Abstract
M.Ed.
Wildlife areas are considered by many to be "wilderness" islands, which do not have
anything to do with the local communities surrounding them. These areas are seen
as elitist. The Kruger National Park is no exception to these thoughts. Due to its
immense size, many neighbours of the park have over the years been ignored. A
questionnaire was given to 127 of the neighbours along the southern boundary of
the park to determine the environmental literacy of these neighbours. The
neighbours sampled were from informal and formal settlements and tourist
destinations such as lodges and hotels. From the results it was found that there was
very little difference between these neighbours in terms of their environmental
literacy. An environmental education model was proposed in order to address the
lack of knowledge or misconceptions that the neighbours held about the
environment.