WESSA 2013/14 Annual Review by WESSA

ANNUAL REVIEW

is to be a highly effective and well-supported champion of the environment. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT CEO’S REPORT ABOUT US What we do Who we are WESSA board

SCHOOLS PROGRAMME YOUTH/ENTERPRISE PROGRAMME WATER PROGRAMME COMMUNITY PROGRAMME ENVIRONMENTAL TRAINING WESSA ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTRES BIODIVERSITY PROGRAMME NATIONAL COASTAL PROGRAMME SADC AND GOVERNMENT PROGRAMME ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES WESSA WILD WALK WESSA BRANCHES AND FRIENDS GROUPS AWARDS AND EVENTS OUR SUPPORTERS Trusts Project Funders Business Members

is to implement high impact environmental and conservation projects which promote public participation in caring for the Earth.

I am not certain if many people had expected circumstances internationally and locally to have settled in this past year, but if any had, they would clearly be disappointed. At WESSA, we have not been immune to the broader problems and we continue to find our working environment increasingly more difficult on many fronts. WESSA has undergone fundamental change in line with its Vision and Mission as we continue to adapt ourselves into a meaningful and astute organisation which is geared towards effectively managing large, high impact environmental projects, and ensuring that funders and partners receive maximum return on their investment in these projects in ‘caring for the Earth’. Dr Thommie Burger, our CEO, has been systematically working with his team to make WESSA as effective as possible. I am pleased to report that internally we have had substantial improvements in our processes, controls, reporting and project management.

Our Vision and Mission remain noble, and I believe all at WESSA have every intention of growing the realisation of our objectives with as much resolve as ever. It is with deep sadness that the Board bids farewell to Malcolm Powell, who has attended his final Board meeting as Company Secretary. Malcolm has worked tirelessly for WESSA for 31 years, 16 of these as the CEO. When he retired, we asked him to continue to assist in various roles, most recently as Company Secretary. I know I speak with gratitude for all the Board and staff, and the many members and broader stakeholders who know you, Malcolm, when I say you have been a soldier fine and true! Finally, I want to thank the Board, executive, management and staff for their continued dedication and commitment to WESSA and in caring for the Earth, as well as all our stakeholders without whom we would not be able to continue in our noble Mission. My sincere thanks.

One area which urgently requires our heightened focus is in growing WESSA’s presence, voice and visibility in the external domain, ensuring that we engage more fully with the public and corporate sectors, and securing greater media exposure.

Dr Richard Lewis WESSA Chairman of the Board

“In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we have been taught.”- Baba Dioum The environmental crisis that we face is a direct result of how humans live on this planet. Risks that are exacerbated by the way people live on Earth require a response that is people-centred in approach: human-created problems require human-centred solutions. But these solutions require a different way of thinking to the thinking that created the problems in the first place, and thus different models of people development, skills transfer, training and development are required. It is in these areas of expertise that WESSA’s influence has been profound and is gaining momentum. WESSA is proving to be a strategic facilitator in addressing such issues and in re-orientating society for a more sustainable world. As WESSA we believe that the most effective and inclusive way of bringing about the social change required to ensure the integrity of life support systems and sustainable living, is through our unique approaches to Education for Sustainable Development. With a range of sustainability partners, WESSA is building the capacity of civil society and government to make appropriate choices and take effective action towards creating a world that is beautiful, productive, safe and just.

WESSA is building partnerships with stakeholders in key and carefully selected areas – including government and civil society, specifically SADC, national government, local government, communities, youth and schools – and is able to offer a wide range of services to interested parties. WESSA’s focus on capacity development is prioritised to develop and implement programmes aimed at awareness raising, learning, skills transfer and education, which support key stakeholders in assuming their mandated and voluntary responsibilities in the environmental sector. In particular this work focusses on Biodiversity and Water, with Climate Change being addressed as a cross-cutting issue. WESSA is playing a critical role in enabling society to move in a direction of sustainable development and, in so doing, to achieve the sustainability practices targeted by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We are truly thinking global and acting local. In presenting this annual review I am very proud to showcase the passion, skills and dedication of our WESSA employees as we reflect on 88 years and celebrate our key programmes, projects and services. I would like to invite you to join WESSA as we seek to promote public participation in “Caring for the Earth”. Dr Thommie Burger WESSA Chief Executive Officer

Dr Thommie Burger WESSA Chief Executive Officer

Dr Richard Lewis WESSA Chairman of the Board

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WHO WE ARE WHAT WE DO

WESSA is a Section 21 company registered as an Incorporated Association not for gain, and employs approximately 150 professional staff based at offices around the country, which implement and manage various projects and services, often working in collaboration with the public, local, provincial and national government and with other environmental organisations. WESSA also promotes public participation in caring for the earth by providing opportunities for people to become involved in environmental issues through membership, affiliated Friends Groups and education programmes.

WESSA (the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa) is a South African environmental organisation which aims to initiate and support high impact environmental and conservation projects to promote public participation in caring for the Earth. For almost 90 years WESSA has proactively engaged with the challenges and opportunities presented by South Africa’s unique natural heritage and the social and economic systems that depend on it. WESSA believes that working towards meaningful and sustainable capacity building solutions together is the most effective and inclusive way of bringing about the social change required to enable individuals, communities and government to make more sustainable lifestyle and environmental management choices.

WESSA BOARD We have a dedicated team of board members, who each bring with them unique expertise from different fields.

WESSA has become a leading implementer of environmental initiatives in southern Africa, working in strategic partnerships in the critical areas of water and biodiversity, while also addressing climate change as a cross-cutting issue. These initiatives, which focus on schools, community and youth development, include the Eco-Schools programme involving more than 500 000 learners across nine South African provinces; the Blue Flag programme which focuses on the environmental management of beaches and coastal waters; the ESKOM Energy and Sustainability Programme which supports educators, learners and communities in the promotion of sustainable lifestyles; and the WESSA Rhino Initiative.

NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS Dr Richard Lewis (BA, LLB, MBA, D Juris) Chairman of the Board Portfolio: Corporate Governance and HR Ms Dianne Perrett (PG Dip Marketing (IMM)) Vice Chairman of the Board Portfolio: Marketing and Communications

WESSA continues to be a motivating force behind many of South Africa’s most significant environmental decisions. WESSA proactively strives to shape environmental policy, and to ensure compliance by keeping a watchful eye on the South African environment through its extensive network of offices, members, branches and Friends Groups.

Prof Michael Kidd (BCom, LLB, LLM (Environmental Law), PhD) Portfolio: Environmental Law Mr Andre Steyn (CA (SA)) Portfolio: Finance

WESSA is represented on many national and regional conservation bodies and investigatory commissions, and is a founder member of the World Conservation Union (formerly the International Union for the Conservation of Nature – IUCN).

Dr Jenny Gon (MSc (Geology), PhD) Portfolio: Region/Member Liaison Dr Paul Bartels (MSc (Zoology)) Portfolio: Region/Member Liaison

Our AIM... To contribute to conserving the Earth’s vitality and diversity by: • promoting sound environmental values and sustainable lifestyles • integrating conservation and development • encouraging and generating individual and community action • enabling and growing a vibrant and active broad-based membership • securing the protection and wise use of natural resources • acting as an environmental watchdog • influencing policy and decision-making • responding to changing needs • fostering collaborative partnerships

Dr Howard Hendricks (Bsc (Hons), PhD (Conservation Biology)) Portfolio: Conservation EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS Dr Thommie Burger (B (Hons), MSc, PhD (Org Behaviour)) Portfolio: Chief Executive Officer Mrs Shelley Short (CA (SA)) Designation: Chief Financial Officer Mr Mike Ward (BA, MSc (Environmental Science), MBA) Portfolio: Director: Mission Projects Development Dr Jim Taylor (BA, HDE, MSc, PhD (Environmental Education)) Portfolio: Director: Environmental Education

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WESSA ECO-SCHOOLS WESSA works with schools and teachers across South Africa to support environmental education in the current curriculum, leading to better environmental learning and management throughout the school, and action in the local community.

Action around environmental sustainability in schools and their surrounding communities

Eco-Schools is an internationally recognised programme of the Foundation of Environmental Education (FEE), that accredits schools that make a commitment to continuously improve their school’s environmental performance. The first Eco-Schools were started 20 years ago, and now 59 countries around the world support the programme. In South Africa, the Eco-Schools programme, implemented by WESSA, is in its twelfth year with over 1 300 schools participating in 2013. Since 2003, more than 10 200 schools across all nine provinces have participated in the WESSA EcoSchools programme, of which over 6 000 have sustained their environmental projects for 3 to 12 years, involving more than 500 000 learners and 40 000 teachers. Furthermore, there are a number of gratifying case stories of learners leaving Eco-Schools and taking up ‘green’ professions.

The WESSA Schools Programme operates nationally with regional project managers and co-ordinators, supporting environmental teaching and learning through lesson plans and action projects. The programme encourages learners to become the next generation of custodians of our Earth and environmental leaders.

Over 60% of all Eco-Schools that registered in 2013 have been involved for three or more years which is encouraging as ultimately the programme is about sustaining efforts made year after year. A few special schools have started their second decade, evidence of remarkable dedication to sustainability. Nampak has funded the programme nationally for ten years, and more recently, support has come from PetroSA. In August 2013 the Department of Basic Education formally thanked WESSA Eco-Schools for the contribution the programme has made to quality and sustainability education in South Africa. Each year there are special celebrations for the Eco-Schools who have reached their first decade. In 2013, ten schools achieved their Diamond Decade. It is interesting to note is that the context and background of the schools are very different, proof that the programme can be successfully implemented at any school. Magudu Primary was the first Eco-School in Mpumalanga to earn the prestigious Diamond Decade award. The school is an example of what is possible in a remote and inaccessible part of Bushbuckridge. According to Joyce Mabaso, the dynamic principal, “This has been made possible by my great team of teachers... It has happened because of hard work and determination. The Eco-Schools handbook is the key to planning your lessons too.” 2013 Diamond Decade Eco-Schools:

When WESSA first visited the school in 2004, there was no piped water and Joyce sustained her flourishing permaculture garden by working with the learners to bring bottles of grey water to school

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• Chintsa East Primary (EC)

• Greenwood House (WC)

• Hawkstone Primary (KZN)

• Hershel (WC)

• Holy Cross Primary (WC)

• Magudu Primary (MP)

• Monde Primary (Gauteng)

• Nkwezana Primary (EC)

• The Birches Pre-Primary (KZN)

When WESSA first visited the school in 2004, there was no piped water and Joyce sustained her flourishing permaculture garden by working with the learners to bring bottles of grey water to school. Now this garden still thrives on borehole and harvested rain water. The garden has been expanded to include a large fruit orchard with over seven varieties of citrus, mangoes, litchis and avocados. “We don’t fence the orchard as we want our learners to enjoy all their efforts and hard work, it’s for them!” In addition, there is an impressive succulent garden at the school, planted and nurtured over the past ten years, which has created homes for a host of animals and insects.

“When we joined Eco-Schools ten years ago, our school was a desert. Now in our Diamond Decade we enjoy talking about it, sharing our experience. Let me say this is the beginning; we still have a long way to go, to share our joy, our pride in the Eco-Schools programme. It is sustainable. I love it!” Joyce Mabaso (Principal), Magudu Primary School, Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga

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The school’s impressive succulent garden encourages biodiversity

FUNDISA FOR CHANGE TEACHER DEVELOPMENT NETWORK Supporting professional learning clusters through Eco-Schools The Fundisa for Change network is a collaboration of partners from the environmental sector (state, parastatal and NGO) who are jointly responding to the need to strengthen teacher education and practice, particularly with regard to environmental content and concepts in the curriculum (CAPS), as well as with ‘new’ knowledge such as climate change. The Department of Basic Education has identified the support of teachers at a local level as a key objective for achieving educational quality. Once-off training for educators is ineffective and teacher education programmes should be ongoing throughout the professional career of the teacher. The Eco-Schools programme, with its network of coordinators who support schools on an ongoing basis over many years, is well placed to support this need. Teachers that participate in Fundisa for Change training receive ongoing support for trying out new teaching methods and expanding teacher knowledge in addition to resources such as those produced by WESSA Share-Net and the EnviroKids magazine. During 2013/2014 the Eco-Schools programme supported teachers with Fundisa for Change training in five provinces! Over 125 teachers participated, with the training based on the concept of developing Professional Learning Communities where Eco-School teachers meet often and are supported by one another and by an Eco-Schools coordinator. The Eco-Schools programme will be supporting 50 teachers with water focused training during the July Department of Water Affairs Youth Summit on Water and Climate Change in 2014. The Fundisa for Change network was officially launched by the Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs, Ms Rejoice Mabhudafasi at a teacher conference in March 2014. The Deputy Minister commended the efforts of the network to improve environmental learning and mentioned in particular her great enthusiasm and support for the Eco-Schools programme. She emphasised that the Department endorses the work of Eco-Schools and gave her full support for the Eco-Schools DWA Water Project being launched in July 2014. The Director of Teacher Education, Haroon Mahomed also attended the conference and commented that the Fundisa network was one of South Africa’s best models of a Professional Learning Community.

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THE ESKOM WESSA ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAMME Energy learning across the country The Eskom WESSA Energy and Sustainability Programme (E&S) has for 18 years been supporting educators, learners and communities across the country in promoting sustainable lifestyles through contextual energy learning. In recent years, the programme has also focused on adult learning and support which contributes to community development. The programme is conducted nationally with regional co-ordinators supporting schools and communities throughout the country. The Eskom WESSA Energy and Sustainability Programme won the 2013 SANEA (South African National Energy Association) Energy Education Award for the best energy education programme in South Africa. The Award was given in recognition of the Programme’s 16-year lifespan and its school-to-community implementation throughout South Africa. Special mention was made of the Rural Sustainable Villages of the Chris Hani District Municipality. This role model support initiative of the E&S Programme demonstrates integrated renewable energy applications for sustainable service delivery through biogas installations and capacity development.

firewood. They tried a range of wood saving projects in an effort to reduce wood consumption. If this community ever gets electricity it will be well positioned to be extremely conservative in its use of electricity. Learners’ demonstrations projects included: • Using a hot box to cook with in order to reduce fuel use • Cooking with a traditional clay oven that consumes much less wood than fires or stoves • Making fuel with used newspaper or cardboard or any other paper products • Making a solar water heater for the school kitchen using black pipe An audit to see how much wood was used each day for heating water, cooking the main meal, heating the home and cooking outside for recreation, showed that consumption can be reduced by at least 50% if wood saving technologies are used.

Here are some of the many E&S projects that were supported over the past year: Eastern Cape – The Coelacanth Enviro Club was the eta* group winner for 2013. Club members examined electrical efficiency by auditing three cooking systems (gas, induction cooking, and entry-level spiral two-plate). Their findings revealed that gas is the most efficient, but they further examined the issue of cooking efficiency by auditing cooking practice. The project revealed that it is not only which cooking system, but HOW you cook, that matters! Free State – The eta individual winner for 2013 involved a project on 85% ethanol – a more environmentally friendly and cost effective alternative energy source than coal and paraffin. Learners determined which percentage of ethanol and water mix is the most cost effective, and used this information to compare the cost effectiveness when using coal and paraffin as a fuel source in rural areas. Aritia Reyneke from Welkom Gymnasium has taken the project a step further in 2014 with plans for a cost effective and environmentally friendly geyser that will use 85% ethanol as the energy source to heat the water. Southern Cape – A group from Plettenberg Bay won the 2011 Young Designers eta award by exploring energy efficient buildings. Learners researched a number of different ways of making a building efficient by using natural passive systems. Their school is now being relocated and rebuilt. The learning and acclaim from winning the eta has determined the design of their new school.

