One year after the launch of the Veld School, and the Overberg Renosterveld Conservation Trust (ORCT) has touched the lives of 370 learners in the Overberg, showing them the importance of protecting our precious renosterveld.
The Agulhas Long-billed Lark’s distinctive repertoire of vocalisations makes it easy to detect in the field despite its fairly nondescript plumage. When nesting, it is alert, shy and secretive, but patience and determination brought exciting new data from 29 nests.
As the proponents of an easily overlooked shrubland, still underrated by landowners and ecologists alike, we rely heavily on taking striking images from within renosterveld to ‘sell’ our story.
This year, I was honoured to be offered a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Réunion Island, through a university exchange programme between the University of Cape Town
Renosterveld lost a true champion recently when farmer Hansie Swart of Swellendam passed away. Long before anyone had seriously considered protecting Renosterveld, Hansie was already conserving the extensive tracts that occurred on his farm along the Breede River.
