If you imagine "companion planting" to be a pleasant potter around the garden with a friend, you may be on to something. But it is also a system of buddying up the various plants in your garden to help control pests, maximise planting space, assist with pollination, encourage growth and improve yield. It can even enhance the flavour of your produce. I went along to a … [Read more...]
Join the West Coast reforesting pilgrimage this Arbor Month
Join this exciting Arbor Month pilgrimage and reforest project. We will leave from Woodbridge Island, Milnerton Cape Town on Arbor day 1st September and walk for two days (42km) along our magnificent shore line, spending a night together at accommodation in Melbosstrand. The next day we walk through Koeberg Nature Reserve to Camphill Farm, where we sleep and eat communally … [Read more...]
Become a Conservation Champion
The WWF brought together stakeholders from the wine industry and conservation to create the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative (BWI) in 2005. Over the next decade, the initiative fostered greater awareness of the Cape’s unique natural heritage and encouraged many farms to implement biodiversity-friendly farming. The partnership also saw South Africa’s voluntary sustainable … [Read more...]
Kruger National Park to combat rhino poaching with new regional court
South African Environmental Minister Dr Edna Molewa has welcomed the opening of a regional court in Skukuza to assist in combating rhino poaching-related offences in the Kruger National Park. “Having a Regional Court in Skukuza will ensure that the case turnaround times for rhino poaching and related cases are expedited thus making a significant contribution to tackling the … [Read more...]
Development threatens nearly half of all natural World Heritage Sites
The Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System. The Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. These are just three of the 238 natural and mixed (cultural and natural) sites designated as World Heritage by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. And all three are threatened by human development. They’re not alone. … [Read more...]
730,000 elephants missing from protected areas in Africa
A new study from the Conservation Ecology Research Unit (CERU) at the University of Pretoria predicts how many elephants there should be in 73 protected areas spanning 21 African countries. The research concludes that, largely due to poaching, protected areas are missing 75 per cent of their elephants, some 730,000 individuals. One-third of protected areas have less than five … [Read more...]
Why the longnecks are becoming extinct in Africa
A researcher from the University of the Free State (UFS) played a role in the important new film Last of the Longnecks which was screened at the US Environmental Film Festival. Dr Francois Deacon, lecturer and researcher in the Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences at the UFS, who also has a role in the film, attended the preview at the Carnegie Institution … [Read more...]
School project brings eco education and animal awareness
Developing learners' appreciation for nature and understanding of ecology is essential for their adaptation to a changing world and ability to be caretakers going forward. The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA), in partnership with Africa Foundation and andBeyond Phinda Private Game Reserve, launched a new environmental education project in the Mduku … [Read more...]
Why southern Africa’s iconic baboon is on the decline
Southern Africans have a love-hate relationship with chacma baboons. They have an unmistakable presence on the landscape, but their reputation as notorious troublemakers makes them unpopular. Lethal removal is common throughout their range; humans are the principal cause of the population decline. The people of southern Africa associate the infamous primates with home, even … [Read more...]
HSBC: what they’ve said about funding deforestation, and why it’s wrong
Over three weeks ago, we exposed how HSBC is funding palm oil companies that are tearing up Indonesia's forests. Since then, thousands of emails have been sent to the CEO. Now HSBC is responding to those emails, but what it's saying is at times misguided, and other times just plain wrong. More than 200,000 people across the world - including many HSBC customers - have … [Read more...]
SA still spraying their staple food with glyphosate
South Africa's staple food is maize; most of it is genetically modified and sprayed with the weed killer glyphosate. There is an ongoing dispute over whether or not the pesticide is healthy for people and the planet. Maize is South Africa's staple food and some people eat it up to three times a day. According to the South African Department of Science and Technology, 86 … [Read more...]
EWT aims to break world record for frog protection
Leap Day for Frogs is held annually towards the end of Feb to raise awareness around the plight of frogs. This year the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) are trying to break the Guinness World Record for the largest game of leapfrog globally. Let's take a leap of action and do something to appreciate and protect one of the most threatened group of animals on Earth: frogs! … [Read more...]
Offsetting SA carbon emissions with indigenous spekboom
Portulacaria afra is a South African succulent that is widespread across the country, growing in most gardens and urban areas. What makes it such a popular house plant is due to it’s superb tolerance to drought and wind. Portulacaria afra is often referred to as Spekboom (in Afrikaans) or Porkbush (in English) and is part of the Portulacaceae family. It occurs naturally in … [Read more...]