Members of the Coelacanth Enviro Club in the Eastern Cape perform an audit on three cooking systems

* The purpose of the Eskom eta Awards is to reward exceptional effort in the more efficient use of energy by individuals, students, companies or other institutions.

Protecting forests and benefiting the community Bracken Hill Primary School is situated on the slopes in Knysna, which not so long ago were covered with indigenous forest. Much of the forest has been cut and replaced with plantations. The children of this school come from homes that rely almost solely on wood for cooking and heating. This necessitates gathering firewood which is time consuming, and presents deforestation problems. Year round, fires are made in the morning to heat the water for washing and cooking and then again in the afternoon for the main meal and washing.

These learners decided to try out different methods of cooking and heating water so that they could help their community use less firewood

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Working with the WESSA/ Eskom Energy and Sustainability Programme, learners of this school decided to try out different methods of cooking and heating water so that they could help their community use less

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YOUTH ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES PROGRAMME The WESSA Youth Programme aims to create opportunities for youth in the environmental sector. The programme trains and mentors young people, giving them the skills and support needed to establish an environmental career path. The programme also aims to foster an understanding of the role of young people in contributing towards sustainable social change in South Africa, promoting sound environmental governance and working towards lasting environmental outcomes.

A brighter, greener future for our youth The Youth Environmental Services (YES) programme aims to respond to the country’s unemployment crisis, which affects mainly young people under the age of 35. It is an empowerment model designed to provide youth from historically disadvantaged backgrounds with the skills and work experience necessary to qualify for employment or further education opportunities in the environmental sector. The beneficiaries are all between 18 and 34 years old and have successfully completed high school. The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) funds and manages the programme at a national level. R15 million has been allocated to the three-year programme in the Western Cape which has been implemented by WESSA since January 2013. More than a hundred young people per year in the Western Cape are benefitting from an accredited environmental skills training programme and work experience opportunities with a variety of host organisations. WESSA’s accredited Environmental Practices Skills Development Programme forms the core of the training component of the programme. Additional non-accredited training in practical subjects such as First Aid, Occupational Health and Safety and general job readiness contribute to a comprehensive training package. The intention is to equip participants for employment in the environmental sector or to apply for further education and training opportunities. The first year of successful implementation of the programme by WESSA in the Western Cape has been completed. Many of the 2013 participants interviewed agreed that the YES experience was eye-opening and motivating. Taryn van Neel, one of the 2013 beneficiaries, is now employed by the Cape Town Environmental Education Trust (CTEET). She supports environmental education in Eco-Schools and according to Taryn: “The YES programme has given me so many opportunities, networking and making a positive change to uplift my community. This programme has made a huge impact in my life and is a stepping stone to achieving even greater things”. Another 2013 beneficiary, Rose Mankayi, is now employed by the City of Cape Town and is based at Zandvlei Nature Reserve. According to her supervisor, Mark Arendse, “The programme really opens doors... When Rose arrived she struggled a bit, but was eager to learn and now if need be she can stand in for me at meetings and report back on what I need to know.”

(George). In 2014 the target areas are Cape Town, Cape Winelands District Municipality (Worcester) and Eden District Municipality (Oudtshoorn). The new intake of beneficiaries has settled down well into their training programme and work placements. WESSA looks forward to celebrating the successes of these young people as they gain work experience and move on to bigger, better and greener things.

A group of Cape Town participants on a field trip to a local wetland to learn about wetland ecology

Participants tackle an assignment during one of their environmental education training sessions

Sobalise Nokrayo, also a successful 2013 beneficiary, is currently enrolled in a level 4 learnership being run by CTEET. As someone who has moved from professional soccer to being a champion of the environment, he had this to say about the training given by WESSA and the YES programme: “WESSA really helped me a lot... I can see a lot of change between now and when I started. I now know things that I never thought I would know about work. When I started I thought I knew a lot but I’ve realised that there is a lot that I didn’t know. The YES programme has paved the way for me.” After graduating from the 2013 YES programme, Verdi Alaart from the Eden District Municipality volunteered at CapeNature (Witfontein) and assisted CREW on several of their plant monitoring hikes. His commitment and hard work has paid off as he recently took up a position at the West Coast Biosphere Reserve as a SANBI Groen Sebenza Intern. With open eyes, broader minds, facts at hand and questions to ask, it is certain that the 2013 beneficiaries will be alert to the needs of their fellow people and pressured planet. Cape Town YES programme participant Margaret Jonas admires a flowering Leonotis leonurus (also known as lion’s tail and wild dagga) after learning about the importance of biodiversity in one of the accredited training course modules which is part of the oneyear programme

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A George participant removes an alien acacia species, using a tree popper

Based on the success of the first phase, the second phase of the project is now well under way with a few changes. Recruitment for the 2014 class began in August last year, and in January more than a hundred new beneficiaries from around the Western Cape were welcomed to the programme. The 2013 Programme was run in three of the four target municipalities, namely City of Cape Town Metropolitan (Cape Town), Overberg District Municipality (Hermanus) and Eden District Municipality

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GROEN SEBENZA JOBS FUND PARTNERSHIP Pioneering priority skills in the biodiversity sector Groen Sebenza is a Jobs Fund project intended to develop priority skills in the biodiversity sector. It aims to create sustainable workplace experience for 800 unemployed matriculants and graduates in South Africa for a period of two and a half years. The human capital development strategy for the Biodiversity sector indicates that South Africa has a shortage of skills to manage its biodiversity and the South African National Biodiversity Institution (SANBI) saw the need to initiate a programme of this scope. The South African youth needs to be exposed, grow and ultimately gain the capability, confidence and the necessary skills to embark on biodiversity careers. The programme partners with 43 organisations from all tiers of government, NGOs and the private sector, and WESSA is proud to be one of the host organisations. Nationwide, WESSA has housed 56 interns or ‘Pioneers’ since June 2013 exposing them to various WESSA projects including the Bio barcode Project, Blue Flag, Coastal Conservation, Eco-Schools, SustainEd, WESSA Ecosystem Services and many others. The Pioneers work with a range of environmental topics and many have been equipped by their mentors to host workshops and even head various projects.

The Groen Sebenza Pioneers are now entering into the second year of the Programme, and have contributed a great deal to their various projects. WESSA is pleased to have placed 16 Pioneers already into permanent positions in the biodiversity sector and aims for all the Pioneers to be employable by the end of their two and half year programme. The success of this human capacity development project must be attributed to the phenomenal support of the WESSA mentors. Financial support for this project has been provided by the Development Bank of Southern Africa. Through the programme WESSA has been able to provide many young pioneers with the opportunity to develop their potential and passion for the environment. Two of the many success stories are those of Xabiso Stemele (27) and Rendani Mammbonani (23). Xabiso holds a National Diploma in Social Forestry from the Fort Cox College of Agriculture. Xabiso’s interest in the environment developed at the age of 14 when he used to visit his father, a well-known traditional healer, in the small town of Peddie in the Eastern Cape. He is currently based at the WESSA Port Elizabeth office where he is mentored by Luthando Gxowa (WESSA Senior Education Officer) in the Eco-Schools Programme. Xabiso has gained confidence in conducting outdoor educational trips for school pupils. He has also facilitated some of his workshops at the South African Marine Rehabilitation and Education Centre (SAMREC) in order to learn more about marine birds, biodiversity and biomes. Rendani comes from a small town in Limpopo and has a degree in Environmental and Geographical Science. She is currently hosted at the WESSA Cape Town office under the mentorship of Victoria Burnet (Eco-Schools Programme Provincial Manager). She works as an Eco-Schools officer and has been allocated 15 schools to assist with environmental projects. Rendani has even made a presentation in Parliament on the effectiveness of EIAs in South Africa!

Groen Sebenza intern Rendani Mammbonani supports Eco-Schools with their environmental projects and here holds a coveted WESSA Eco-Schools flag Groen Sebenza intern Xabiso Stemele at the Aloe Trail Nature Reserve in Swartkop, Port Elizabeth, educating a group of learners on how to conserve nature and the importance of biodiversity

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WESSA staff Thandeka Mdlalose and Mandisa Mtshali at the Umgeni Valley Environmental Education Centre recycling centre

THE STEPPING UP TO SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT USAID and WESSA – Working together for a sustainable future “We must take good care of Africa.” Barack Obama to WESSA staff in Soweto (2013) No-one will forget the address made by Barack Obama at the memorial to Nelson Mandela which paid tribute to Mandela’s sense of justice, dignity, humility and selfless commitment to all. Few will be aware, however, that Nelson Mandela officially initiated the WESSA managed SADC Regional Environmental Education Programme (SADC REEP) in 1996. It is somehow fitting, therefore, that USAID should support WESSA to implement a three-year project which came to be known as ‘Stepping Up to Sustainability’. The project has been so successful that USAID has requested a further two-year project. The objective is to take this simple effective project to the SADC region. Should USAID support this proposal, the American people will, in a small but sustainable manner, be contributing to the building the remarkable legacy of Mandela. A selection of options is made available to all Stepping Up participants through which they are able to choose the ‘change choices’ they would like to focus on. These options are either ‘good’ (easy and convenient), ‘better’ (moderately difficult) or ‘best’ (most difficult, time-consuming and usually most expensive). The Stepping up to Sustainability project offers people the freedom to choose the most beneficial and practical options, and these choices are supported through a series of adaptable handouts which have been developed by Share-Net.

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Over four thousand individuals have made a range of sustainable lifestyle choices and these have been documented in an information portal which enables the project to track the changes. Periodic SMS contact with participants has enabled the project to remain in touch with participants and share new innovations or different ways of managing the climate change risks. Wider implications for the Stepping Up framework The Stepping Up to Sustainability project, and associated seven steps towards sustainability, have not only proved effective within WESSA. The concept has also been adopted by local government in South Africa as a framework for addressing climate change and sustainability issues. In this regard, the mGungundlovu District Municipality has incorporated the Stepping Up framework in its Strategic Environmental Management Plan. The eThekwini Metro (Durban) is applying the concept in a range of capacity building courses for councillors and community leaders too. The SADC region has also adopted the concept in support of “SteppingUp to Trans-boundary Sustainability: Human Capacity Development for Climate Change Adaptation in SADC Trans-frontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs)”. And even further afield, WESSA’s Jim Taylor was invited to present the research at an international conference in the USA which enabled the ‘change choice practices’ research to be shared with an international team of experts who commented on and contributed to the research design.

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The USAID delegation and WESSA staff at the Mandela Monument, located close to WESSA in Howick. Nelson Mandela initiated the SADC REEP programme, of which WESSA has been the proud implementer for the past 15years; this is only one of the many unsung achievements of this extraordinary, iconic man.

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“Amongst the many things I learnt, as a president of our country, was the centrality of water in the social, political and economic affairs of the country, continent and indeed the world. I am, therefore, a totally committed water person” – Nelson Mandela The vision of the WESSA Water Programme is to work together in using South Africa’s water resources wisely thus securing safe, adequate and fair water supply to realise our current and future aspirations towards a common good and healthy life support systems. The Water Programme aims to improve the quality, availability and distribution of water resources in order to enhance the goods and services that they provide. With a focus on water issues in catchment areas, river and estuarine systems, human settlements and SADC transboundary areas, WESSA works with government departments, local and traditional authorities, urban and rural communities and representatives of SADC countries to strengthen water governance and management (mobilise public and private participation in contributing towards sound water governance and management decisions); improve stewardship practice (mediate social change towards improved land and water stewardship practices); and make social, ecological and economic contributions (consolidate and communicate evidence of meaningful change towards the improvement of our water resources and associated benefits).

Midmar Dam: the second largest dam in the upper Umngeni River Catchment

UMNGENI ECOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT Securing ecological infrastructure in the Umngeni catchment. This dynamic cutting edge project is funded by Maas Maassen through WWF-SA and implemented by WESSA. The project focuses on securing ecological infrastructure within the Umngeni catchment through conducting a socio-ecological study and building awareness, motivation and capacity of the key actors to protect, manage and restore this ecological infrastructure. The Umngeni River catchment in KZN covers an approximate area of 4 416km 2. The river is 225km long and flows through several municipalities, along with its tributaries, entering the Indian Ocean just north of the city of Durban. ‘Ecological infrastructure’ refers to “functioning ecosystems that deliver valuable services to people, such as fresh water, climate regulation, soil formation and disaster risk reduction” (SANBI fact sheet, undated). This includes provisioning services (e.g. food, fresh water, fuel), regulating services (e.g. climate regulation, flood regulation), and cultural services (e.g. aesthetic, spiritual, educational, recreational). Ecological infrastructure is often considered to be the “nature-based equivalent of built or hard infrastructure” (SANBI, 2012). As part of the first phase of this project, a socio-ecological study was conducted by WESSA in October 2013, which focused on the roles and influences of different stakeholders within the catchment and the level of understanding of the concept ‘ecological infrastructure’. This research aimed to encourage enthusiastic participation in the capacity building process, and create an enabling environment for change to occur. Two principles underpin the approach: firstly, relevance, to ensure that

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the capacity building is closely aligned to the needs of the participants, and secondly, relationships. The goal is to develop a two-way relationship with individuals built on trust and mutual respect, which in turn provides the ideal platform for meaningful engagement and the co-creation of a way forward. The wide range of individuals (planners, engineers, councillors etc. from the involved municipalities) that have been identified for the proposed capacity building programme requires a diverse and innovative range of approaches. Therefore, it has been proposed that the capacity building activities be developed around the ‘Stepping Up’ framework. This framework provides a flexible, adaptable solution that gives participants various options of how they could interact with the programme, depending on their individual needs and time constraints. Interactions could range from short communications, forums or workshops, through to fully accredited qualifications. Capacity building is the second phase of the project which commenced in June. According to the socio-ecological study, the crisis situation within the Umngeni catchment and crises faced in many other catchments around the country, are essentially human induced. Therefore, the solutions need to be human-centred and can be achieved through well designed and effectively implemented human capacity development processes, supported by creative and innovative tools. It is important to promote dialogues within the catchment with the stakeholders and support human capacity development around the subject of ecological infrastructure. This is expected to bring about an appreciation and understanding of the importance of the ecological infrastructure within the Umngeni River catchment. All these efforts should ultimately help to secure ecological infrastructure in this basin. Hopefully the process can spread to other catchments: the Capacity for Catchment project has the potential for roll-out on a national level.

