OVERBERG RENOSTERVELD CONSERVATION TRUST NEWS
Newsletter 35 | December 2024
by Dr Odette Curtis-Scott
Without renosterveld’s riches, our lives are poorer
A journalist for a well-known environmental programme once asked me,
“Why does it matter if renosterveld goes extinct?”
That was quite a moment for me. If he’d seen my face (it was a telephonic interview), he might have seen the shock. But I’m sure he felt it over the phone. It occurred to me: If I need to convince an environmental journalist that this habitat must be protected, how much more then those who don’t understand the role that nature plays?
So when well-known winemaker Bruce Jack asked me to contribute to his Jack Journal – just in time for World Wildlife Conservation Day celebrated today – it was a chance to really address this question. And to try and answer it in a way that would hopefully encourage even our cynical journalist that we need to do more for renosterveld.
Tracking young Black Harriers reveals a harsh reality
Every young Black Harrier that leaves the nest faces an uncertain future. For this endangered raptor, the first year of life is the most dangerous – a time when hunger, predators and wildfire can all prove fatal.
Quartz islands in renosterveld: Small, specialised – and under threat
When walking through renosterveld, your eye may suddenly catch bright white patches shimmering among the green-grey vegetation. These patches look like small islands surrounded by typical renosterveld vegetation – and that is exactly why they are called quartz islands.
