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History of Munda Wanga Park |
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Munda Wanga's history starts around 1950 when Ralph Sander, a civil
servant in the then Colonial Government of Northern Rhodesia, had a
dream. His dream had always been to start his own botanical garden, not
very surprising as he was raised in a famous horticulture family based
in Brugge, Belgium.
He called it 'Munda Wanga' as this means 'My Garden' in Chewa (Nyanja),
a Zambian language. At first his plans were for a private garden, but
his enthusiasm got the better of him. His garden grew to a size and
quality that people wanted to visit; the income from entrance charges
helped to meet the running costs.
Ralph developed the garden not only as a Botanical Garden introducing
new species to Zambia but also as a site where young Zambians could
display there skills as sculptors, artisans, bricklayers. Even today the
Gardens complicated hard landscaping still survives the test of time.
In 1968, with the Gardens finding it difficult to meet its' costs, the
Government of Zambia bought them and added a large area of land to
develop a collection of animals. With the high price of copper, Munda
Wanga developed in the centre of Lusaka life.
With the drop in the copper markets, Munda Wanga entered a new phase in
its life. Passed between Government Departments and private entities,
Munda Wanga suffered. The Gardens became overgrown and neglected. The
animals were badly cared for, many of them dying when food supplies
dried up. The poor state of Munda Wanga caused an outcry and the
Government felt compelled to do something about it.
In 1998 a new lease was signed for a period of 25 years with the Munda
Wanga Trust. Since that December 1998, a lot has been changed. The
Gardens are neat and tidy, plants are identified and new plants are
being planted all the time. The animals are now housed in open topped
enclosures, with enough space to hide, run, hunt or graze. New
infrastructure has been put in place to guide the visitors around. In
2000 an Environmental Education Centre has been added and now features
as the main attraction to start a tour in the Botanical Gardens and the
Wildlife Sanctuary.
The Environmental Education Centre has been funded by a several
embassies to ensure that The Munda Wanga Trust can continue with
providing premier environmental education to the Zambian Youth. The
trust believes that by educating the future leaders, change will be made
to the conservation and protection of our natural resources, habitat and
wildlife.
Source: official site of
Munda Wanga (2009)
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