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VERLORENVLEI PROTECTED AREAS PROJECT, WEST COAST Increasing protection for Verlorenvlei estuary WESSA and BirdLife SA are partners in this proactive conservation stewardship project, the purpose of which is to achieve a level of formal protection for the Verlorenvlei estuary, near Elands Bay on the West Coast of the Western Cape, and its principal catchment, Moutonshoek. The Moutonshoek catchment supplies the Krom Antonies river, the main tributary that recharges the Verlorenvlei estuary with freshwater. Verlorenvlei estuary is a proclaimed Ramsar site and is thus recognised as a wetland of international importance. It is also listed as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area. However, these conservation statuses do not infer formal protection or conservation action. The focus of this project is to bridge the gap between the conservation status and current lack of protection by working to establish a level of formal protection for both the estuary and its principal catchment. Funding from the WWF-Nedbank Green Trust has enabled the employment of a full-time, site based project manager who was appointed in January 2014 and has already made good progress with stakeholder engagement. The project runs from December 2013 to December 2016 during which the aim is to collaborate with local farmers, using the Biodiversity Stewardship model, to declare a Protected Environment in the Moutonshoek catchment. A Protected Environment Application and associated Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for this catchment will be submitted to the Department of Environmental Affairs during the three-year project span. Concurrently the project staff and partners are supporting Cape Nature in their endeavour to declare the Verlorenvlei estuary a Nature Reserve.

Learners identify a macroinvertebrate from a water sample taken from a river

NEW RIVER BIOMONITORING TOOL Connecting with others to compare river health WESSA has been involved with developing a biomonitoring tool and website that aims to take river watching to a new level, where river health data can be contributed by all in a fun and easy way, and with the results visible to the rest of the world. The Google Earth Biomonitoring tool for streams and rivers received an award for the most significant contribution to community empowerment in 2013 at the annual Water Research Commission (WRC) research conference. This award recognises the potential for miniSASS (Mini Stream Assessment Scoring System) and citizen science by communities as a tool for better management of South Africa’s water resources. The interactive Google Earth map and database, developed by a KZNbased environmental consulting company, GroundTruth, is hosted on the new www.minisass.org website. MiniSASS users of all ages can explore their catchments, find their rivers and then upload their miniSASS results. In this way a public-access, interactive map of river health across southern Africa can develop, with results continuously contributed by users giving an accurate picture of the status of our rivers and streams. Users can explore all results, compare and contrast river health across catchments and in relation to land use activities, while connecting with others who are sampling rivers in their communities.

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WESSA assisted in the development work for the miniSASS concept and is providing support to those who wish to participate in this citizen science project through our Eco-Schools network, utilising our regional network of expertise situated in all nine of South Africa’s provinces. WESSA is very excited about this human capacity development tool, which uses biodiversity for biomonitoring within the water field, thus relating strongly to several of WESSA’s priority work areas. It is hoped that every school, agency, Friends Group, and river watch/ adopt-a-river organisation already using miniSASS around the country will use the website, contribute their miniSASS river health results, and promote it to others. In this way, a public-access, interactive map of river health across southern Africa will develop, which would be a valuable resource to illustrate the condition of our rivers, promoting action.

Diascia caitliniae (Red Listed as Endangered) which occurs on two sites in the Moutonshoek valley, upstream from Verlorenvlei Photo: Caitlin von Witt

For more information about using this tool, visit www.minisass.org

Spring on the vlei Photo: Felicity Strange

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THE WORKING FOR ECOSYSTEMS PROGRAMME, KWAZULU-NATAL Improving lives through working for ecosystems The Working for Ecosystems (WFE) programme, facilitated by WESSA, is a poverty relief/sustainable development programme aimed at providing job opportunities to communities while improving the natural environment. This KZN project, which aims to restore ecological integrity and resilience of ecosystems through control and eradication of invasive alien plants (IAPs), has been an acclaimed success. IAP populations in existing project areas have already been significantly reduced. The programme is required to maintain the existing follow-up control practices in areas previously cleared, as well as roll out to other pre-determined sites. Numerous jobs have been created and training provided. eThekwini Municipality Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department provides guidance regarding management site selection. This is usually in high priority biodiversity areas, predominantly in rural areas that are of conservation significance. Sites where management interventions currently take place include the following: Ntshongweni, Drummond, Paradise Valley Nature Reserve, Roosefontein Nature Reserve, Ngonweni and Hullets Bush. The WFE programme is implemented in environmentally sensitive areas; therefore environmental best practice guidelines are followed in order to reduce any negative impacts to indigenous fauna and flora. Rapid response and regular follow-up allow the teams to ensure that emerging weeds are kept to a minimum and that areas cleared of invasive alien plant species can quickly recover to their natural state. Programme workers attend a basic three-day IAP training course presented by WESSA. This training specialises in identification of IAPs, methods of eradication, as well as the importance of biodiversity and removal of IAPs. The course has both a theoretical component (taught in either English or isiZulu)and a practical component that involves in-field training on identification and removal of IAPs.

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie

Ecological benefits IAP removal results in improved ecosystem services, such as: • Increased water quality and quantity • Reduced soil erosion • Healthy nutrient cycling • Decreased habitat fragmentation • Decreased loss in biodiversity • A healthier functioning ecosystem that is more resilient to climatic extremes and associated impacts

The WESSA Community Programme focuses on developing sustainable livelihoods for previously disadvantaged people, by building small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) that protect biodiversity within communities, either through invasive alien species control or greening the environment. Important in the capacity development process is the ‘why’ and not only the ‘how’.

Social benefits IAP removal increases the availability of stream water and also opens up areas for grazing which benefits communities. Also, the creation of more resilient ecosystems might result in a community being less vulnerable to climate change. Furthermore, new jobs increase household earnings to support families and reduce the negative impacts of poverty. In addition, the programme specifically targets youth, in terms of employment and skills development. This is based on the premise that the sooner out of school individuals can get work and work-based training, the more successful they will be in seeking additional work and retaining jobs.

A Working for Ecosystems programme worker learning to apply different methods of alien clearing

The programme has a strong sustainable development focus and partners with the Small Enterprise Development Association (SEDA) which aims to equip individuals that aspire to owning a business, with the skills required for registration and operation as cooperatives (co-ops) in these communities. This is essential if co-ops are tendering for other work offered by the municipality. Within the last two years eight SMMEs have been developed in the programme, of which five have been developed and employed over the last year. Members of these businesses attended workshops, seminars and training presented by various organisations, and received training in finance, marketing, business skills, landscaping and plant propagation. Businesses established within the WFE programme are encouraged to contract back to the programme, as they then receive additional support and supervision from WESSA.

Value added industries WESSA is presently conducting research on producing by-products from the cut IAP material. This includes biochar, a type of charcoal, created through the pyrolysation of biomass, which is added to soil to sequester carbon for climate change mitigation purposes and to increase soil fertility. On completion of this research a business plan for a pilot project, which is under development, will be explored. It is proposed that the process involve community members using the dried biomass from IAPs to create biochar. This would provide income as well as provide farmers with an organic source of fertiliser. Although funding for WFE is currently restricted to work involving IAP control, it is hoped that with additional funding, WFE could also include the training of tour guides, ensure litter collection in project areas, and drive the establishment of indigenous tree and food nurseries in community areas. In addition, community awareness initiatives and environmental education programmes could be implemented in local schools in order to build youth awareness and participation. In certain areas, community members have even begun to remove IAPs from their land of their own accord, probably because they have seen the benefits. The Working for Ecosystems Programme plays a critical and innovative role in increasing the functionality of ecosystem goods and services, improving the lives of the local communities, and helping them adapt to inevitable climate change impacts. The programme is in its seventh year of implementation, and the benefits to local communities continue to grow.

Woodchipping at Paradise Valley Nature Reserve

In the last financial year of the WFE programme, 23 126 person days were worked and 298 jobs were created, 60% of which were for youth and 38% were for women.

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REJUVENATING THE BAAKENS VALLEY

Rejuvenating the Baakens Valley

The Baakens River flows through the suburbs of Port Elizabeth. The Valley is one of 28 priority biodiversity conservation areas in Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM). It sustains pockets of conservation-worthy plant, mammal and fish species, acts as refuge for wildlife, affords flood attenuation and hosts recreational and educational opportunities. It is also an aesthetically pleasing ‘green lung’ within the urban landscape. This area had been severely impacted upon by urban encroachment, alien plant infestations, illegal dumping, poaching, homeless people, littering etc. Muggings had also undermined the area as a community resource. Community support was identified as being central in turning this situation around.

May 2007 – number of public events in the crime-ridden Baakens Valley: None May 2013 – number of public events in the secured Baakens Valley: Seven!

Through the BVCP we have learnt that urban community-based conservation is as much about reserve management and conservation of our ecological treasures, as about facilitating opportunities to meet the economic and social aspirations of our local communities.

WESSA, working in partnership with the NMBM, received funding from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) and the Table Mountain Fund over 2007-2010 towards catalysing a recovery of the Baakens Valley as a safe community resource and functional ecological system. This programme elevated the recreational and tourism opportunities principally through working to improve visitor security. Further support was needed to strengthen and continue this programme. The CEPF granted funds for the period 2011-2013 towards a re-focused Baakens Valley Community Partnership Programme (BVCP). It has a stronger focus on building capacity and partnerships between municipal officials and civil society. It aims to support the institutionalisation of this approach within the NMBM and broaden the social, economic and political relevance of nature conservation, with an emphasis on creating access for local disadvantaged communities to unlock resources within the valley. The WESSA-NMBM partnership drew in a social development consultant and more civil partners, such as the Baakens Valley Preservation Trust, the Walmer Youth Development Forum and various church, community and recreational groups. To encourage the residents of the city to utilise this beautiful valley, the muggers had to be driven out! No mean feat for a 23km valley of 2 000ha, entirely surrounded by urban development with no boundary fence. Great progress has been made in securing the valley by the deployment of five full-time Baakens Valley Rangers (funded by Coca-Cola Fortune and the Mazda Wildlife Fund). WESSA developed working partnerships with the police, anti-crime organisations and local security companies ADT and Atlas to create fast reaction responses, monitoring of access points and sharing of information. Using job creation projects, alien vegetation along paths and picnic areas was cleared to improve their security. This provided skills training and project management experience for young people to develop their own SMMEs.

Gwynneth Marmetschkeof the Baakens Valley Preservation Trust assisting at a school field study

To boost tourism, many school field trips (41 last year), public walks and sporting events were arranged. As safety has improved, local residents have taken to jogging, walking, biking and dog-walking in the valley again. Trail-running and mountain bike races have been held in the valley, such as the Urban Run (1 400 runners) and the PE2Plett Ride. Community groups were involved in the planning of public events such as the annual Freedom Day Concert. The BVCP’s efforts have seen the recorded visitor numbers climb from a mere 750 in 2009, to approximately 8 000 in 2013. Community-based efforts have bolstered the BVCP’s impact: local residents, event organisers and corporates have volunteered to re-build trails, bike tracks and footbridges, sponsored new signage, hacked out alien plants and equipped the rangers, etc. The Baakens Valley is now better protected by a growing community of stakeholders with vested interests in utilising the valley. The BVCP team recognises that the young NMBM reserve management team needs further support to prosper. While Coca-Cola Fortune has generously agreed to fund the Rangers until the end of January 2015, their long-term, critical funding remains challenging. Going forward we need to demonstrate greater financial relevance to the NMBM Council and create more job opportunities that empower women and youth.

Baakens Buddies volunteers re-building footbridges lost in floods

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Baakens Valley Ranger Xolani Bukuva guiding a public walk

THE JOBS FOR CARBON PROJECT Developing carbon farming in the Little Karoo Spekboom (Portulacaria afra) is an iconic plant of Subtropical Thicket and of the Klein Karoo. Subtropical Thicket (or spekboomveld) is a global biodiversity hotspot comprising more than 8 000 species, of which at least 23% are endemic. Unfortunately, 80% of spekboomveld is moderately to severely degraded, with resultant soil erosion, reduced veld productivity, increased run off and water loss. These factors undermine ecosystem services such as erosion and flood control, water infiltration, biodiversity, nature-based tourism, carbon capture and storage. These in turn cause rising costs, lower farming returns, chronic unemployment, and a depressed rural economy. Cognisant of the above, the Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve partnership developed a project called ‘Jobs for Carbon’ which is being implemented in the Vanwyksdorp area of the Kannaland municipality (south-west of Oudtshoorn) through collaboration between WESSA, the Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve (GCBR) and the Rhodes Research Restoration Group (RRRG), and in association with Assegaay Bosch Ranch. The overall goal of the project is to improve the rural economy and ecosystem health and resilience of the Klein Karoo by exploring carbon farming as a sustainable use of spekboomveld. Spekboomveld does not recover naturally, but can be very effectively restored by dry-planting of cuttings. This triggers the return of other indigenous plants and animals and the thicket slowly recovers. As veld recovers, Spekboom shrubs accumulate significant stores of carbon dioxide in underlying litter and soil, and in above-ground biomass. The benefits of restoration work include restored natural capital, improved ecosystem services, job creation, and potential new income streams.

The Klein Karoo: Spekboom country Photo: Steve du Toit

The project aims to: • Restore 300 hectares of degraded Subtropical Thicket in the Klein Karoo • Create employment for more than 60 people in the local communities • Build entrepreneurial capacity to run restoration teams • Provide valuable scientific work needed to test and develop the business case for carbon credits to be sold on the carbon market • Be a catalyst for the expansion of restoration work in the region

Work started on the project in January 2014 with spatial mapping of potential restoration areas, and a landowner outreach exercise is now in progress in order to secure the 300 hectares that will be planted. Broader communications and awareness raising are also underway. Three veld restoration teams comprising 60 people from local communities will be trained for spekboom planting and harvesting. The Jobs for Carbon Project is funded by the European Union and will run until September 2016, with the possibility of being extended until March 2017.

Two elated Enviro Eds participants stand beneath Grey Mares Tail in the Karkloof after a session on sensory education techniques in an indigenous forest

Spekboom (Portulacaria afra) Photo: Jan and Annelise Vlok

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Environmental training with pride and purpose WESSA SustainEd offers nationwide accredited training courses with a direct impact towards more effective educational and sustainable environmental practices through meaningful learning programmes. WESSA has accreditation status with the Education, Training and Development Practices – Sector Education and Training Authority (ETDP SETA). WESSA can therefore offer a National Certificate at level 5 on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).

WESSA SustainEd’s Business Unit Leader, Claire Herbst (left), on a field trip with participants on an Environmental Educator’s course at WESSA’s Umgeni Nature Reserve in Howick, KZN Environmental Practices Level 2 course. Three of these participants were then selected to attend an Environmental Educators course in early 2014. The partnership is entering into its second cycle of training. Environmental Educators courses (NQF Level 5) were run throughout the regions in this period, with the WESSA education centres of Treasure Beach, Twin Streams, Umgeni Valley, Bush Pigs and The Barn hosting a number of these courses. Others were hosted in the Eastern Cape, the Northern Cape, the Lowveld and the Free State. An astounding 207 learners were trained, which is certainly a new WESSA record! What is excellent about regional hosting is the distinct flavour that the courses take from their geographic region and the personal flare of the facilitators. Two Assessors Courses were held over this period, and for the first time these did not have to be outsourced to facilitators outside of WESSA. The old Assessors Course was redesigned into a new, manageable format that was well received by participants at Umgeni Valley and in the Western Cape. The intention is to build capacity within WESSA to manage assessments internally.

