GROWINGTOGETHERThinking and Practice of

written by

Bridget Pitt and Therese Boulle

for the SANBI Cape Flats Nature partnership

Urban Nature Conservators

isBn 978-0-620-47357-6

Published by sAnBi Cape Flats nature 2010 Urban nature Programme, PO Box X7, Claremont, 7735Printed by Eagle screenprint, Maitland, Cape TownDesigned by ROTHKO, Observatory, Cape TownAvailable on www.capeaction.org.za

All rights reserved. Copyright subsists in this material. it may be reproduced without fee to build the thinking and practice of urban nature conservators, and adaptive co-managers more broadly, as long as no charge is made for copies, and as long as this book is fully acknowledged as the source. no part of this book may be reproduced for profit by any means without the prior permission of sAnBi Urban nature.

How to cite this publicationPitt, B.& Boulle, T. 2010 Growing together: thinking and practice of urban nature conservators, sAnBi Cape Flats nature, Cape Town.

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GROWINGTOGETHERThinking and Practice of

written by Bridget Pitt and Therese Boulle

for the Cape Flats Nature partnership of the

South African National Biodiversity Institute’s

Urban Nature Programme.

Urban Nature Conservators

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This book is a contribution to the Cities and Protected Areas Specialist Group of the World Commission on Protected Areas of IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental network — a democratic membership union with more than 1 000 government and NGO member organisations and almost 11 000 volunteer scientists in more than 160 countries. www.iucn.org

IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas is the world’s premier network of protected area expertise. WCPA has over 1 400 members, spanning 140 countries. Its mission is to promote the establishment and effective management of a worldwide representative network of terrestrial and marine-protected areas as an integral contribution to IUCN’s mission. www.iucn.org/wcpa

WCPA’s Cities and Protected Areas Specialist Group works to improve the lives of city dwellers while strengthening protection of nature – broadly defined – within cities and in larger ecosystems. It has some 100 members from over 35 countries. www.citiesandconservation.org

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The cape flats Nature partnershipCape Flats NatureCape Flats Nature is a South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) partnership with founding partners the City of Cape Town, the Table Mountain Fund of WWF and the Botanical Society of South Africa, supported by the Table Mountain National Park of SANParks and Cape Nature. Cape Flats Nature was founded in 2002 to build good practice in sustainable management of nature sites in the City of Cape Town’s Biodiversity Network in a people-centered way that develops local leadership for conservation action and benefits the surrounding communities, particularly townships where incomes are low and living conditions are poor.

This book “Growing Together: Thinking and Practice of Urban Nature Conservators” articulates and develops the practice that has developed in the partnership.

SANBIThe South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) is mandated by the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act of 2004 to champion the exploration, conservation, sustainable use, appreciation and enjoyment of South Africa’s exceptionally rich biodiversity for all people. The Cape Flats Nature partnership project is implemented as part of SANBI’s Urban Nature Programme, which improves human wellbeing in cities by catalysing care for biodiversity in cities and beyond.

City of Cape TownThe City of Cape Town leads conservation efforts to meet local biodiversity targets in the City through its Biodiversity Network. The City’s Biodiversity Strategy is one of several implementation strategies for the 2001 Integrated Metropolitan Environmental Policy. The City’s Biodiversity Management Branch implements the Biodiversity Strategy through the Biodiversity Network. The City of Cape Town has a complex relationship with Cape Flats Nature as it is a founding member, funder, and target of project interventions, as many of the initiatives catalysed by the project are mainstreamed into the City.

Table Mountain FundThe Table Mountain Fund (TMF) of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a capital trust fund designed to provide a sustainable source of funding to support biodiversity conservation within the Cape Floral Kingdom. TMF is a funder and founder member of the Cape Flats Nature partnership and has played a key role in transferring lessons to the wider conservation community.

The Botanical Society of South AfricaThe Botanical Society is an NGO with over 15 000 members. Its mission is to win the hearts and minds and material support of individuals and organizations for the conservation, cultivation, study and wise use of indigenous flora and vegetation of southern Africa. The Botanical Society initiated the scientific research that laid the basis for the City’s Biodiversity Network, was a strong motivating force behind the formation of the Cape Flats Nature partnership, and has remained an active partner by collaborating on specific projects. CapeNatureCapeNature is the provincial conservation authority, a public institution with the statutory responsibility for biodiversity conservation in the Western Cape. It is mandated to promote and ensure nature conservation, render services and provide facilities for research and training, and generate income. Cape Nature has experience in urban conservation at Driftsands Nature Reserve and is informally involved with the Cape Flats Nature partnership.

Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) TMNP is a 25 000-hectare urban park in Cape Town run by the national conservation authority, South African National Parks (SANParks). The vision of Table Mountain National Park is A Park For All, Forever. TMNP works within its ‘People and Parks’ portfolio, in a way that is very much aligned to Cape Flats Nature’s approach, and is informally involved with the partnership.

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AcknowledgementsThere are many people who have contributed to the practice that is articulated in this book and to the development of the book itself.

Our greatest thanks go to the nature conservators who work on the ground at urban sites developing a practice that takes care of people and nature and who catch most of those curved balls that come flying at them in the process. Their work is extremely challenging and often unacknowledged.

None of the nature conservators’ achievements would be possible without the hard work and support of their community partners, many of whom are volunteers. Thank you for your efforts, often in difficult circumstances, and your commitment to learning with us about what it takes to integrate nature into the life of people and communities.

Many conservators and members of the Cape Flats Nature project team contributed case studies and their wonderful creative thinking in many workshops and conversations over the past eight years. These case studies are a rich record of our practice and have been used extensively in this book. Thank you Cassandra Sheasby, Charlene Liedeman, Charline Mc Kie, Dinilesizwe Gudlindlu, Hlangalandile Mananga, Jerome September, Kego Mabihi, Lewine Walters, Luzann Isaacs, Marilyn Martin, Neliswa Sihawu, Ntsiki Mlotywa, Sabelo Lindani, Shahieda Davids, Stacy-Anne Michaels, Sven Ragaller, Thumeka Mdlazi, Zoë Davids and Zwai Peter.

The authors interviewed many people whose insights are woven into the text. Thank you to Adele Pretorius, Alice Ashwell, Andile Sanayi, Asieff Kahn, Bongani Mnisi, Brett Myrdal, Charline Mc Kie, Dalton Gibbs, Dorothy Taylor, Howard Langley, Ismail Ebrahim, Jan Geldenhuys, Julia Wood, Kelvin Cochrane, Kleinbooi Mabo, Koos Retief, Lindela Mjenxane, Luzann Isaacs, Mark Ogilvie, Natasja Davids, Neil Major, Noloyiso Dlamini, Richard Williams, Sabelo Lindani, Senza Kula, Sue Soal, Thomas Molefe, Tshepo Mamabola, Xola Mkefe and Zwai Peter.

Sue Soal and Howard Langley made critical and insightful contributions to shaping Cape Flats Nature’s approach and the practice described in this book through project evaluations and ongoing support. Thank you.

A reference group has guided the writing and production of this book. Thank you to Caroline Petersen, Dalton Gibbs, George Davis, Koos Retief and Lewine Walters for your time, effort and input.

Many reviewers took the time to read drafts and give feedback: Abigail Kamineth and Xolani Nikelo (Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality: Environmental Management), Alice Ashwell (Environmental educator and researcher), André Mader and Shela Patrickson (ICLEI Africa/Local Action for Biodiversity), Bianca Currie (Nelson Mandela University: Social Ecology), Brett Myrdal (SANParks: Environmental Planning), Caroline Petersen (SANBI: Fynbos Programme Learning Network), George Davis (SANBI: Biodiversity Planning and Mainstreaming Communications), Henrik Ernstson (Stockholm Resilience Centre: Systems Ecology), Howard Langley (retired conservationist), Pat Holmes, Dalton Gibbs and Bongani Mnisi (City of Cape Town Biodiversity Management Branch), Sue Soal (CDRA), Tania Katzschner (University of Cape Town: Architecture, Planning and Geomatics), Ted Trzyna and Pedro Menezes (IUCN/WCPA Cities and Protected Areas Specialist Group) and Timm Hoffman (University of Cape Town: Plant Conservation Unit). We have done our best to do justice to the feedback and deeply appreciate your effort.

Thank you to Bridget Pitt for her original artwork and to all of you who generously provided pictures – see picture credits.

Without financial support from the Table Mountain Fund of WWF, the Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation (NORAD) and the City of Cape Town this book, would not have been possible. Thank you for your commitment to urban conservation, learning from practice and Cape Flats Nature.

And lastly, to the authors – they have gone so far beyond the call of duty in developing this wonderful book that both reflects and takes forward our work. A very special thank you to Bridget Pitt and Therese Boulle who brought their own passion and creativity into the process and have taken us to places we could only dream of and had no way of knowing how to reach.

