OVERBERG RENOSTERVELD CONSERVATION TRUST NEWS
Newsletter 37 | Aug 2025
by Dr Odette Curtis-Scott
Renosterveld breakthroughs: A double dose of good news
If you’ve been following us on social media, you may have seen some good renosterveld news recently. That’s why we’re popping into your inbox today – to share a cheerful update on renosterveld conservation.
The news that our Haarwegskloof Renosterveld Reserve has been officially declared a Nature Reserve made headlines around South Africa a few weeks ago.
Now, to add to this good news, we’ve partnered with our incredible friends at World Land Trust and the Mapula Trust to acquire another renosterveld site. This site is called Goereesoe – and what makes it extra special is that it is home to a phenomenal number of breeding Black Harriers.
We’ll also be declaring this 270-hectare area as a Nature Reserve, along with Plaatjieskraal (the 500 ha piece near Haarwegskloof that we bought last year).
Read more about Goereesoe here.
Do you know how this wonderful windfall of good news came about?
It’s thanks to YOU, our renosterveld friends –
from the landowners we work with, the donors who fund us, the partners who join our cause, and the friends who follow and support us.
Renosterveld still needs every bit of attention and focus we can give – given the massive loss we’ve seen to this vegetation type and all the wildlife that this habitat supports.
But if we can be the bearers of positive news for nature on this occasion, it gives us hope and drive to continue with this work.
Kind regards,
Odette Curtis-Scott
Latest Renosterveld News
Less than 5% of renosterveld remains today. Much of what survives exists on privately owned farmland.
From one to 23: A protected renosterveld network emerges
Protected fragments of renosterveld across the Overberg are starting to form something far more meaningful than isolated patches.
Size matters: A new large-scale renosterveld landscape protected
The newly signed conservation easement, Oudekraalskop, brings Endangered Eastern Rûens Shale Renosterveld and Rûens Silcrete Renosterveld under protection in
An invisible crisis in renosterveld
The tiny relationships holding everything together. Together with fire, these animals drove the structure of the renosterveld ecosystem and the constantly changing ratios of shrubs to grasses.
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.
