BirdLife SA has been on a mission to help South Africa honour our heritage and celebrate our differences as South Africans. Their platform, Birdle does both.
South Africa (26 September 2023) — South Africans celebrated and honoured Heritage Day as we should—differently; united in this, our melting pot of power! For some of us, celebrations meant Ouma’s Cape Malay recipe, a neighbourhood braai, an Amapiano session with our cousins or exploring our natural treasures; appreciating these in their own breathtaking differences. Some of us looked down at our home from mountain peaks, while others looked up to the bird lovers’ paradise in ways that weren’t restricted to the sky.
BirdLife SA has been on a mission to help South Africa honour our heritage and celebrate our differences through language and knowledge expansion; initiating the South African Names for South African Birds (SANSAB) project to give all bird species that occur in South Africa names in all of our country’s official languages (believe it or not, this had only been done for English and Afrikaans prior to this project).
But, they also have another feather in their cap when it comes to connecting locals with each other and our birds, and this is a concept that might just give Wordle a run for its money!
Birdle, Birdlife SA’s free and fun challenge website, created through a collaboration between Raining Rock Studio and BirdLife South Africa, is a simple and fun way to encourage more people to learn about and take an interest in birds and bird conservation, no matter what their experience level may be.
Think of it as the bird best friend of Wordle, where entertaining challenges help you honour our heritage and celebrate our differences through learning more about our feathered locals.
Every night at midnight, a new bird challenge goes live for bird lovers (and bird lovers to be!) to help people learn about a new South African bird daily.
But, even Birdle knows that celebrating diversity is what South Africa is all about, which is exactly why the website’s dedication to another species was a heritage-proud moment for users–the mighty springbok!
Birdle dedicated its space to none other than the Springboks in light of the Rugby World Cup brilliantly ahead of their Scotland match, and the appreciation post was too good not to share:
An Epic Dedication to the Springboks by Birdle
Also called Boks, Bokke, AmaBokoBoko – or reigning World Champions – Springboks are a thing of beauty, brains and brawn!
Known for their dazzling side-steps, ability to jump up two metres in the air, and outrun opposition with impressive speed, a Springbok loves nothing more than an open field on which to stretch its legs.
If that’s not enough, they’re strong in contact too, often locking horns in head-to-head tussles in a display of territorial dominance. Springboks are hardy and resilient; withstanding enormous pressure and surviving for long periods without water.
This beast has an enormous appetite for grassy fields, but has also been known to migrate every four years to devour Scottish thisle, Irish shamrock, and English roses.
Even we, at BirdLife South Africa, can take our eyes off the birds for a moment for the Springboks!
Wishing our Boks all the best at the Rugby World Cup!
This is what celebrating diversity looks like, and this is the energy that makes us proudly South African.
You can play and test Birdle for yourself and help improve the game before its official public launch, by visiting www.birdle.co.za.
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