Paula Hathorn (SANBI: Cape Flats Nature) and Tanya Layne (SANBI: Urban Nature Programme),Commissioning editors for SANBI

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contentsforeword 1. Finding your way around this book 72. People you will meet 113. Places you will visit 16

chapter 1Growing Systems: the quest of the urban conservator 191. Why do we need urban conservation? 202. Our vision 25

chapter 2Growing Vision: mapping systems and growing vision through cycles of reflection and adaptation 271. How do we begin? 28 1.1. The turning wheel: the action, reflection and adaptation cycle 28 1.2. Stakeholders and collaborative managers 292. Holding the vision 313. Mapping the systems 33 3.1. What indicators show us the social ecological systems’ resilience and adaptability? 35 3.2. How does this site benefit the community 38 3.3. What is the capacity of the community to manage collaboratively? 38

3.4. What threats, limits and blockages are there? 384. What needs to be done? 385. Putting it into practice: a case study 40

chapter 3 Growing our team: leadership, learning and collaboration 431. Collaborative leadership 44 1.1. We have a shared vision… 49 1.2. We feel passion for our work. We breathe life into it, and it breathes life into us… 49 1.3. We think strategically… 51 1.4. We all listen, talk to, and learn from each other…. 53 1.5. We trust and support each other…and see conflict as an opportunity for growth 552. Collaborative learning 57 2.1. Action learning 58 2.2. Mentoring 60 2.3. Training 60 2.4. Pathways to improvement 62 2.5. Discipline 62

chapter 4Growing Communities: creating conditions for sustainability through community partnerships 631. Groundwork for community partnerships 65

1.1. Introductions 651.2. Creating channels for mutual learning and growing co-management structures 671.3. Creating co-management capacity around projects: working with volunteers 69

2. Growing effective neighbourhoods: the great balancing act 762.1. Building capacity, adaptability and resilience 762.2. Putting food on the table 792.3. Building bridges 822.4. Prioritising projects 85

chapter 5Growing Passion: creating eco-literate communities 871. EE: Environmental education or enabling encounters? 882. Who are we trying to reach? 903. Ways of learning 92

3.1. Meeting the great healer 923.2. Environmental education programmes 923.3. Using the school curriculum 993.4. Joint projects to protect natural systems 993.5. Community greening projects 100

3.6. Using every opportunity to grow passion and awareness 104 3.7. Enabling access 104

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chapter 6Growing Nature: priorities for managing the natural systems on our sites 1071. Context and implications for practice 107 1.1. Broadening our definition of natural values 109 1.2. Adaptive management 111 1.3. Growing nature friendly cities 1122. Reviving our systems 1143. Nature friendly infrastructure: touching the earth lightly 115 3.1. The fencing debate 116 3.2. Development and infrastructural pressures 118 3.3. Alien clearing programmes and partnerships 121 3.4. Safety 122 3.5. Dumping and littering 124 3.6. Harvesting 126

chapter 7Growing our web: creating and nurturing a network of partnerships 1291. Networking 130 1.1. Networking principles 131 1.2. Networking and capacity building 132 1.3. Networking and community partnerships 1322. Spreading the message 135 2.1. Lobbying 135 2.2. Publicity and marketing 1373. Fundraising 140

Conclusion 142Resources 143Picture credits 144Authors 145Index 146

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A trip down Lansdowne Road tells an important story about urban nature conservation. It begins its journey in the leafy suburbs at the foot of Table Mountain, traverses the Cape Flats, skirts the dwindling farmlands of Philippi and finally runs to ground in the vast sprawl of informal settlements and low-cost housing that make up Khayelitsha.

Along the way it travels through an urban wasteland of factories and warehouses, vacant lots littered with glass and strewn with rubbish, low-cost housing gasping in the fumes of passing trucks.

But the road also passes something else. In the midst of this burgeoning industria lies a small jewel: a sparkling stretch of water where egrets and cormorants congregate, a wetland teeming with frogs and aquatic life, a centre buzzing with environmental education and other activities.

This is the Edith Stephens Wetland Park. It is the last refuge of the Isoetes capensis. But it also offers something perhaps equally

foreword

rare and endangered: a place where urbanised people, cut off from their natural environment by generations of city life, have a chance to discover nature. And to discover that without a healthy natural environment, our emotional, spiritual and physical wellbeing is as threatened as the plants our bulldozers are grinding into dust.

