Chad Keates Archives
On the 5th of June, I presented a snake awareness talk and demonstration for school students at Thomas Baines Nature Reserve, in honour of World Environmental Day. The talk was attended by various-aged primary school students from multiple different Grahamstown Schools. There are few thing in this world as wonderful as watching a child handle a snake for the first time. It is the amalgamation of fear and awe, it is joy… Read More
On Sunday the 5th of February I hosted the first critter walk of 2019. Unlike previous critter walks, this one was geared towards collecting food for the Grahamstown branch of the SPCA. The event was well received, with quite a few people coming on the day and donating dog and cat food. The day started out with a short snake demonstration, in which I showcased some of the snakes I had captured… Read More
On wednesday the 14th of November I hosted the last snake demonstration of 2018 in front of the Rhodes University, on Barratt lawns. The demo was incredibly well-attended with over fifty coming along on the day. At the snake demo I showcased all the snakes that I had removed from Grahamstown properties the week before. Because of the warm weather that preceded the demo, the talk was also well-attended. So much so… Read More
Towards the end of last year I hosted a Birthday Critter Walk for a young Grahamstown boy and all his friends. Whilst some kids like like to go to the cinema, or to the Go Kart track for their birthdays, that doesn’t seem to hold for the youth of Grahamstown, whom have an insatiable appetite for nature. The day was a great success and whilst we weren’t able to find any cape… Read More
The the 9th of September, I attended the WESSA/ Grocott’s Mail #CelebrateNaturalHeritage Bio-Bash and Photo Walk at the Makana Botanical Gardens. The day was designed to teach the youth of Grahamstown about the amazing wildlife that surrounds them. It also aimed to ignite some creative flair through encouraging artistic expression through photography. My colleagues (Anthony Evlambiou, Bruce Roestoff and Cara Trivella) and I helped out by guiding the students through the gardens… Read More
On the third of September I did a snake demonstration for students of the Graeme College Junior School. The demonstration started with a short overview of the snakes of Grahamstown and was followed by a bit of information about snakebite and what to do if one encounters a wild snake. The kids were very excited and eagerly asked questions about all the snakes on display. After the initial introduction, I showed them… Read More
On Monday, the 1st of October I delivered a snake talk to COSATU Project Management Delegates from Rhodes Business School, at the the National English Literary Museum (NELM). The talk dealt with snake identification and myths and was followed by a short section on snakebite treatment. The talk was well received and at the end, a large portion of the delegates took the opportunity to handle and interact with the snakes that… Read More
On Wednesday, the 26th of September I delivered a snake talk and demonstration to Grade 9 learners at Victoria Girls High School. Although some of the girls were scared of the snakes, many of the girls took the opportunity to handle and interact with the snakes on display. Some of the girls handled a snake for the first time in their lives. The talk was delivered to the entire ninth grade and… Read More
On the 31st of July I travelled to Sibuya Game Reserve, about 10km from Kenton-on-Sea, and presented two herpetological talks for rangers working at the reserve. The first talk focussed on the ‘Snakes of Albany’ and the second talk focussed on the ‘Frogs and Lizards of Albany’. Both talks were well received with almost all the rangers taking the opportunity to handle the non-venomous snakes on display. Thanks goes to Sibuya Private… Read More
In march of this year I was asked to do a snake demonstration for students of Graeme the demonstration took place in the hostel, after hours, and the audience consisted of both primary and high-school kids. While some of the guys had seen and handled snakes in the past, many had not, making it a very special occasion for some of the guys. All in all, it was great evening filled with… Read More
On the 17th of April, I presented an afternoon snake talk for high school learners of Nombulelo Highschool, at their school, on the outskirts of Grahamstown. The talk, which comprised of both a PowerPoint presentation and a live snake demonstration, was a great opportunity to engage with the students about reptiles, and dispel some of the myths that surround snakes in the area. The PowerPoint presentation was challenging because of the language… Read More
Chad Keates 