Working for Water beneficiaries work together to understand the root causes of environmental degradation WESSA SustainEd is one of the most dynamic and continually evolving education projects within WESSA, and the period of April 2013 to March 2014 provided many examples of this. In June 2013 the team grew by six people with the implementation of the Groen Sebenza Internship programme. The interns completed an Environmental Educators course and were soon successfully running the Environmental Practices Skills Programme (Level 2) with municipal workers from numerous municipalities all over KZN. Courses were offered to 150 participants with funding from USAID, which have not only given municipal workers valuable currency in their professional lives but have contributed to the better functioning of South African municipalities and moreover, crucial climate change awareness. WESSA SustainEd entered into a partnership with the Duzi Umgeni Conservation Trust (DUCT), to offer accredited and non-accredited training for river care workers and other river stakeholders using funding from the Nedbank Green Trust. River care workers clear alien plants and waste along the Umgeni River. Other stakeholders include Enviro Champions, who are citizens based in Mpophomeni Township, that report on sewerage spillages from manholes in their areas and the Mpophomeni Township Street Theatre Group. A two-day nonaccredited training course introduced learners to important ecological concepts, alien and indigenous plant awareness, waste management and water quality monitoring tools (such as MiniSASS), after which the strongest learners were selected to partake in a specialised

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In 2013 the National Certificate: Environmental Education, Training and Development Practices (EETDP) course of four modules was run at Umgeni Valley and successfully led 16 learners along the year-long path to completion of this challenging course. One of the highlights of this year was the Developing an Environmental Learning Programme (DELP) course held in July through collaboration between SustainEd, Share-Net and the ESKOM Energy and Sustainability Programme. Twelve teachers from Northern KZN, the KZN Midlands and the Eastern Cape were funded through the ESKOM Energy and Sustainability Programme to attend the five-day accredited course, which dealt with environmental programme and materials development. The Working for Water pilot programme kicked off at the Uitenhage Working for Water Biocontrol Centre during December 2013. This was the first of a three-part series of courses that form a short skills programme for beneficiaries of the Working for Water project. Fifteen beneficiaries (ground workers) and fifteen contractors (managers of the beneficiaries) were enrolled on the course, which comprises the first three modules of the Environmental Practices skills programme. While the unit standards are the same, the content and assessment activities had been heavily reworked to suit the Working for Water context, and the purpose of the pilot was to scrutinise and evaluate the materials based on how the learners responded to the course, content and assessment activities. Modules 2 and 3 were held in January and March 2014 in the Eastern Cape. The pilot was rewarding on so many levels, but particularly with regard to the enthusiastic response from learners whose conversations evidenced renewed belief and pride in their work. A new module (Level 4) was also designed based on the ideas of effective mentoring towards a particular career path, which is now available for WESSA to use.

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A group of Environmental Educators course participants visit a household sustainability commons on a small holding in KZN for a demonstration on composting and growing vegetables sustainably Photo: Sabine Clinckemaillie

SUSTAINABILITY WORKSHOPS FOR GREEN COUNCILLORS, WESTERN CAPE

isn’t a mansion. Have a look at the picture. But then from a 3x3m shack dweller’s perspective…

Cape Town City councillors like talking about the environment and sustainability and many want to go further and do things too. This positive attitude was evident during the Smart Living Information Sessions funded by the Environmental Resource Management Department and run by WESSA in 24 sub-councils involving 221 councillors. Steadfast Greening was a lead partner in this joint operation.

One councillor who works on the City’s utilities sub-committee raised an interesting point. Colleagues, he said, were concerned that electricity consumption in the City was going down, even as population was on the rise. Too many people were turning off geysers, pool pumps and heaters, switching to LED lights, insulating roofs and installing PV panels. How would the City deal with the loss of income when for years, profits have been made from selling Eskom power? But if the municipality is already subsidising the poor with free electricity, would it not be a good idea to put this part of the budget into renewable energy instead?

With only 30 minutes per session and the entire contents of the 150page Smart Living Handbook to cover, an innovative way was required to attract attention and summarise key sustainability concepts around water, waste, energy and biodiversity. A model house complete with growing garden, water tanks, little wetland, working solar panels, LED lights, wind turbine and worm farm did the trick, focused local leaders and prompted many questions.

There was general shock about the state of our marine biodiversity with so many known, enjoyed and presumed plentiful species having migrated from the green to the orange list on the South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI) lists. “Was Tilapia fish farming an option?” “Didn’t these fish eat the excrement of ducks and thereby clean the water, saving living and non-living resources?” “Are the ducks indigenous?”

“What’s the difference between photovoltaic panels and solar hot water heaters?” they wanted to know. “Is grey water suitable for crop growth?” “How can people produce their own energy and be paid for it?” And, if we thought it was all going to be easy, “Why are you showing us a mansion when most of the people live in shacks?” It really

So went the conversations at these gatherings all over the City with several indications that more of this sort of environmental education should be happening. Could WESSA continue to help? This seems a better way to spend ward allocations than making more speed bumps.

City conversations about smart living

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WESSA ECOSYSTEM SERVICES Working for integrated ecosystem rehabilitation Ecosystem services are sadly taken for granted by many, and the extent of environmental degradation is only realised or addressed once these services have reached critical and often irreversible supply levels. Ecosystem services are best provided by healthy ecosystems and include: • Provisioning services – food, fuel and water • Regulating services – climate, floods, disease, wastes, and water quality • Cultural services – recreation, aesthetic enjoyment and tourism • Supporting services – soil formation, photosynthesis, and nutrient cycling WESSA Ecosystem Services is a new unit within the organisation, operating in critical areas of life-supporting ecosystems. A key component of WESSA Ecosystem Services work is integrated ecosystem rehabilitation which aims to secure – and where possible to restore – valuable ecosystem services. Negative impacts on ecosystem services are common and varied, but whatever the specific ecological rehabilitation requirements,

invasive alien plant management is always vital. Stop the Spread began as a WESSA campaign to raise awareness of the socio-economic and environmental impacts caused by invasive alien species. Operating within WESSA Ecosystem Services, Stop the Spread has now grown to include the delivery of courses and skills training on invasive alien plant identification and control methods, for teams working on ecosystem rehabilitation and restoration projects across the country. At all levels of training participants spend at least one full day in the field, demonstrating their knowledge of plant species and performing actual suitable control methods on targeted invasive alien species. The training is offered at numerous skill levels and caters for labourers, field managers and even project managers. The training is also suitable for members of the public who want to learn more about identifying invasive and indigenous species, and about effective control methods including the correct use of herbicides. This non-accredited training has been developed and tested to meet the specific skills needs of workers in the field. New course materials and courses are constantly being developed and are often tailored to the specific needs of clients and adapted to different regions and ecosystems. Training methodologies take cognisance of international best practices and are aligned with unit standards in the training matrix of the Department of Water Affairs’ Working for Water (WfW) programme.

Participants on the Mpumalanga EIA course held in February 2014

The WESSA Stop the Spread courses and skills training recently broadened their reach to participate in CSI corporate partnerships for the benefit of both the environment and previously disadvantaged communities.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT TRAINING Taking the WESSA EIA course across provinces WESSA has for the past six years been building the capacity of many South Africans through its two-day short-course on ‘Understanding Environmental Impact Assessment’. This is part of promoting WESSA’s strategic focus area of Human Capacity Development and achieving its mandate of implementing high impact environmental and conservation projects. The courses are made possible through the support of the Mazda Wildlife Fund and a number of other organisations. Over 700 people across seven of the nine provinces have been trained.

One of the highlights of the Gauteng EIA course was having participants from the Namibian Ministry of Environmental Affairs. This was seen as an opportunity to grow WESSA’s EIA work beyond the borders of South Africa. Over the year three EIA additional courses were run in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria, all of which were a great success. The training will hopefully lead to people becoming more participatory in environmental management processes which promote public participation in caring for the Earth.

In February 2014 WESSA conducted two EIA courses in two provinces (Gauteng and Mpumalanga) The courses were attended by a diverse group of delegates from different organisations, municipalities, NGOs and CBOs, the government officials from two decision making departments, namely the Mpumalanga Department of Economic Development (MDEDET), Environment and Tourism and the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) in addition to delegates from outside South Africa. This was a considerable milestone: to have all key EIA stakeholder sectors represented in one room, learning and sharing their experiences.

Practical demonstrations of all control methods are an integral part of Stop the Spread training

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Course participants researching and learning to identify listed invasive plant species

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The EIA course has recently been accredited by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and it now offers 14 Continuing Educational Units for health professionals. It is vital to engage with this sector to ensure understanding of the linkages between environment and human health and that more attention is given to proposed inappropriate and ecologically unsustainable developments. The first Environmental Health practitioners benefitted from the Mpumalanga course and new accreditation. Other delegates came from Lawyers for Human Rights representing the community based organisation called Mokopane Interested and Affected Communities Committee (MIACC) that is currently affected by the mining development in the Mokopane area in Limpopo, where they are fighting for environmental justice. This course should help with more effective participation in EIA processes and with addressing the many impacts of the proposed mining development in the Mokopane area.

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WESSA operates four environmental education centres in KZN and Limpopo, providing unique and diverse educational experiences in an outdoor classroom environment. Environmental awareness, leadership and human capacity development, and outdoor adventure programmes are implemented by professional and experienced staff. The centres are located in four distinctive natural environments, offering walking trails and other activities in a variety of coastal and inland habitats. Well-maintained accommodation and dining facilities are available at each centre. In addition to providing exciting education programmes for regular school groups, the four centres are ideal training venues for WESSA’s accredited and non-accredited environmental courses for adults. They are also popular accommodation venues and provide a base for exploring onsite and local tourism attractions.

UMGENI VALLEY, KWAZULU-NATAL

In response to the world-wide appeal for increased knowledge and awareness of our total environment and a more caring attitude to it, WESSA launched the Umgeni Valley Project in 1976, and established its national headquarters at the Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve. Situated one kilometre from Howick and downstream of the iconic Howick Falls, the 900 hectare Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve has grown to be one of the largest non-governmental environmental education projects in South Africa, with thousands of students participating in courses each year, both within South Africa and abroad. Over 5 500 children visited the education centre at Umgeni Valley, outside Howick, over the year, with a substantial increase in overnight bookings. This increase was largely due to successful research projects for independent and private schools. All education groups receive curriculum based learning at the centre which assists the schools and teachers in achieving their objectives, while the children have fun learning. Holiday programmes are also a huge success, running at full capacity each school holiday. The learners from Howick Prep School assisted in collecting 2l cooldrink bottles to create a plastic bottle greenhouse. The plastic bottle greenhouse will be used to grow herbs and salad greens for the Goldfields Centre kitchen and is a step towards a more sustainable kitchen. Umgeni Valley hosted its first open day for the public at the start of the school holidays in December. This proved popular despite the miserable weather, with over 500 people on the property at any given time during the day. Activities included: talks by the snake man (Pat McKrill), a bird walk by Mike Spain, a tree walk with Keith Cooper, trips to view site, guided by Jim Taylor, making bird feeders, face painting, food and snacks, scavenger hunts and GPS treasure hunts. This event assisted considerably with helping Umgeni Valley become more well-known in the local community and as a result many new season tickets were purchased. Major renovations were also completed for the three reserve cottages during the year, making accommodation options more attractive. The first external audit for PAMS (Protected Areas Management System) sees Umgeni Valley well on its way to becoming PAMS compliant. In mid-2014 is the first METT (Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool) assessment since the beginning of the PAMS project and Umgeni Valley hopes for much improved results.

WESSA’s Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve in Howick, KZN (shown in the images on the previous pages too), is home to the organisation’s flagship Environmental Education Centre

Snake handler Pat McKrill with a group of enthralled children and other visitors at the open day for the public hosted by Umgeni Valley in December 2013

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TWINSTREAMS, KWAZULU-NATAL

Twinstreams Centre has the distinction of being the oldest environmental education centre in South Africa. Established in 1952 it is situated in a magnificent rehabilitated dune forest near Mtunzini on the KZN North Coast. A joint partnership between Mondi and WESSA has resulted in this acclaimed Centre providing a wide range of programmes and experiences to schools, universities and the general public.

Despite Mtunzini Conservancy’s Herculean efforts to prevent an opencast mine it appears that mining will soon begin at Mtunzini. In spite of this, Twinstreams soldiers on!

Twinstreams remains faithful to the dreams of founders, Ian and Jean Garland but has also developed dramatically. Rehabilitated dune forest with trademark bushbabies, kilometres of pristine, uninhabited sandy shores and the warm waters of the Indian Ocean continue to attract visitors throughout the year. The Twinstreams team has remained unchanged for a number of years and continues to offer top quality service, education, catering, fun-filled experiences and well maintained facilities.

Twinstreams is renowned for its thick tailed Bushbabies

Twinstreams has generated healthy profits for the past eight years. Social media marketing has helped to capture a larger share of the environmental education and tourism market in addition to existing loyal supporters. Thanks to funding from the Mtunzini Conservancy, the Umlalazi Tourism Association and Tronox there were visits from over 1000 children from disadvantaged rural schools this past year, which were hugely appreciated. The DAEA-CARE project has recently received its third tranche of R400 000 to fund twelve Eco-Schools and skills development programmes for teachers. Two of the schools – John Wesley from Eshowe and Brackenham Primary from Richard’s Bay – achieved prestigious awards for their Eco-Schools projects. The USAID programme ran for its second year this past year and many visitors to Twinstreams have enjoyed hands-on learning experiences as they experimented with the technology that is available to help us to live more sustainable lives when it comes to using energy and water and to recycling our waste.

A group of community leaders that participated in environmental training at Treasure Beach

Skills development courses at Twinstreams were attended by 50 teachers. Successful participants were rewarded with 12 credits towards an Environmental Diploma. Twinstreams has also become a popular venue for children’s parties and the Twinstreams’ mountain biking single track forms part of the Mtunzini section of the Big 5 MTB classic each year. This attracts more than 800 riders while local Mtunzini mountain bike riders use Twinstreams’ single track nearly every day. A total of 3 821 people visited Twinstreams this past year.

TREASURE BEACH, KWAZULU-NATAL

Treasure Beach Centre on Durban’s Bluff is rich in history and ecological importance. It is the site of the original radar tracking station for coastal defence during World War II and has one of the last remaining patches of coastal grassland. The Centre has been operating since 1985 and offers a wide diversity of educational experiences to all ages. The past year has been a challenging one for Treasure Beach with an exciting new opportunity to provide environmental training for 200 community leaders and councillors. This pilot training was an initiative of the eThekwini Municipalities Water and Sanitation unit (EWS) and was aligned with the uMngeni Ecological Infrastructure Programme of the Municipalities Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department (EPCPD). Two-day training opportunities for 20 participants at a time focussed on ecological infrastructure. The training was intended to create responsible citizens that would be ambassadors for protecting and enhancing our ecological infrastructure. The training included sessions on understanding our natural environment, responding to environmental impacts and understanding energy and climate change. Field excursions were undertaken in mangroves, forests and wetlands to gain a hands-on understanding of ecological infrastructure and how it supports life.

Twinstreams’ Senior Field Officer, Ray Ngubane, presents John Wesley Primary School’s team with their Eco-Schools certificate

The Mondi Merebank CSI team have continued to support and sponsor environmental education within the South Durban Basin. Their funding has enabled continuation of the Mondi Climate Change Schools Programme. This programme provides five local schools within the South Durban Basin with the opportunity to learn about their local environment and respond to the impacts of climate change.