Edith Stephens is one of many nature conservation sites located within the boundaries of Cape Town and other South African cities. Some, like Table Mountain, are world heritage sites attracting thousands of visitors. But most are small fragments of land, often degraded by years of pressure from the march of ‘progress’. They are built on rubbish dumps, on artificial wetlands and near sewerage canals. They are bordered by railway lines, by shack lands, by leafy gardens. Many contain the last remnants of dying ecosystems and endangered species. Some provide critical ecosystem services such as water catchment and nurseries for fishing stocks. But all have a significance hugely disproportionate to their size or to their biodiversity.

finding your way around this book

A view from Table Mountain across the Cape Flats

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Fund of WWF, the Botanical Society of South Africa and supported by CapeNature and the Table Mountain National Park. Together, these institutions have been exploring new ways to practice nature conservation, in response to a growing understanding that without the full participation and engagement of all communities, nature conservation is a battle that is lost before it has begun. Cape Flats Nature spearheaded this project by working intensively with the managers of six nature conservation sites, all of which are located in highly urbanised low-income areas.

The early days of this endeavour provided a roller coaster of excitement, frustration, huge achievements and discouraging setbacks. We have been deeply moved by the commitment and passion that members of local communities have shown towards nature conservation. But we have also learnt that meaningfully engaging communities entails going beyond ‘persuading’ them that nature conservation is important. Rather, we need to ensure that nature conservation sites are shown to offer tangible value to local communities, through ecosystem services, economic benefits, employment, capacity building, recreational opportunities, environmental awareness, or by providing a catalyst for social development.

Why did Cape Flats Naturewrite this book?

Through these successes and failures, a solid practice of community development orientated urban nature conservation has begun to emerge, and in order to advance this we felt it was essential to capture some of these lessons in a book for urban nature conservators. However, we soon realised that the field is hugely complex, and demanded a lot more than a simple ABC or a one-size-fits-all blueprint. Experience has taught us that every situation is different: What works in one place may not work somewhere else and what works one year may not work the next. It requires, like nature conservation, a careful and restrained hand, a light tread and an instinct for knowing when to intervene and when to step back.

In particular, we felt it important to reflect some of the ideas and thinking that guide our practice, as well as documenting

For many aspiring nature conservators, these sites may seem like play parks compared to the huge pristine tracts of our national reserves, where large carnivores and herbivores roam freely, much as they have done for thousands of years. But these hard-pressed little foot soldiers are nature’s ambassadors and are critical to the future of conservation.

Every year, a higher proportion of the population is born into city life. Most of these people will never set foot in a large national park. Many do not have gardens, or even a pot plant. The view from their windows does not command a single leaf; traffic and police sirens drown out any sound of birdsong.

For these individuals, the urban nature conservation sites represent their only opportunity to have contact with nature, and this means these sites have a critical role to play. This role is not only to conserve biodiversity, or to sustain environmental health – although both of these are essential. They are also the single places that can offer the spiritual and emotional healing which only nature can provide to highly stressed and impoverished communities.

Apart from what they offer citizens, these sites are also critical for the continued conservation of nature anywhere, whether it is in large wilderness reserves or through more sustainable agricultural, mining and forestry practices. For without some opportunity to discover nature and to learn its value, our citizens will lose the political will to ensure that policy-makers protect it.

In the past ten years in Cape Town, a small revolution has taken place in the field of urban nature conservation, driven through Cape Flats Nature, a South African National Biodiversity Institute partnership with founding organisations, the City of Cape Town, the Table Mountain

In the midst of this burgeoning industria lies a small jewel: Edith Stephens Wetland Park

Children discovering nature at Edith Stephens Wetland Park

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the practice that guides our thinking and ideas. While this is in no way a theoretical book, we also briefly explore some of the recent thinking around the collaborative management of natural resources, systems and their resilience, and reflect on ways in which these insights can inform what we do. Our thinking and practice are inextricably linked and we realised it is impossible to understand either in isolation.

Where do the ideas in the book come from?

This book was generated by reading case studies and relevant literature, as well as conducting workshops and hours of interviews with urban nature conservators from all different sectors – managers on reserves, managers of managers, students, volunteers, poverty relief workers, environmental activists, members of NGOs and community based organisations, youth, children, teachers, environmental educators, scientists, all of whom in some way are engaged in collaborative conservation. It is not a set of rules, but an attempt to document the nuances and complexities of the challenges faced in the field, as well as the ingenious and visionary ways with which these challenges have been met. It tells the stories of what has worked and what has not worked, and through this, develops guidelines to assist anyone who wishes to get involved in this field. It is the beginning of a conversation that we hope will take urban nature conservation to places we can only dream of.

