OVERBERG RENOSTERVELD CONSERVATION TRUST NEWS
Newsletter 39 | April 2026
by Dr Odette Curtis-Scott
Less than 5% of renosterveld remains today.
Much of what survives exists on privately owned farmland, making partnerships with landowners one of the most important tools we have to protect this globally significant ecosystem.
Over the past few months, we’ve been reminded again of just how important our renosterveld partnerships are. From new conservation easements and expanding ecological networks, to research revealing the hidden challenges facing renosterveld species, our work continues to show that conservation at landscape scale is essential – and urgent.
At the heart of this work are people: landowners who choose to conserve, researchers helping us better understand these landscapes and supporters and donors who make this work possible.
What’s coming up
In our latest newsletter, we share a new conservation easement that protects a large, connected landscape, explore the invisible crisis facing pollinators in renosterveld and reveal new and worrying insights from tracking young Black Harriers.
You’ll also find opportunities to visit our Haarwegskloof Renosterveld Reserve this winter, and join us for one of our Wild & Wise retreats.
Thank you for being part of this journey – and for helping us build a more secure future for renosterveld.
Supporting landowners for a better farm: What we do
When the Overberg Renosterveld Conservation Trust signs an easement with landowners in the Overberg, it’s only the start of the journey – and the work.
World’s first renosterveld app launched – your ideal outdoor partner
The Overberg Renosterveld Conservation Trust (ORCT) has launched the world’s first renosterveld mobile phone app, called Field Guide to Renosterveld. This allows you to identify 1 600 plant and animal species during your renosterveld adventures, all in the palm of your hand.
Veld School: “Breathing in nature, to live it”
Our Veld School is a project close to our hearts. Launched back in 2022 with support from the National Lotteries Commission and ENGIE (formerly known as BTE Renewables), the programme invites tomorrow’s botanists, scientists and conservationists into the field to teach them about our natural environment.