Collection: Art by Clive Walker

Clive Walker is a South African environmentalist, wildlife artist and writer on natural history. His long career has seen him as a game ranger, a writer on conservation issues and a leading force in environmental education.

In 1971 Clive attended his first Wilderness Leadership School trail in Zululand. He was later to become a field officer of the Wilderness Leadership School which led to his commitment to the cause of environmental education and ultimately the establishment in 1981 of an Environmental Education Program under the auspices of Educational Wildlife Expeditions, a Section 21 Company at Lapalala Wilderness in the Waterberg, Limpopo Province. EWE was established on wilderness trails over more than 17 years into the Okavango Delta, the Tuli block on the Ivory Trail, Klaserie G R, Kosi Bay and Savute.

The success of the adult program led the Walkers to believe that young children from all walks of life should also have opportunity of an outdoor experience. Private schools from the then Witwatersrand were the first to respond and EWE sponsored the schools from disadvantaged backgrounds from Soweto and various townships.

From humble beginnings, the ‘school’, together with a Board of Governors comprising like-minded individuals commenced a programme that was a decade later to emerge as a leading force in environmental education with an international reputation.

Clive Walker founded the Endangered Wildlife Trust in 1973 and was first Chairman, then Director, for a period of thirteen years. He is well known for having revealed the plight of the desert dwelling rhino and elephant of northwest Namibia. He was also co-founder, together with Dr Anthony Hall-Martin and Peter Hitchins, of the Rhino & Elephant Foundation – established in 1987. This organisation came about as a direct result of the Rhino wars and provided millions of rands in aid. 

He has many publications to his credit and his work has appeared in numerous journals and magazines. Among the books published are ‘Walk through the Wilderness’; ‘Twilight of the Giants’; ‘Signs of the Wild’ (now in its tenth edition); ‘Okavango from the Air’; ‘Kaokoveld – the last Wilderness’; a major publication on the famed Savuti Channel entitled ‘Savuti, the Vanishing River’ and ‘Dear Elephant, Sir’ published in 1992. He is currently working on his life’s journey in words, art and photographs spanning the past 60 years of his work and travel.