A PURPOSEFUL LIFE
Ann Turner (née Knox) attended Luckley from 1949 to 1956, starting as a day pupil at age eight before becoming a boarder. She recalls her time at the school with great fondness, crediting Luckley for laying the foundations of her busy and purposeful life. It was also where lifelong friendships began, with Frances Hives (née Male) and Delphine Matthews (née Barnes), bonds that continue to this day.
Her first trip to Africa, taken with fellow Luckley friends Jennifer Fletcher (née Brown) and Jill Adams (née Vince), proved life-changing. It was then that she discovered the place where she would one day build both a house and a new life.
In 1996, Ann took early retirement from almost 20 years as a television production assistant, specialising in classical music programmes for both ITV and the BBC. She rented out her home and left the English winter behind for South Africa. She spent the next 15 years living on a game reserve, immersed in the wild among Africa’s “big five.” In 1999, she founded The Ground Hornbill Project on Mabula Game Reserve, determined to make a meaningful difference by protecting the highly endangered Southern Ground Hornbill.
A DEDICATION TO THE GROUND HORNBILL
For over a decade, Ann dedicated herself to the project. She built strong partnerships with captive breeding facilities both locally and internationally, hosting experts from the San Diego Zoo who trained staff to hand-rear these notoriously difficult chicks. Each year, overseas zoos visited Mabula to support the rearing of Ground Hornbill chicks.
A breakthrough came in October 2008, when an egg was laid in an artificial nest at Mabula. The chick, named Jac, was successfully reared and flew the nest in March 2009, becoming the first Ground Hornbill chick bred and raised by a reintroduced, free-roaming group with an alpha hand-reared female. This achievement proved the project’s conservation model: harvesting second-hatched chicks (which would otherwise die within days) for release back into the wild.
A LEGACY OF CONSERVATION
Ann’s work earned international recognition. The African Association of Zoos and Aquaria named Mabula a significant conservation project, and Ann was honoured with the PAAZAB Conservation Award.
Today, the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project continues under the leadership of Dr Lucy Kemp, carrying forward Ann’s legacy of conservation, research, education, and environmental awareness. Her vision and dedication remain a powerful reminder of how one person’s passion can safeguard the future of an entire species.