Learners from Wentworth embarking on an excursion through the forest

Treasure Beach has launched its own Facebook page which allows schools and communities to engage directly with WESSA and keep up to date with activities at the centre.

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Taken in the mid 60s, this picture shows Ian Garland, a pioneer of Environmental Education in South Africa, addressing the Dendrological Society during an outing to Ongoye Forest

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Springvale Eco Club learners on a collection walk

BUSH PIGS, LIMPOPO

Bush Pigs Centre, situated in the heart of the Waterberg Mountains near Modimolle, in Limpopo Province, is in its 27th year of operation and it sixth year as one of WESSA’s environmental education centres. Operating since 1987 as a non-profit and non-commercial operation it entered into a partnership with WESSA in 2009. The facilities are situated on two privately owned farms comprising a diversity of habitats and wild game which provide enriching educational experiences to the many schools who visit regularly.

Visitors to the centre enjoy a mountain bike ride in the bush

Operating primarily as an Environmental Education Centre for young learners from Gauteng, Bush Pigs has diversified its activities to capacity building by offering workshops and courses in sustainability. These have been predominantly attended by Eco-School facilitators. The reputability of the centre as a sustainability commons has been boosted by this exposure, and the centre has been recognised by local municipalities for possible partnerships with departments in the future. This year the centre received its Gold Award in the WESSA Eco-Centre programme.

The WESSA Biodiversity Programme is a national project based approach for the conservation of our ecosystems, for the preservation of key species and for building capacity for sustainable livelihoods. The Programme recognises and responds to threats to ecosystem services, identifies and develops socio-ecological resilience and collaborates with the public and private sector for improved awareness and actions for the well-being of our environment. The protection and restoration of South Africa’s rich biodiversity is of strategic national importance. WESSA’s influence in the biodiversity sector must continue to grow in order to maintain and improve the balance of our natural and social order.

Springvale Eco Club learners setting sail to their rafts

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WESSA RHINO INITIATIVE Securing wild rhino populations forever The year 2013 will go down as the worst year for rhinos in the modern era of conservation. A total of 1 004 animals were recorded as poached in South Africa last year, a 50% increase from the previous year’s total of 668. Of this total, 63% were poached in the Kruger National Park. In 2014, the situation seems no different and we are still experiencing an average of over two rhino deaths per day (233 as of 28 March) with the Kruger National Park again losing the bulk (113). In response to the significant losses of rhino, the WESSA Rhino Initiative was established in early 2010. Many WESSA members have donated specific funds for WESSA to invest in interventions to reduce rhino poaching. The aim of the WESSA Rhino Initiative is to secure wild rhino populations forever. Its main objectives are: 1. Increasing landscape resilience to rhino poaching 2. Supporting the Rhino DNA Information System (RhoDIS) 3. Fundraising 4. Advocacy WESSA has done work across many of the major rhino populated provinces. Particular focus areas are in KZN, Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces (Kruger National Park complex) which, when combined, house the majority of the world’s rhinos. Poachers operate freely over the landscape and are not inhibited by protected areas, provincial or international boundaries. Therefore stakeholder coordination is vital. Without improved communication, stronger support networks and an integrated approach across traditional boundaries, the war against poaching will never be won. To do this requires time and focussed effort to develop and maintain strong inter-sectoral relationships and build trust. WESSA has contributed to network development and landscape resilience to poaching through its involvement in two key nodes which have established a track-record of breaking down barriers to ensure trust is built and supportive relationships are developed to ensure stakeholder coordination:

Project Rhino KZN – This an association of like-minded organisations which enables co-ordination of rhino conservation interventions to eliminate rhino poaching and secure the rhino populations in KZN. WESSA is a founding member. Game Reserves United (GRU) – Over the past 18 months, most of the reserves to the west of the Kruger National Park have been working collaboratively to establish a coordinated effort to combat rhino poaching proactively. Through increased investment into investigations and retrieval of defendable information, the initiative aims to secure the borders of participating private reserves in an area that is a strategically important buffer zone for the Kruger National Park. This effort, known as Game Reserves United, is being coordinated under the auspices of the WESSA. GRU through key proactive and strategic interventions aims to increase area integrity management and monitoring around the associated reserves in order to reduce rhino poaching by 50 per cent each year for the next three years. GRU is assisted by an air wing and the addition of the Jabiru aircraft has, from September 2013, provided much needed aerial support. Key rhino poaching interventions undertaken by the WESSA Rhino Initiative over the last year within these two nodes: • Key engagements have taken place with international communities – these include Western governments as well as the former president of Mozambique, Joaquim Chissano and his foundation, the Chissano Foundation. • Over 2 000 copies of the special Rhino issue of EnviroKids Magazines were handed out to children in South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique. The magazine is both an educational teaching aid and a valuable tool to help sensitise children to the value of rhinos and what is happening on the ground to this charismatic species. WESSA believes that educating the youth, especially those in close proximity to the poaching hotspots, is a critical component of a multi-pronged approach. WESSA is grateful to Kingsley Holgate for his support in distributing the magazine to a huge number of schools. • WESSA has sponsored the piloting of a number of rhino tracking devices to assist in increasing the effectiveness of anti-poaching efforts. These include satellite tracking ankle collars for rhinos which are under threat. The aim is to get accurate information on the preferred areas of the rhinos’ habitat which will allow for more effective deployment of rangers. • WESSA sponsored a critical skill training course for 12 rangers in Zululand which focused on tactical tracking training. • WESSA contributed to information gathering around the Kruger National Park which led to a number of successful arrests of suspected rhino poachers. • A Wildlife Crime and Information Mapping workshop for reserve managers, sponsored by WESSA, was conducted in the Lowveld. • WESSA provided over 40 DNA kits to rhino owners for registering their rhino onto the Rhino DNA database system (RhoDIS). The purpose of RhoDIS is for as many of South Africa’s wild rhino population (private

Chris Galliers (WESSA Rhino Initiative coordinator) assisting in securing one of the satellite tracking ankle collars that WESSA purchased to pilot the use of new technologies in the fight against rhino poaching. The collars afford real-time knowledge of rhino whereabouts which allows for accurate deployment of field rangers to ensure their safety.

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The GRUWing Jabiru aircraft doing aerial surveillance

and public) to be registered for assisting in prosecutions and the genetic management of the metapopulation. • WESSA currently hosts the KZN Midlands Wildlife Security Initiative (MWSI) at Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve. The MWSI, run under Project Rhino KZN, aims to work with all rhino owners in the KZN interior (i.e. outside of Zululand). • WESSA has been involved in fundraising to support the implementation of the Rhino Initiative objectives. • Through advocacy work WESSA contributed to a number of government processes aimed at assessing the current rhino poaching issues including a workshop with the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee for Environment. WESSA’s approach of effectively addressing rhino poaching and criminality through a more collaborative, informative, and well-networked alliance of agencies and organisations across South Africa was recognised by the Mail & Guardian at their 10 Years of Greening the Future celebration in Johannesburg in July 2013. Project Rhino KZN, of which WESSA is a founding member, was the winning project in the Awards’ Rhino Rescue Category.

Anti-poaching unit in a GRU reserve who is able to work with the aircraft when required Image courtesy of Wynand Uys

Chris Galliers went on behalf of Project Rhino KZN to Swaziland with Kingsley Holgate to meet with kids from the American International School in Maputo and show them rhinos at Hlane Game Reserve. All the kids received copies of the EnviroKids Rhino magazine.

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Zolani Mpente, renowned local sculptor and member of WESSA’s invasive alien plants and forest restoration teams, with forest users at a workshop on forest health and sustainable livelihoods for crafters

Dr Michelle Henley from Elephants Alive runs to join wildlife vet Dr. Kobus Raath and his assistant with one of the large bulls that WESSA has supported with collaring

ELEPHANTS ALIVE, MPUMALANGA Tracking, learning more about and caring for African elephants

NTSUBANE FOREST COMPLEX MANAGEMENT & SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS PROJECT, WILD COAST A collaborative approach to forest management The Ntsubane Forest Complex is a belt of indigenous forest, broadly categorised as Scarp Forest, but with Montane, Coastal Lowland and Dune Forest characteristics, covering a land mass of approximately 4 661 hectares of the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism between Port St Johns and Mbotyi on the Wild Coast of South Africa. Its geographical position locates it in the critical ecosystems highlighted in the Maputoland-PondolandAlbany corridor, which is internationally recognised for its biodiversity and identified as a conservation priority. Funding from the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund (CEPF) was secured by WESSA and in April 2012 the Collaborative Approach to Ntsubane Forest Complex Management & Sustainable Livelihoods project was launched. There is increasing socio-ecological pressure on the forest resource as a result of expanding communities and their timber related needs, an increase in the prevalence of invasive alien plants, as well as understorey damage and impact from livestock. Forest management challenges have further contributed to forest loss through deforestation and degradation. The Ntsubane Project aims to slow forest decline and empower forest communities for improved natural resource management. Forty-eight beneficiaries were selected for training for the eradication of invasive alien plants (IAP) and forest restoration practices at four pilot sites around the forest complex. The teams worked according to the Community Works Programme (CWP) model of eight days a month, allowing alternative livelihood practices to be pursued by beneficiaries. Further village based training addressed alternative livelihoods, land use practices and community based natural resource management (CBNRM).

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Formal integration of the beneficiaries into the Community Works Programme was achieved by the end of the one-year funding period and coincided with WESSA securing a follow-on CEPF grant for the expansion of the work in the forest complex. The project, Strengthening Land Use Practices, Management and Local Economic Opportunities in the Ntsubane Forest Complex (Wild Coast), involves WESSA working in collaboration with CWP, Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA), traditional leaders and the communities of fifteen forest villages, as well as five schools, to elevate conservation efforts of forest resources. Through this collaboration, the beneficiaries will be employed by the CWP to undertake further IAP eradication and forest restoration of indigenous forest sites which have been verified by DAFF. The site management plans have been developed by WESSA to directly achieve conservation outcomes. One site will be identified for intensive workshopping with the community to pilot a CBNRM land use plan that will feed into the ECPTA and National Expansion of Protected Areas Strategy. Here WESSA will build on previous work done in the complex by the UNDP GEF funded Wild Coast Project. Running parallel to the IAP and restoration projects is the development of local economic opportunities for forest user communities. Over 50 crafters are involved in a one-year product development and increased craft exposure project funded by the Blue Fund. This will enable improved sustainability of crafter livelihoods while simultaneously aligning to conservation principles of good practice as it relates to forest resource use. The school beneficiaries of the project will be involved in biodiversity education and learning projects which will include piloting indigenous tree nurseries for future restoration of degraded forest sites.

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WESSA has been directly involved over the last six years with supporting Elephants Alive, which works in association with Save the Elephants. Real-time accurate data has been collected by good quality satellite tracking collars in the Greater Limpopo region to investigate the possible drivers of elephant movements (which could include nutritional, social or safety benefits).

One staff member from WESSA participated in training with Elephants Alive to assist with one of the projects which focuses on developing a visual elephant identification technique. WESSA also co-authored an article for Environment magazine which looked at the need to conserve, monitor and protect Africa’s remaining large tusked bulls. In addition, WESSA’s EnviroKids magazine (2013, fourth quarter) focused purely on elephants; it is hoped that this issue can contribute to addressing elephant poaching even further afield than in South Africa.

In 2013, WESSA assisted in raising funds for the collaring of a large bull called Wildspirit. An additional three elephants were re-collared to ensure the continuation of longstanding tracking data. Blood samples were taken for DNA analyses as well as tissue samples from possible virus infected sites. Research of wildlife diseases is critical and there is concern around a particular virus which has been linked to the death of a number of Indian elephants. As yet, only African elephants in captivity have been affected.

PINES KENMARE ALIEN INVASIVE CLEARING PROJECT, GAUTENG Clearing Gauteng river beds Initial project funding for this invasive clearing project came from Lotto followed by Adcock Ingram. The project area was infested with dense growths of Australian Acacias in river beds and gullies. Steep slopes were challenging especially where chain saws had to be used. The team worked tirelessly to cover a vast area which includes one of the tributaries of the internationally important Crocodile River.

Alien clearing team hard at work using herbicides to prevent regrowth in an area cleared of Australian Acacias

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After winter the initial team of eleven was reduced to five. The team focussed on follow-up operations on re-growth using herbicides. When the project came to an end, most of the Valley had been cleared of alien invasive plants. Funds are now being sought to continue with the programme to treat the regrowth for at least another two years.

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WESSA BLUE FLAG PROGRAMME The WESSA National Coastal Programme aims to protect and rehabilitate the South African coastline and marine habitat through biodiversity conservation projects and environmental education initiatives. The programme focuses on estuaries, rocky shores and beaches, as well as associated facilities and services such as marinas and whale watching boats. The following are important parts of the programme: addressing coastal management and conservation issues which leads to improved management of natural areas; protection of coastal ecosystems, marine and estuarine biodiversity; development of environmental skills within the coastal conservation sector; and improving tourism and ecotourism opportunities.

Supporting sustainable management of our beaches After more than 25 years, the international Blue Flag Programme is now implemented in more than 48 countries around the world through the Foundation for Environmental Education’s (FEE) member organisations. The Blue Flag vision is to be the leading programme promoting sound environmental education and sustainable management of beaches, boats and marinas worldwide. This highly acclaimed programme was introduced into South Africa in 2001 and is managed by WESSA and participating local authorities. Today South Africa can boast 42 Blue Flag beaches, five Blue Flag marinas and three Blue Flag whale-watching boats around the country. Our new municipality, Mandeni, has applied for full Blue Flag status for Amatikulu Beach and a new pilot beach for this season. eThekwini have re-entered the Programme with six pilot beaches. Some of this year’s Blue Flag initiatives include: • Working for the Coast (WftC) – This programme of the Department of Environmental Affairs has employed workers along South Africa’s entire coastline to address coastal management issues. With this additional help, the municipalities are able to ensure that all the Blue Flag sites are maintained according to the international criteria. In addition, funds have become available to those municipalities interested in upgrading their facilities, in the pursuit of Blue Flag status. Ndlambe Municipality in the Eastern Cape is one such example. • An inaugural Blue Flag Environmental Education workshop was hosted by the City of Cape Town, which was informative, productive and very well attended. • Mazda Wildlife Fund – A Mazda Wildlife vehicle supports efficient and effective work for Blue Flag. It is used to travel to all the Blue Flag sites in South Africa conducting inspections, assessing pilot beaches and supporting the municipalities, marinas and other stakeholders. • Whale Coast Shark Egg Case Monitoring – This project is active on our Blue Flag Overstrand beaches and involves WESSA’s sister programme, Eco-Schools, with the identification of shark egg cases. • The Secchi Disk Project was initiated by Yachtport – a Blue Flag Marina – as part of their commitment to environmental education in order to measure Phytoplankton density in Saldanha Bay Small Craft Harbour. Data is sent to a database at Plymouth University. • International Blue Flag Standards for Whale-watching Boats – WESSA has been invited to participate in the development of these standards. Only one other country forms part of this Blue Flag Working Group. • Socio-economic studies are being conducted by WESSA on our Blue Flag Beaches to determine the impact of the programme – not only for education and environmental management, but also from an economic and social perspective. • Seven Groen Sebenza interns from the National Coastal Programme have contributed to the success of the Blue Flag Programme this year. Sustainable development, climate change, eco-tourism and other environmental/tourism-related issues are increasingly high on the international agenda. The World Tourism Organisation regards Blue Flag as the most well-known eco-label globally with nearly 4 000 sites in over 48 countries. Every opportunity is taken to showcase the Blue Flag programme and for the past three years it has featured at the Tourism Indaba, the third largest event in the African calendar.

