By Jolandie Buck The Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve has been conducting camera trap surveys on Kanon Private Nature Reserve (KPNR) for the past year, offering exciting insights into the secretive wildlife that inhabits this coastal landscape. While visitors to the...
Beauty of the plant life on Kanon Private Nature Reserve
By Jolandie Buck Candelabra lilies Kanon Private Nature Reserve (KPNR), located just east of Gouritzmond, is home to an extraordinary diversity of plant life, with more than 230 recorded species thriving across its landscape. According to the South African National...
Rooikrans Biocontrol
By Jolandie Buck The Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve (GCBR), in collaboration with the coastal conservancies of Midbrak, Dana Bay, Groot Brak River, and Fransmanshoek, has recently carried out a biocontrol release targeting rooikrans (Acacia cyclops). This invasive...
Monitoring in the Swartbergspruit catchment, Ladismith
By Nelisiwe Khusi, Donovan Kotze, Lee-Ann Pretorius GCBR monitoring team, Lee-Ann, Claude, and Nelisiwe recently visited Ladismith to monitor an area that has been cleared of hakea and other invasive alien plants since 2019. The clearing was initiated by volunteers...
Little Hands, Big Impact at Panorama Primary School
By Erin Martin On 28 July, our Environmental Awareness team, Marinda and Erin, led an outreach at Panorama Primary School, with the support of a MAB Youth Member. The day was dedicated to inspiring young minds to appreciate the environment through greening their...
GCBR Smallholder Farmers Day Workshop
By Simthandile Ponti On the 18th of September 2025, GCBR’s smallholder farmer extension officer, Simthandile Ponti, hosted a Farmers Day workshop. The event brought together over 109 smallholder farmers from Swellendam, Barrydale, Slangriver, Heidelberg, Riversdale,...
Seeds of Change: Growing Knowledge, Food, and Sustainability at Goedgegun Primary School
By Erin Martin As part of my Internship at GCBR I have been allocated R20,000 to plan and implement my own project. The purpose of this initiative is to develop and practice, project management skills and to contribute to the organisation’s broader goals. With a...
Celebrating Arbor Week: Growing Roots for a Greener Future
By Erin Martin Arbor Week 2025 blossomed into a celebration of growth, learning, and community, thanks to the heartfelt efforts of the GCBR’s environmental awareness team, Marinda van As and Erin Martin. Their vision and dedication brought together learners,...
Empowering Smallholder Farmers
On the 26th of August, GCBRs Smallholder Extension Officer, Simthandile Ponti, along with Phumudzo Mudau from South African Pork Producers Organisation (SAPPO) hosted a training programme aimed at equipping smallholder farmers with the essential knowledge and skills...
Celebrating World Youth Skills Day with GreenMatter and WILDTRUST
By Leila Moosajee, GCBR Youth Coordinator In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared 15 July as World Youth Skills Day, to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship. To...










