Supporting landowners for a better farm: What we do
By Grant Forbes, Conservation Manager: ORCT
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. The Trust signs conservation easements with farmers – essentially servitudes registered over natural land, which is then protected in perpetuity.
The ORCT will then work with landowners to help manage their renosterveld – deciding together what (if anything) needs to be done, and how to do it. Then we work together to undertake the work. One of the greatest advantages of signing an easement is that, through support from wonderful funders, renosterveld can be managed in a way that adds value to a property.
Healthy soils depend on the little things
When you think of farming, you might immediately think of crops, livestock, rainfall and pests. But some of the hardest-working members of a healthy farming system are almost invisible.
Here are some of the activities we undertake to support landowners:
Fire management
Renosterveld, like its sister veld fynbos, has to burn. The ORCT recommends burning every 10 to 15 years – but this will vary depending on the type of veld and annual rainfall. The optimal burning time is late summer and early autumn, in other words February and March. We provide support to landowners to burn renosterveld that needs it, working with the Greater Overberg Fire Protection Association (goFPA) to secure the necessary permits, and bringing in partners to actually undertake the ecological burn.
In this video, Conservation Manager Grant Forbes captures the essence of fire management – from pre-burn assessments, to the burn itself and post-burn recovery.
Monitoring the recovery after fire
The ORCT plans ecological burns for summer and autumn in order to ensure bulbs aren’t damaged or killed when they are in flower. And after a fire, we recommend resting the veld for at least two years before allowing grazing again. Even then, grazing should only be permitted in the late summer months for a short period. This helps to ensure that unpalatable species, such as renosterbos, don’t outcompete the more favourable, palatable species in the long term.
We also monitor the recovery after the fire. Take a look at this video, which captures the recovery of renosterveld after a fire late in March 2024. Over the next three months, photos were taken daily by camera traps as the veld recovers.
Monitoring wildlife in corridors
The ORCT also works with farmers to better understand the movement of wildlife through corridors. While animals may move through agricultural lands, most depend on the natural landscapes to feed and breed. Through camera traps, we can see how animals are using these corridors, and where necessary implement conservation measures to protect them.
Take a look at the incredible diversity of wildlife that rely on a patch of renosterveld around a solitary anthill, on one of the farms on which an easement has been signed.
Find out more about conservation easements, how they work, and how they could benefit a landowner.
Or chat to Conservation Manager Grant Forbes for more. Email: grant@overbergrenosterveld.org.za