The SANParks Coast team working on the Natures Valley Blue Flag Beach, assisting with alien eradication and the overall cleanliness of the beach

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From this event, WESSA has been approached by Madagascar and Mozambique for assistance in implementing Blue Flag. Robben Island, a national and World Heritage Site, has also shown keen interest in participating in the programme, as have both CapeNature and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. WESSA looks forward to assisting them in their objective of achieving Blue Flag status for some of their reserves.

The Secchi disk is a plain white, circular disk (30 cm in diameter) used to measure water transparency in bodies of water Photo credit: Cindy Coetzee

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ESD MAINSTREAMING IN TEACHER EDUCATION The Southern African Development Community Regional Environmental Education Programme (SADC REEP) is a Centre of Excellence of SADC whose mission is to facilitate human capacity development for environment, sustainability, human and ecosystem resilience. Since its inception in 1997 the SADC REEP has been implemented by WESSA.

Enhancing learning and preparedness for uncertain futures For the past 16 years WESSA has been supporting Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) across the SADC region. Simply put, ESD is good quality, relevant education that contributes towards sustainable living. In this regard WESSA has worked in education and training institutions, in local government, in Agriculture as well as in the Natural Resources Management sectors.

The programme realises its outcomes through change-oriented learning and training, trans-boundary networking, collaborative research, resource materials development and policy support. Various sectors are participating including government, crossborder natural resources and water management, agriculture, local authorities, teacher and higher education and schools among others. The aim is to build future capabilities for institutional and human agency, stewardship and leadership.

During the initial project period (April 2013 to 31 March 2014) WESSA, through the SADC Regional Environmental Education Programme (REEP) and the Swedish International Centre of Education for Sustainable Development (SWEDESD), worked with teacher education institutions (colleges and university faculties) to enhance environment and sustainability learning. The aim of the programme was to enhance agency for mainstreaming sustainability planning, learning and action. Twenty teacher education institutions from 14 SADC member states have been involved in these training activities so far. The capacity development processes started with meetings with Deans of Education Faculties and Principals of Colleges (February 2013 and February 2014). At these meetings a road map for training of teacher educators was developed and each institution committed to ‘change projects’ in their institutions. A ‘change project’ is any project that changes actions and practices towards sustainable living. Examples of change projects include lessons that address water conservation practices, recycling activities, as well as fieldwork practices such as water quality monitoring.

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION IN SADC TRANS-FRONTIER CONSERVATION AREAS PROJECT Cross-border solutions to climate change challenges Started in July 2013 and facilitated by WESSA, this project was initiated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the SADC/GIZ Transboundary Protection and Use of Natural Resources Programme. The project engages park managers and community leaders in Trans-frontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) in public participation in caring for the Earth through climate change adaptation and mitigation actions relevant to the TFCAs. The project aims to enhance knowledge, skills and agency (purposive action) among stakeholders in these important biodiversity zones to build resilience in human livelihoods and ecosystems against climate change impacts.

The training of teacher educators followed (April 2013 and April 2014) and a practice-based approach to enhancing skills in planning and teaching was applied. This approach mainstreams sustainability and the environment in all learning contexts. Sustainability principles have also been introduced to first year students. What is most encouraging is that the environment and sustainability practices are being applied in teaching practice as part of the lesson delivery and the assessments. The concept of a sustainability commons, where experimental low-carbon technologies are installed and utilised, has also been developed in a number of teacher training institutions.

Forty champions from all 18 TFCAs in SADC participated in courses that ran from October 2013 to January 2014. They have started implementing change projects that have been negotiated between them, the communities in their parks, and most importantly with the cross-border park stakeholders in the neighbouring nations. Results so far are varied, with some TFCAs more accessible as they have a Treaty in place (Category A), while in others there are policy barriers with no agreements signed at all (Category C). However, for all TFCA categories including Category B (with a Memorandum of Agreement signed), one early achievement of the course was the general feeling that “we have finally been able to meet and start some actions together”. Project champions are making considerable efforts to engage multiple stakeholders in actions such as mitigating sea level rise and coral bleaching caused by rising ocean temperatures in the Western Indian Ocean TFCA (Mauritius and Seychelles). Children in schools, women groups and professional scientists have found themselves coming together in learning about and engaging in monitoring ocean temperatures and restoring ecological infrastructure such as planting mangroves to shield beaches from higher and stronger tides. Others have met with counterparts across borders to explore common actions, such as in the Lower Zambezi-Mana Pools TFCA between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The first group of Trans-frontier Conservation Area managers to undergo training

The teacher education capacity development programme is anchored in a SADC teacher education network which was started in 2008 through partnerships between the SADC REEP, the SADC Education and Skills Development Programme and various teacher education institutions. Change projects continue to support lecturers, teacher educators, and pre-service students.

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SADC Education Ministers Conference discussion on ESD among other issues

The SADC Education Ministers have expressed interest in this initiative, especially in finding opportunities for applying Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as an organiser of emerging and cross-cutting issues in education. WESSA, through the SADC REEP, is proud to be part of this SADC-wide initiative which promotes sustainable living especially since, through working with teacher training institutions, the project has such a significant multiplier effect.

The project continues to November 2014. Higher order social change processes take time and are sometimes difficult to measure, but many stories of change are beginning to emerge. Active citizens are making a difference through small actions that combine the use of climate science, citizen science tools and traditional knowledge to improve lives. By engaging people to work out cross-border solutions to common challenges, using a climate change lens, this project contributes to regional integration and peace.

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Teacher educators making simple and relevant teaching and learning support materials

SWEDESD and SADC-REEP staff with sustainable technologies

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ORANGE-SENQU RIVER LEARNING BOX COMES ALIVE! Innovative responses to water management The Orange-Senqu River Learning Box, Action Learning for a Living River, is an innovative and creative education response to the sustainable water resources management needs of the Orange-Senqu river basin. The development of this two-year project was undertaken by the OrangeSenqu River Basin Commission (ORASECOM) and implemented by WESSA in partnership with several other stakeholders from January 2012 to December 2013. The overall objective was to develop educational materials that introduce issues concerning the Basin in schools to help learners care for the river and understand how the river basin is a life supporting resource. The developing River Learning Box concept, together with a large catchment map and smaller children’s versions, has proved to be very useful. Working with teachers to construct and customise the materials has been a highlight of this project. The ‘Tales and Learning’ section of the box consists of real life stories drawn from the region – a Lesotho teacher was very excited when she identified the person in the soil conservation tale as coming from her home area!

A miniSASS test done by learners reveals a myriad of macroinvertebrates in a water sample from a local river

A visit to local stream in Lesotho and a small local dam in Namibia gave teachers an opportunity to see why the pollution of rivers and dams is a major problem, while creative modelling of catchments, erosion and turbidity testing by learners has been both educational and interesting. Teachers in Namibia developed a dry catchment model from an empty two litre bottle representing a semi-arid environment with a syringe representing a borehole. This process could not have been possible without the enthusiasm and collaboration of the country partners in the four riparian states (Mokolodi Nature Reserve of Botswana, Transformation Resource Centre and National Curriculum Development Centre of Lesotho, Desert Research Foundation of Namibia, WESSA North). Speaking recently at a Teacher’s Pre-Test workshop in Maseru, the Director of Transformation Resource Centre in Lesotho indicated how the project has opened doors for them to be able to reach schools and communities.

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Monitoring water quality is a key to learning

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WESSA plays an ongoing environmental advocacy role by raising a number of compliance-related issues and commenting on selected Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), spatial plans and draft policies that will have an impact on life-supporting ecosystems such as water, energy and biodiversity. WESSA continues to be an active and credible influence on environmental governance in South Africa, working to fulfil its vision of a South Africa that is wisely managed to ensure environmental sustainability. In this regard WESSA staff participated in the EIA regime review and parliamentary session. WESSA also made a compelling submission on the City of Cape Town’s proposed electricity tariff scheme, advocating how it could be structured to promote wise resource use and sustainable lifestyles. WESSA’s Environmental Governance Programme is set to evolve over the forthcoming year, particularly with regard to WESSA’s focal areas of biodiversity and water. A new programme manager has been appointed who will strategically address pertinent issues of crucial significance to WESSA. The programme aims to have an impact beyond its limited internal resources through collaborating with other environmental and justice NGOs, other civil society groups and WESSA members.

NATIONAL WATER POLICY REVIEW

The National Water Policy Review process was initiated by the Department of Water Affairs towards the end of 2013. The purpose of the review process is “to determine any unintended oversight and gaps in the current water policies in order to pave the way for the Department to amend legislation”1. Additionally, the review aims to “overcome the water challenges of our developmental State in order to improve access to water, efficiency and sustainability”1. Given that the outcome of this policy review process will shape the governance, management and protection of our water resources in the long term it is of the utmost importance that the approved policy positions are constitutional and carefully considered. The National Water Policy Review document which reviews the updated policy positions (12 in total) was made available for comment at the end of August 2013 2. Written comment was submitted by WESSA at the beginning of October 2013 following the Cape Town consultation workshops hosted by the Department. Comment made by WESSA focussed on areas where we believed the positions were open to subjective interpretation that could lead to the mismanagement or abuse of our water resources, particularly from an environmental and social perspective. Reference 1. http://www.dwaf.gov.za/Projects/WaterPolicy/ 2. http://www.dwaf.gov.za/Projects/WaterPolicy/docs/NWPR%20 Public%20%20 Notice%20gazette%2030Aug13.pdf

wind or solar installations would have to pay for this privilege and receive only 50% of the current price for energy produced for use in the grid. Along with several other organisations WESSA continues to highlight this anomaly amongst politicians and decision makers. In addition WESSA actively promotes the uptake of renewable energy amongst all sectors of society, accompanying this where possible with formal training and capacity building.

PRINCESS VLEI DECISION A TRIUMPH FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

WESSA is most gratified at the City of Cape Town’s decision not to sell land abutting Princess Vlei in Grassy Park for development. Many civil society organisations and individuals have worked tirelessly to protect the cultural, religious, recreational and biodiversity features of this area. WESSA’s involvement in the future of Princess Vlei began in 2003 when the organisation submitted an objection to the development proposal. Engagement over more than ten years between local government, business interests, civic bodies, inter-faith groups, on-the-ground activists has illustrated the value of sustained and informed participation leading to positive results.

EIA REGIME REVIEW AND PARLIAMENTARY SESSION

A public hearing was called in Parliament by the Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental Affairs at the end of July 2013. The central aim of the hearing was to discuss the status quo of the laws that govern the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system by examining the efficacy of EIA processes. WESSA was amongst policy-makers, planners, academics, environmental assessment practitioners, relevant government departments (from local to national level) and environmental activists that participated in the hearing. WESSA contributed by revealing some of the shortcomings of South African environmental legislation and also recommended some of the premeditated strategies that can contribute to improving the efficacy of environmental justice and legislation. Other EIA work includes supporting WESSA regions on EIA issues as well as engaging in selected EIAs of national importance (e.g. developments in National Parks). The programme continues to play an important role in the National Environmental Impact Assessment Management Strategy (EIAMS) development. The formulation of the EIAMS has been a process initiated and supported by the Department of Environmental Affairs and undertaken by a multi-stakeholder grouping. It has resulted in possibly the greatest interrogation of the EIA process globally. After four years, there is a draft strategy that in 2014 will be finalised and presented to the Minister of the Department of Environmental Affairs. This document has the potential to re-shape the environmental assessment landscape for the better.

WESTERN CAPE STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT REPORT

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the World. Indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead WESSA’s Environmental Governance Programme aims to promote effective environmental governance through participating in the development of legislation, and supporting compliance with environmental legislation by credibly, publically and actively responding to development proposals, threats or incidents that pose a significant risk to the environment. The programme is focussed on the thematic areas of Water and Biodiversity, with environmental education and human capacity development having been identified as major catalysts to social change in these priority areas. WESSA therefore works to create social capital to progressively engage with environmental impacts, by fostering partnerships with stakeholders and responsible authorities, and empowering citizens through the transfer of environmental skills. Important too in advocacy efforts to promote sustainable resource use, are the principles of equitability and environmental rights.

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Despite the many “green” initiatives of provincial and local government in the Western Cape the overall environmental picture is not good. WESSA made input into the WC State of Environment report process that has taken most of a year. WESSA attended a stakeholder workshop and submitted comments during the process and on publication of the report, and has urged government and private sector decision makers to acknowledge this downward, unsustainable trend which jeopardises ecosystem services and the millions of livelihoods. Redressing the situation would require the economy to adopt a less linear and extractive approach to resource use. This theme was elaborated on in the press and there are several follow-up response campaigns on the go, some organised by government and others driven by civil society.

CITY OF CAPE TOWN ELECTRICITY TARIFFING

WESSA’s USAID-supported Sustainability Commons project has a strong renewable energy focus. It was thus important for WESSA to participate in the process of the City of Cape Town’s Electricity policy, published as part of its Integrated Development Plan in 2013. Apart from the hardships facing the poor with more power price hikes, there was the lack of incentives for citizens to produce “green energy” to consider. Anyone wishing to supply surplus electricity from

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WESSA Groen Sebenza intern Malukhanye Mbopha at Princess Vlei

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WESSA SHARE-NET Environmental Education resource materials WESSA Share-Net is an innovative South African-based informal networking unit that supports environmental education through the provision of resource materials. The unit is co-ordinated by WESSA in the Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve outside Howick. WESSA Share-Net has for many years provided support to environmental education initiatives in the southern African region.

In a quest to live and work more sustainably and reduce carbon emissions, the majority of WESSA Share-Net environmental resources are printed using non-toxic ink, derived from soya, rather than from petroleum. Solar energy is used, rather than fossil-based energy sources and eight skylights have dramatically reduced the need to use regular office lighting. All WESSA Share-Net resources are copyright-free for educational purposes, and redevelopment for local use is encouraged. The environmental materials can be used to complement one another and provide a rich, integrated learning experience.

Share-Net highlights over the past year: • Keeping environmental educators and teachers up-to-date with EE happenings. A bi-monthly Share-Net electronic newsflash is produced as well as monthly environmental resource packs to support the different environmental days in the year. • Publishing and printing exciting new environmental learning support materials. River Learning Boxes were produced for the WESSA co-ordinated Orange-Senqu River Learning Box Project as were curriculum books for use in schools across South Africa that are part of the ESKOM Energy and Sustainability Programme. Over 1 000 Eco-Schools Toolkits were printed and distributed across the country in 2014. In addition, the ever popular Year of Special Days for 2014 was edited and more environmental days were added. Three new volumes of inspiring stories from South Africans, ‘Adapting to Climate Change, Step-by-Step: Stories of Change’ were compiled and published. • Offering the DELP (Developing Environmental Learning Programmes) Course and running materials development workshops. Two accredited DELP Courses were run in 2013, supporting teachers and environmental educators from across the country with the skills needed to adapt and design their own learning programmes, as well as the environmental resources needed to support the programmes. In addition, Share-Net ran two shorter educational resource materials workshops during the year.

