Celebrating
all our memories of Ben and his work with Community Bird Guides in Limpopo
Ben de Boer was a passionate birder, conservationist and good friend to
everyone he met, but most importantly, Ben was a shining example of humanity
the way it should be.
Ben's work focused on the development and management of the Greater Limpopo
Birding Route. His passion and enthusiasm left a mark on everyone he worked
with, including the numerous community bird guides that Ben trained, mentored
and in whom he instilled a love for nature.
Ben's passing has been a sad shock to all his friends at BirdLife South Africa and the entire South African birding community, he
will be missed and never forgotten. A trust has been established in Ben's memory, contributions to the
Ben de Boer Trust will benefit bird guides, and thus
ultimately the conservation of birds and bird habitats in the Limpopo
Province. Ben's partner Lisa has passed this
message onto all who knew him:
"Thank you
for your support and love. Ben was so touched and thrilled to hear the thousands of messages which came in with positive thoughts and prayers while he awaited surgery. Coloured dots on a map showing where the good wishes were coming from covered all the corners of the globe. Ben touched so many, whether they knew him or not and he will live on in our hearts and in the forests he loved so much.
As you know, Ben's passion for birding was given wings through the Greater Limpopo Birding Routes and the bird guides of Limpopo. I know that his greatest wish would be for his life's work to continue even though he is gone. For this reason, a trust has been set up in Ben's name to develop Limpopo bird guides through further training and mentoring. This trust will be administered by Lisa Martus-de Boer, Ant de Boer, David Letsoalo. Joe Grosel, Derek Engelbrecht and Michel Girardin in association with BirdLife South Africa. We would ask you to consider a donation to this trust instead of flowers either by a cash donation on Friday which we will deposit in bulk or via electronic / bank transfer into the following account:
Trust: Ben de Boer Trust Attorneys: Macintosh, Cross and Farquharson Bank: First National Bank Branch: Church Square, Pretoria Branch code: 251445 Account: 51423270283 Swift code: FIRNZAJJAXXX
Please use Ben de Boer Trust as the reference
I picture Ben's spirit soaring free as a bird high above Kurisa Moya and I know we will see him in every leaf, snake, tree, butterfly, stone and bird we see.
