale of stuff that nobody needs. I would stare out my office window and pretend I could see the baobabs of the Lowveld, and beyond to the coral reefs of the Indian Ocean. I wasted a lot of time doing this! Slowly it dawned on me that I needed to be “out there”, on the ground, experiencing for myself the beautiful landscapes and people of Southern Africa. So, I quit my job in Joburg, and moved back to Cape Town where I took a photography course, and eventually ended up working as a photojournalist at Getaway Magazine. I ended up in several other jobs along the way, and spent some time in London as well, but I became more and more determined to make a formal effort to spend time in our country’s landscapes. It was then that I approached South African National Parks, CapeNature, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and Eastern Cape Parks with the idea of Year in the Wild.

Have you had much experience with nature?
I grew up in Cape Town, on the slopes of Table Mountain, and I spent plenty of time on the beaches and in the mountains. I also went every year with my family to the Kruger National Park. But I was young and took it all for granted. I had to leave Cape Town and grow up emotionally to realize how important natural landscapes and seascapes are to me.

What one fact about nature has really gotten to you?
I learnt from the author Ian McCallum that some depression stems in part from a loss of connection with nature and our origins as wild animals in wild places. Some people consider it a type of homesickness, and it’s apparently a common condition amongst urbanized, western society.

Your aim is to “document, exhibit and celebrate our last wilderness areas”. How do you foresee this helping conserve these areas?
I honestly believe that if you take someone to a place, and show them what’s there, and they sleep under the stars amongst the wild animals, they will become passionate about its protection for future generations. I wonder how many businessmen who preside over multi-million dollar mining contracts have been exposed to South Africa’s natural areas where their companies are about to mine. I believe that if they saw for themselves the areas, and took their children there, most would have a change of heart. Of course, not everyone can get to these places, so the next best thing is to show people photographs and video, and to tell the stories of the people living here. Our project aims to do this.

What would be your dream response to your campaign?
I’m not looking for fame, or any TV show appearances. And the number of people that follow our trip on facebook or Twitter is out of my control, so I’m not worried about it. But obviously the more people we reach, the more we can make aware of the importance of our country’s natural areas. If we can make just one person passionate about one wild place, then to me that’s reward in itself.

You’ve earmarked a plethora of people to interview along the way.
Yes, we’re going to be talking to people on the ground, who are making conservation work in this country. Reserve managers, rangers, ecologists, scientists, community leaders, volunteers all spend their days doing their best they can to conserve our nature reserves, with low salaries and limited budgets and equipment. They don’t get the credit they deserve, so I’m hoping that we can give them some airtime, and help them get their message across to the rest of the world.

You’ll be traveling through many parks, each with its own conservation agenda. Is there one park that stands out for you?
If you look at a map of South Africa, there is very little land that is protected from agriculture, mining, livestock farming or urban sprawl. Every place needs its story to be told, and its importance promoted. That said, I have just returned from a preliminary trip to Mkambati in the Eastern Cape. The Park is not well known generally, but it is without doubt one of the most pristine, beautiful places I have ever been to. The Community owns the land and relies on tourism and park revenue for their income. There is talk of mining near Mkambati, and even worse the rerouting of the N2 near to the reserve. This would have a disastrous effect on both the park and the community. This place needs to be known and acknowledged as a real asset to the Eastern Cape.

You’ve done a lot of traveling, having previously worked for Getaway magazine. What has been your most beautiful find?

There are several! Pemba Island off the coast of Tanzania had me entranced for two weeks. The coral reefs are among the finest, and the local people still live off the sea. It’s relatively tourist-free, and visiting there is like stepping into the past — a good past. There is tradition and respect and constant connections with nature. I also hiked in the Himalayas for a month, which was a major transformative experience for me. Those mountains and the people who live there taught me a lot about what’s important in life.  Oh and sailing through the fjords of Patagonia in Chile was another unique experience.

A Year in the Wild is an epic adventure. How do you plan for something like this?
Much of this trip is going to be about spontaneity and serendipity. We purposefully don’t want to plan too much because that would detract from the experience of discovering unexpected things. But I’ve spent ten years thinking about it, and a year putting it all together.

Will working and living with the same crew for an entire year be a bit of a challenge?
We won’t be travelling for a whole year exactly. It will be several weeks every month, with a break for editing of content. Those breaks will also be vital to ensure we all stay friends.

Your survival rests in the hands of sponsors. Who’s on board and how will they be looking after you?
Garmin of course are helping us with GPS units, which will go in our brand-spanking new Ford Everest 4x4, which doesn’t seem to guzzle too much fuel, yet still has the most amazing engine — thanks Ford. National Luna are giving us some fridges to keep our beers cool in the Kgalagadi. Digicape and Lacie are helping us with laptops and hard drives, Vodacom are giving us some airtime and Nokia are giving us some cool phones to take photos and videos, so we can upload direct from mobile to social media. Then Conqueror are loaning us a 4x4 trailer, fully kitted, so we can still eat with knives and forks while we’re in the wild (not sure how long that will last). And last, but not least, EeziAwn are giving us a roof top tent which is awesome and comfortable.

What lies beyond The Year for you and the project?
Personally, I’d like to focus on environmental law, and protecting our country’s environment. We actually have some of the most progressive laws in the world, but the enforcement of them is inadequate to say the least. I also realize that the environment is not only about nature and animals and that it also includes people. I would like to help ensure our people have clean water, food and a sense of community. It’s worth noting that Article 24 of the Bill of Rights of South Africa’s Constitution states that: “Everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being; and to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that prevent pollution and ecological degradation, promote conservation and secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development.”
I’d like to work for an organization that helps mobilise communities to protect their environment from pollution, destruction or unreasonable development.


.