Learners on a ‘Developing Environmental Learning Programme’ course at Umgeni Valley build the Share-Net developed ecological pyramid puzzle as part of the interpretative trail ecological activity

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ENVIROKIDS MAGAZINE A bumper year for WESSA’s junior magazine EnviroKids is a quarterly junior magazine that broadens awareness and promotes environmental action among children. Each issue has a different theme and supports the education curriculum, making it the perfect guide for school projects. The magazine has had a bumper year with some interesting topical themes, larger print runs of up to 17 700 copies per issue, a wider distribution, and two reprints of back issues for educational programmes. In addition, there was another 3 000 copy reprinting of last year’s Saving Rhinos issue. These reprints were kindly funded by donors and distributed by Project Rhino KZN to educators and children at schools around game parks that are rhino poaching ‘hotspots’. South Africa’s famous adventurer and explorer, Kingsley Holgate, also distributed copies to schools on his expeditions during the year. The magazines were used to raise awareness about rhino poaching and the important role that rhinos play in nature. Four themes were printed during the year. Volume 34(2) Focus on Food covered how to grow food gardens; the importance of healthy eating; and how to choose Earth-friendly food. The theme for Marine Week, volume 35(3) Oceans and Climate Change, explained the expected influences of climate change on our oceans and marine life; how this might affect people; and what we can do to help. The final issue of 2013 had the theme Elephants in Trouble and aimed to raise interest and awareness about elephants, their behaviour and habits, and the threat of ivory poachers. The first issue of 2014 was volume 35(1) Healthy Rivers, Healthy People.

The Working for Water team find out more about water quality and wetlands using Share-Net’s HandsOn field guides

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This theme supported Water Week in March and looked at our rivers and how to measure water quality using miniSASS; weird water wildlife; how unhealthy rivers affect people; and how to keep rivers healthy. During the year a further reprint of 4 500 copies of a special issue designed for use by Blue Flag beaches, titled Blue Oceans and Beaches, was ordered by the City of Cape Town for their education programmes. Besides this welcome increased exposure, a further bonus for EnviroKids was a generous donation by Glencore (previously Xstrata) via the WESSA Eco-Schools programme. The company provided five copies of each of four issues to 693 Eco-Schools around the country. Educators at the schools were delighted with their magazines and the support that they gave for school activities and lesson content. During the latter part of the year, WESSA shared EnviroKids with the NGO partners of Environment magazine. The final issue of Environment in 2013, and the first issue of 2014, included a complimentary copy of EnviroKids. This has increased the EnviroKids print run and distribution countrywide. WESSA and EnviroKids would like to thank the following for their support and/or large orders of different theme titles during the year, either via Eco-Schools or directly to the magazine: Xstrata/Glencore, Nampak, Petro SA, National Lottery, Orasecom, De Beers Marine, Save Our Seas Shark Centre, Department of Water Affairs, City of Cape Town, and Rand Water.

Eqhweni Primary in the Drakensberg with their ‘Healthy Rivers, Healthy People’ issue of EnviroKids

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ENVIRONMENT MAGAZINE The annual 320 km Wild Walk, a four stage hiking event down the Wild Coast from the Wild Coast Sun to Chintsa, took place from 13 March to 24 March in 2013. WESSA has been actively involved in a number of conservation and education projects along the Wild Coast for many years, and has associated itself with the Wild Walk since 2011 when the hike highlighted the organisation’s 85 years of contributing to conservation in South Africa.

Environment magazine is a unique environmental conservation publication, bringing together the leading conservation NGOs in South Africa to report on their valuable work. This beautiful 80 page magazine has two sections: the first part addresses a specific environmental or conservation ‘theme’ and includes regulars such as EnviroBytes (short news items), Natural History, Destinations and Book Reviews. The second section has news and updates from the partners, WESSA, EWT, Cape Leopard Trust, SANCCOB, Game Rangers of Africa and SAAMBR. The magazine has an average print run of 11 000.

Issue 17 (Summer 2013) ‘Drivers of Biodiversity Loss’: the Eco Hero feature recalled the remarkable life and achievements of Nick Steele – ‘The Man Who Did Not Bend’. An article by Rob Markham from the Eden to Addo Corridor Initiative looked at conserving biodiversity outside protected areas. The photo essay was a celebration of biodiversity by young wildlife photographer Russell Prinsloo.

Aaron Ward (seven years old), youngest Wild Walker, helps to unpack the backup vehicle at Mtentu

Issue 15 (Winter 2013) ‘Biodiversity and Social Change’: this issue included research highlights on Karoo birds, as well as vulture conservation in Limpopo. The photo essay showcased the much talked about Green Shack prototype, while an article entitled “Stepping up to sustainability through ‘change choice practices’ and social media” suggested approaches to social change for a more sustainable world that seek to go further than awareness-raising.

Local support across the Mthatha River

Issue 16 (Spring 2013) ‘Protected Areas’: key articles were published on both terrestrial and marine protected areas. The photo essay featured the outstanding photography of Peter Chadwick, while the Eco Hero was Gilberto Vicente of Mozambique, whose 12 years in conservation saw some remarkable achievements, until he was brutally murdered, apparently for getting too close to poaching syndicates in his country.

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Issue 18 (Autumn 2014) ‘Ecological Infrastructure’: the Eco Hero was Nelson Mandela, highlighting this great man’s interest in conservation. Research highlights looked at what is being done to reverse the decline of Southern Ground-Hornbills in South Africa. The photo essay featured the amazing aerial photography of Steve McCurrach, a Durban-based professional who also flies for the Bateleurs.

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WESSA’s iconic Wild Coast hike

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KNYSNA BRANCH – WESTERN CAPE

In 2013 the Wild Walk carried the banner “Celebrating our Biodiversity one step at a time” and was enjoyed by over 150 participants who took part for anything from one day to one section. Fittingly, the hike sets off along the northern Pondoland coast traversing the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism, an internationally recognised biodiversity hot spot and regarded as one of the most vulnerable plant centres globally. Highlights through the Pondoland section include overnighting at Mtentu River and walking across the Mkambati Nature Reserve where stops at the Strandloper Caves and Mkambati Falls provide exceptional photographic opportunities and adventure activities such as cliff jumping, swimming beneath towering waterfalls or relaxing in the shade of the phoenix reclinata palms. Early afternoon arrival at Msikaba Camp allows for walkers to switch to canoes in search of the endemic Mkambati or Pondoland Palm (Jubaeopsis caffra) found only on the banks of Mkambati and Mtentu Rivers.

Branches are local groups of WESSA members who implement local conservation projects and initiatives. They often raise funds and may also help manage and protect sites of special conservation interest on behalf of local municipalities. Branches promote environmental awareness and education in the community, as well as hold special events and activities for members and the general public in order to encourage active participation in caring for the Earth.

The Knysna Branch represents WESSA on many local forums and organisations including the Brenton Blue Trust and Brenton Blue Butterfly Management Committee, Pledge Nature Reserve Trust and Management Committee, the Knysna Environmental Forum, the Knysna Water Catchment Forum, the SANParks Knysna Area Forum, the Knysna Basin Project, the Lakes Bird Club and the Western Heads/Goukamma Conservancy.

Remote, dramatic landscapes unfold along the coastal cliffs of the Egosa Fault where, ironically, the fynbos biome dominates. The majestic 60m Waterfall Bluff cascades directly into the ocean and Cathedral Rock stands as a rugged sentinel against the mighty elements of nature.

Branches are guided by the mission statement, policies and position statements of WESSA, and play an important role in achieving the aims of the organisation. The selection of brief reports below gives an overview of the remarkable diversity of branch activities over the past year.

Providing further coastal contrast is the Ntsubane Forest Complex which covers approximately 4 661 hectares of the Pondoland Plant Centre and is the largest indigenous forest of the Wild Coast. Ntsubane has been identified as a high priority conservation site by the Critical Ecosystems Fund and is one of WESSA’s larger project sites in Pondoland addressing forest degradation through forest restoration and sustainable livelihood work. From Port St Johns to Bulungula the hike adopts a different flavour as tented camps are replaced by overnight stops in local villages and catering is with local foods. The hike proceeds through the Silaka Nature Reserve, with climbing and descending of grassy rolling hills and swimming in estuaries, passing en route geographical icons such as the Mapuzi Cliffs and Hole in the Wall. The Mbolompo Home Stay situated above Mncwasa Mouth is an exciting example of sustainable practices with its clean compost toilets, open air rocket showers and vegetated roofs. The final night of the section is at Bulungula Backpackers Lodge which is Fair Trade certified and regarded as a leading global eco-lodge. WESSA utilised the Port St Johns to Bulungula stage as a pilot USAID Stepping Up to Sustainability project through an eco-stoves programme which saw numerous communities introduced to low wood burning stoves. The success of the pilot has led to WESSA expanding the project beyond these communities with further plans to expand into the Ntsubane villages over 2014 and 2015.

WESSA acknowledges the value of its members, who over the years have passionately volunteered their time and expertise to caring for the Earth. In the process, they have made a significant contribution to protecting and rehabilitating the environment, provided high quality environmental education, and helped to build a sustainable world for current and future generations.

Lorraine McGibbon, from the WESSA George office, gave an interesting presentation of her interactions with various school and young peoples’ groups in the George and Little Karoo areas. Branch members have been involved in a number of workshops and projects such as planning for the Knysna Integrated Spatial Development Framework and a workshop on running effective public participation processes.

GEORGE/SEDGEFIELD BRANCH (“WESSA EDEN”) – WESTERN CAPE This has been a successful, active and productive year for the Branch! The Garden Route is fortunate to have local experts – ornithologists, photographers, geologists, reserve managers, botanists and more – who have shared their expertise in various talks and outings. Over the past year a number of permaculture / no dig gardens were started at community and other centres including Pacaltsdorp High School, Phambili Shelter in Rosemoor and the Irma Bruschi CANSA house. The Kos & Fynbos garden project was a very successful Family Food Farm project run by the Blanco community, with support from NMMU, the Department of Agriculture’s Outeniqua Experiment Farm in George, and the George Municipality. Pacaltsdorp and other communities in George are swiftly coming on board. Other activities included a sustainability stall at the Outeniqua Farmers Market (George) and at the Sedgefield Slow Festival, and an info stall at the De Rust Eco festival. Funds raised by the Branch have enabled Georgebased beneficiaries on the DEA-funded Youth Environmental Services programme, implemented by WESSA, to participate in a birding course as well as a geology tour from George to the Swartberg.

The final section of the hike is hotel to hotel based and culminated in an Eco-Schools coastal education day with Chintsa based schools joining the hikers for the last 6km into Chintsa and the end of the Wild Walk.

Critically endangered Brenton Blue butterfly Orachrysops niobe Image: www.brentonbluetrust.co.za

SANI WILDLIFE BRANCH - KZN The Sani Wildlife Branch of WESSA has, over the last six years, spearheaded local opposition to the proposed tarring of the Sani Pass. The branch has been involved with the EIA process from the outset and has organised and attended numerous meetings with the consultants and design engineers. It has championed what most locals believed to be an ideal compromise between two positions i.e. tour operators and 4x4 enthusiasts who would like the Pass to remain as it is, and the KZN Department of Transport (DOT), which wants a hard surface all the way to the top for reasons of both ecology and economy. Sani Branch proposed an upgraded gravel surface with state of the art drainage features. This would address the current erosion problems and allow access to the same range of vehicles as a hard surface but without destroying the ‘Sani Pass Experience’ – the very foundation of the local tourism industry. The scale of the project would also be much smaller, causing less environmental damage in the construction phase.

Students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, visited Blanco for a tour of the Kos & Fynbos garden project gardens

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The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), in July 2013, handed down a decision in Sani Branch’s favour. Celebrations were however short lived as the KZN DOT and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife lodged appeals which were upheld by the Minister when she handed down her decision in June 2014. This has been a devastating blow and Sani Branch is now exploring further options, including submissions to the South African Human Rights Commission and/or the Public Protector as there is a strong feeling that the right to a fair process has been compromised.

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UPPER SOUTH COAST BRANCH – KZN The WESSA Educational Resource Centre at Umbogavango, which lies within the Umbogintwini industrial complex, continues to be utilised by various environmental groups including the Upper South Coast Branch of WESSA, birding and rambling groups as well as young children from rural schools in the Amanzimtoti region.

and plant life. Among the forest trees that populate the reserve are flatcrowns, the forest fever-berry and red beech. The reserve also has Durban’s largest population of blue duiker.

More than 60 school parties have visited the Centre during the past year bringing the total number of visitors to more than 2 000. Courses focus particularly on the clearing of alien vegetation, protection of wetlands and the conservation of the indigenous tree and bird life within the reserve. A third year intern from the Department of Nature Conservation at the Mangosuthu University of Technology is now employed each year to make contact with the local schools, arrange visits, conduct classes and supervise the nature walks.

Sani Pass HIGHWAY BRANCH - KZN For Highway Branch environmental education, particularly for children, is of the utmost importance and they have been sponsoring children from local schools to learn about ecosystems and coastal conservation at WESSA’s Treasure Beach Environmental Education Centre. Other projects over the past year have included working with the Kloof Conservancy to restore Glenholme Nature Reserve in the grounds of the local SPCA to its former glory.

FOBWA works proactively in the Baviaanskloof and this year the focus was to develop bird watching features at the Komdomo camp site managed by the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECTPA). Komdomo is an excellent birding site: it has been rated nationally as an Important Birding Area and could, if promoted correctly, attract many new visitors. ECPTA has agreed to fund a proposal which includes three screens, two water features and four benches. Other funders include Birdlife EC, WESSA and Toyota SA.

Richard Boon (right) and Crispin Hemson, chair of Durban Branch (centre) enjoy a humorous moment GRAHAMSTOWN BRANCH – EASTERN CAPE The Branch’s 2013 Desert Experience concluded in August with the Jack Skead Memorial Lecture on ‘The dynamic Kalahari system’ given by Dr Michael Knight of SANParks. In January, the 2014 Wildlife Experience on Forests was initiated with the Jack Skead Memorial Lecture given by Peter Phillipson of the Missouri Botanical Gardens on Eastern Cape forests which informed a very successful weekend outing in March to the Alexandria Forest, Addo and the Sundays River.

Nature Conservation intern Zanele Gumede with learners from Kwathambo Primary School in KwaMakhutha and Chris Skinner from WESSA’s Upper South Coast Branch DURBAN BRANCH – KZN The WESSA Durban Branch Tree Labelling Project is an ongoing joint initiative with eThekwini Metro Parks & Natural Resources Department. It aims to raise awareness of Durban’s wonderful natural resources and help people distinguish between indigenous and exotic trees. Sponsorship for the labels is generously provided by Durban businessman Doug Kirton.

WESSA member Jean Lindsay presents Jean and Alan Job with the Green Hero award

A highlight of 2013 was participation in a national celebration in Grahamstown of the Working for Water initiative during Weedbuster Week. The Grahamstown Branch initiated the unveiling of a plaque and this developed into a national event. The plaque commemorates the huge success of Grahamstown municipal officials and the Working for Water Project in the removal of invasive alien trees from Grahamstown’s southern commonage with resulting increased water flow. The Branch sponsors local Rotaract students in their elimination of invasive alien trees. Currently, the Branch’s major watchdog activity involves working towards resolving the ongoing problems on the local landfill site. An exciting Branch project is the production of a Guide to Grahamstown to be published early next year.

In November 2013 WESSA Durban Branch held a very special tree labelling event at Burman Bush with well-known tree expert and previous WESSA employee Richard Boon, who had recently returned to South Africa from Australia. Before labelling commenced, Richard – who is also the author of the latest edition of Trees of Eastern South Africa – introduced key tree species to an eager gathering of about 30 nature lovers of all ages. Situated close to the Durban CBD, Burman Bush is a small coastal forest that forms part of the Durban Municipal Open Space System (D’MOSS). This remnant of coastal bush has remained virtually unchanged since the early settlers arrived at Durban in the 1850s and has an abundance of bird

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FOBWA members supported by ECPTA staff put the final touches to one of the bird screens installed at Komdomo FRIENDS OF NYLSVLEY AND NYL FLOODPLAIN – NORTHERN AREAS Friends of Nylsvley’s vision is to conserve the unique biodiversity of Nylsvley Nature Reserve and Nyl floodplain through encouraging the co-operation of all stakeholders. Friends Group member, Ernst Retief, is making good progress with Nyl floodplain landowners encouraging them to register their properties as BirdLife Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas. Water is a contentious issue: we’ve received complaints about the floodplain being wet or dry or polluted. At Vogelfontein there is very little open water thus the water birds are not there and we are concerned that this Ramsar status is under threat. New member Dr Nellie De Crom is the supervisor for a PhD student writing on the topic ‘The cultural and biophysical aspects of the Nyl floodplain’.

Grahamstown Branch participants experience Alexandria Forest with experts

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WESSA has about 40 affiliated Friends Groups that are active throughout South Africa. These are groups of volunteers that band together to conserve, rehabilitate and protect a natural zone or space of special interest in their local area. WESSA would like acknowledge these groups of committed individuals who embody and encourage the principle of public participation in caring for the Earth. The highlights that follow capture some examples of the activities of Friends Groups over the past year.

FRIENDS OF THE BAVIAANSKLOOF WILDERNESS AREA TRUST (FOBWA) – EASTERN CAPE

This year as a result of generous funding from the AECI Corporate Social Investment (CSI) Trust for three years from 2014-2016, the educational programme at the Centre will be expanded. It is hoped that, in addition to the school visits, Umbogovango can become a research centre for students from various colleges and universities in the Durban region. A number of the schools participating in the School Beautification programme will also be supported to join the Eco-Schools programme due to the funding received.

For the past 40 years Highway Branch has held meetings every month with guest speakers addressing a variety of subjects dealing with nature and the environment in all its forms. These are both educational and social occasions. In February Branch chairman Alan Job and his wife Jean received eThekwini Municipality’s Green Hero Award for dedicating their time voluntarily to conservation for the past 40 years. The couple has been the driving force behind raising funds to support environmental education. Through their efforts hundreds of primary school children from the Highway area have been able to visit Treasure Beach. Over the years they have also organised unforgettable weekends away into KZN reserves, Christmas dinners and day excursions to local reserves. In addition to being WESSA Highway Branch Chair for 40 years, Alan has also been the chairman of and driving force behind the Ron Senogles Fund since its inception in 1995. This fund has sponsored worthy recipients involved in conservation projects in KZN.

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Much time has been spent worrying about and attending meetings relating to the proposed platinum mine on the farm Volspruit. Our ground water expert died very suddenly. The EIA experts are trying to tell us that the underground water levels are not affected by the water running in the river bed.

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FRIENDS OF MEADOWRIDGE COMMON – WESTERN CAPE

We arranged a Bateleurs flyover of the Nyl floodplain to inspect a sewage spill from the Mookgophong sewage works.

Working parties for the Friends of the Meadowridge Common usually consist of the ageing committee, so the appearance of younger local residents and the support of Cape Nature to assist with projects, has been most welcome. A large area of alien groundcover which was swamping some valuable indigenous plants has been removed. A second operation involved the re-laying of the woodchip paths in one section of the Common. A third activity involved the planting of ericas on the Common: one set of plants came from cuttings of an erica already established there; the other is erica verticulata which came from Kirstenbosch.

3 092 birds were counted by 56 people during the 15th census on 8 February 2014 – the highest number of birds ever counted in this area. Courses run over the past year at Nylsvley have included a well-attended Beginners Birds course, a Photography course, an introduction to snake handling, and a tree ID course. In November our reserve staff attended a course on water birds. At our September work party we repainted the traffic signs from the reserve; removed the broken handrails from the Jacana walkway; and made curtains for the group camp hall (all financed by the Friends). Over the past year we have also produced the popular Nylsvley Bird Quick Guide.

Friends of Moreletakloof’s new rest deck FRIENDS OF THE GENERAL SMUTS FOUNDATION – NORTHERN AREAS

A team from FMCSA helping to clear some poplar trees at Skuilkrans which were felled. The poplars are exotics that are preventing the growth of indigenous trees Water birds course at Nylsvley in November 2013

FRIENDS OF MORELETAKLOOF – NORTHERN AREAS We had a year full of exciting work, which started with funding from BirdLifeSA and other sponsors for the building of our Flufftail bird hide, rest deck and toilet, and new parking. This was completed in July and handed over to Nature Conservation in October 2013. Many people offered their services at no cost. These facilities are all easily accessible for persons with special needs. We had visits from Pathways students, with their helpers, groups from retirement villages, as well as very good walks and talks about rock formations, birds, trees and mushrooms.

Johannes Shibambo and Neels Botma inspect a dead water snake injured in fire at Nylsvley in October 2013

The rainy season resulted in an impressive variety of mushrooms and fungi! Rain damage is currently being repaired and 150 trees were planted in our parking area. The amount of people visiting the reserve has increased significantly. Our main current projects involve repainting and repairing our palisade, getting a permanent supply of water to our toilet and making the pathways more accessible.

The WESSA Friends Groups concept also extends to groups caring for monuments, sites of historical, archaeological or cultural importance, such as Friends of the General Smuts Foundation. We have had a good year, and are delighted to report that the roof of the Big House is now fixed. A grant of nearly R250 000 from the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust enabled the whole roof to be repaired and painted. We also arranged and paid for the mosquito mesh in the courtyard of the Big House to be replaced, thus preventing cats from entering the Museum, and roller blinds were installed in the lapa. Certain items in the house have been encased in perspex boxes to prevent visitor interference and lighting has been installed on the pathway from the lapa to the car park. The Friends are currently financing two gardeners a week to maintain the Arboretum and do extra work in the grounds of Smuts House. We received the Bontle ke Botho municipal award of R15 000 in 2012. The money has been used for plinths describing the Bywoner and Stromalitites and all the plaques on the obelisk on the koppie have been replaced with granite. We hosted several bird walks, interesting environmental conservation and historical talks as well as an impressive guitar duo at our November Concert. The Chairman of the General Smuts Foundation, Adrian Toms, died very suddenly on 4 January. His guidance, knowledge and personality will be hard to replace.

Planting of ericas on the Common by Meadowridge Friends and other volunteers FRIENDS OF SILVERMINE NATURE AREA – WESTERN CAPE The Friends of Silvermine, together with Friends of Vlakkenberg, received a joint WESSA Western Cape Award for their significant contribution to the eradication of alien invasive plants in the southern areas of Table Mountain National Park through their ‘Tuesday Clearing Group’. They were commended for the sustained, tenacious work over more than a decade which has made it possible for SANParks to allocate nearly half a million Rand to other priority areas! The award was presented to the groups at WESSA Western Cape’s 65th Annual Regional Meeting and Awards Ceremony in October 2013.

FRIENDS OF SKUILKRANS – NORTHERN AREAS The Friends of Skuilkrans area has been formally extended to include Skuilkrans Kopje, Moreletaspruit at Skuilkrans and Meyerpark Bird Sanctuary. Friends of Skuilkrans also cooperate closely with the Adopt Moreletaspruit initiative. After intensive alien vegetation removal and development of footpaths the previous year, Skuilkrans Kopje only required maintenance and was extensively visited over the year. In September 2013 staff of the Ford Motor Company of South Africa (FMCSA) assisted with the clean-up and improvement of the natural river environment in the Meyerpark Bird Sanctuary during their Global Week of Caring. FMCSA also facilitated a donation of R25 000 from Ford of America which was spent on tools, alien plant removal and planting of indigenous trees. Alien trees have been removed from the Moreletaspruit at Skuilkrans resulting in much improved riparian vegetation, lowering of flood risk and improved security.

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The opening of the Bird Hide at Moreletakloof with everyone who was involved with the project: Jeannie du Plessis, Retief, (BirdLife SA), Yvette Nouvelle (RMB), Francois Bekker (DA Councillor) and Chris Patton (SANParks)

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Smuts House Museum Image: www.gautengcc.co.za

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The Friends of Vlakkenberg and Friends of Silvermine “Tuesday Clearing Group” at the Awards Ceremony

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THE 2013 WESSA AWARDS The WESSA Awards, which have been presented since 1974, enable WESSA to recognise and honour individuals and groups who have made a significant contribution to the environmental conservation or environmental education sector in South Africa in an exceptional and sustained manner. These may be given to any individual, corporate/ organisation, community group, educational group, conservation or environmental group of volunteers who have done outstanding work in their local community for the benefit of environmental conservation or education.

GALA DINNER RAISES ALMOST HALF A MILLION RAND FOR WESSA Gauteng-based property developer and office space provider – and WESSA Business Supporter – The Success Academy (TSA) held a highly successful gala banquet and fundraising auction in Centurion in October 2013 in support of the global initiative to raise awareness of rhino poaching and the illegal trade in rhino horn.

WESSA is grateful for the support of all our Project Funders, Business Members and Trusts, as well as donations received – both monetary and in kind – from individuals and corporates. As an NGO, we depend on this funding to allow us to continue to care for the Earth. WESSA also greatly values the support received from the numerous volunteers who give freely and generously of their time and expertise.

TRUSTS WESSA’s national conservation activities and projects are proudly and generously supported by:

2013 GROUP AWARDS SANParks Honorary Rangers For their amazing voluntary contribution towards the conservation of all of our National Parks. For over 50 years these men and women have given freely of their time, expertise and resources to ensure the integrity and endurance of our Parks system.

The Guy Balderson Fund The Gower Trust The Hans Hoheisen Conservation Trust The Lomas Wildlife Protection Trust The Maas Maassen Fund

Glenwood House Environmental Society For their exceptional contribution toward for Environmental Education, not only within their school environment, but also within the greater community of George and beyond.

PROJECT FUNDERS

2013 INDIVIDUAL AWARDS Lucas Ngobeni For his outstanding work in the field of Environmental Education and his involvement in and support of the National Eco-Schools Programme. Dr William Fowlds For his extensive contribution to conservation and wildlife veterinary activities over many decades, and in particular his recent ongoing efforts to help curb the poaching of rhino. Dr Michelle Henley For her extensive contribution to the understanding of elephant migratory behaviour and for the use of this information towards insights into their environmental impact and towards anti-poaching efforts.

Several artists generously donated their work for auction at the glamorous Centurion event At the start of the event, TSA handed over a cheque for R250 000 to WESSA and additional funds raised during the silent and live auction were also donated to the WESSA to support rhino conservation work, bringing the total to an astounding R485 500. The proceeds will be used to fund training and equipment for rangers, rhino DNA collection, and rhino security and intelligence gathering. TSA’s CEO Charl du Toit chose to partner with WESSA in recognition of the organisation’s long-standing track record of implementing lasting solutions to curb the current rhino poaching crisis and of working in successful partnerships with nature reserves across the country. Several artists donated their work for auction at the event and comedian Barry Hilton took to the stage to deliver a hilarious performance, which served to lift any sombre moods that the harsh realities of South Africa’s rhino poaching crisis may have caused.

Ms Clare McAuliffe receives a 2013 WESSA National Award for Groups on behalf of Glenwood House Environmental Society in George, from WESSA Patron, Mr Andile Sangqu (middle), and WESSA Chairman, Dr Richard Lewis (right)

African Bank British High Commission Capricorn Municipality Coca-Cola Fortune Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund De Beers DAEA-CARE Department of Environmental Affairs Department of Water and Sanitation Development Bank of South Africa Engen Eskom eThekwini Municipality EU Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Friends of Twinstreams Trust Glencore Innovation Hub National Lotteries Development Trust GIZ Nedbank Green Trust Maas Maassen Mackenzie Foundation Mazda Wildlife Fund Mondi Mtunzini Conservancy Nampak Nedbank Foundation Nestle PetroSA RedCap Foundation Richards Bay Minerals RMB SASOL SWEDESD The Blue Fund Tronox TSB

USAID Umlalazi Tourism Association Wrigley Company Foundation

BUSINESS MEMBERS Platinum Business Supporters R30 000-plus per annum Afrisam South Africa (Pty) Ltd Honeydew Dairies New Vaal Colliery Richards Bay Minerals Rose Foundation Woolworths

Gold Business Supporters R17 500-plus per annum Arcelormittal South Africa Ltd, Newcastle Works Barberton Mines (Pty) Ltd Deloitte and Touche Derivco (Pty) Ltd Eskom Holdings SOC Limited Heartland Leasing (Pty) Ltd Hollard Life Assurance Company Idwala Lime ImproChem (Pty) Ltd Indian Ocean Export Company (Pty) Ltd Johnson and Johnson (Pty) Ltd Lake International Technologies (Pty) Ltd Leisure Development Company (Pty) Ltd NPC-Cimpor Oilkol (Pty) Ltd Old Mutual Orion Engineered Carbons (Pty) Ltd Pick ‘n Pay Samancor Chrome Limited Sappi Limited Selectech (Pty) Ltd Sishen Iron Ore Company (Pty) Ltd Smith & Nephew (Pty) Ltd The Success Academy (TSA Properties) Transnet National Ports Authority of South Africa Transnet Pipelines

Silver Business Supporters R7 500-plus per annum Ewor (Pty) Ltd Land Resources International Panda Bamboo Products South African Sugar Association Super Stone Mining (Pty) Ltd Tswalu Kalahari Reserve

Bronze Business Supporters R2 700-plus per annum Archer Mobile SA (Pty) Ltd Bright Idea Project 66 (Pty) Ltd Caltex Mpumalanga North Marketer Chennells Albertyn Attorneys, Notaries & Conveyancers Doculam (Pty) Ltd Exol Oil Refinery (Pty) Ltd Flamingo Casino Gum Tree Lodge Howick Travel cc Komatiland Forests (Pty) Ltd Leriba Lodge Peter Greeff & Associates Plettenberg Bay Country Club Samgro CC Sani Lodge Backpackers Schroeder Logistics CC South West Clothing T/A Rockface Jeep Sublimation House (Pty) Ltd Table Mountain Aerial Cableway UIS Analytical Services

The WESSA 2013/14 Annual Review has been generously created for WESSA by The

Group

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