We need to ensure that nature conservation sites are shown to offer tangible value to local communities

Who is the book for?

Although the case studies and experiences are Cape Town-based, the book is a relevant and a valuable resource for anyone wishing to engage in nature conservation in partnership with communities in other cities or semi-urbanised rural areas in South Africa. It can also be used in other countries. It will be helpful for anyone working on or around nature conservation sites, students, workers in NGOs, community volunteers, educators, social development workers; anyone with a passion for, and interest in, urban nature conservation. Hopefully, if we do our work right, that will one day include each and every one of us living in our cities.

A workshop with conservation managers generates material for this book

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How is the book structured?

The book is divided into seven chapters.

1. Growing Systems This introduces the field and provides a motivation

for, and vision of, urban nature conservation. It links these to some of the current thinking around adaptive collaborative management, and reviews some of the challenges.

2. Growing Vision This explores methods of formulating a vision for a

nature conservation site and plotting an operational plan to achieve this. It covers the initial process of assessing the social ecological systems that flow through and around a nature conservation site and gives suggestions for an ongoing process of action learning with all community collaborators.

3. Growing Ourselves This investigates building leadership within and

around our site, equipping ourselves with skills and strategies to facilitate collaborative management.

4. Growing Communities This covers laying the groundwork to enable

adaptive collaborative management of the site, adding value to a community through the site and creating community partnerships for projects aimed at enriching the community.

5. Growing passion This explores ways to transform consciousness and

create a deep awareness of our interdependence with nature.

6. Growing nature This deals with identifying priorities for conserving

the natural systems at a site in partnership with the community and ways of working in partnerships around challenges.

7. Growing the web This looks at extending our partnerships into

different organisational and institutional levels to create a strong web of interconnection that deepens and strengthens our work.

Do you have to read it all?

Urban nature conservators are busy people and may find it difficult to read the book from cover to cover. This is not necessary and you may certainly focus on areas of particular interest and concern. However, we urge you to read the first two chapters, as it’s difficult to understand the context or nuances of the other material without having already read these.

We also urge you to critically assess everything you read and invite you to join our conversation - any feedback will be greatly appreciated, and can be sent to us at urban.nature@sanbi.org.za.

Kids having fun at an urban conservation site

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people you will meet

Alice Ashwell trained as a biochemist, but soon realized that her passion was sharing her love of nature with youth. So she became a biology teacher and later an environmental educator. “I love Cape Town and think it is one of the most special places on Earth. I believe that the City’s Biodiversity Network is just as valuable for people as it is for plants and animals, because contact with nature is really important for our health and well-being.”

Andile Sanayi co-ordinates the Macassar Dunes Co-management Association, and has been involved in environmental work for about eight years. “Being close to nature and doing work that is close to my heart drives me. It’s my passion to make sure that people from the township have an experience of nature and value the natural resources on our doorstep.”

Asieff Khan is Reserve Manager at the False Bay Ecology Park. “I love and am passionate about all of nature and life, including people. I really enjoy how it all links into one another and how the interaction between various forms plays out. What I really enjoy in nature is how no one day is the same and how easily beauty can be found if you just look.”

Bongani Mnisi is an Area Manager in the City of Cape Town’s Biodiversity Management Branch. ”I’m passionate about people and creating biodiversity awareness to encourage people to appreciate nature, everyday.”

Brett Myrdal is National Manager of Environmental Planning for SANParks and previously Manager of Table Mountain National Park. While Director of the Table Mountain Fund, he helped others to realise the dream of the Edith Stephens Wetland Park as a recreational jewel for the communities of the Cape Flats. “I believe that we are an integral part of nature and that the way we live within the web of life is an expression of our consciousness or respect for others. Philosophically - one could say that our humanity is nature becoming conscious of itself. Practically - as citizens in dense urban areas we need opportunities to be in touch with nature for our sanity and serenity.  Access to the enjoyment of urban nature offers citizens those opportunities and should be a universal right for all citizens.”

Charline Mc Kie is a Reserve Manager based at Witzands Aquifer Conservation Area on the West Coast, previously at Wolfgat Nature Reserve in Mitchell’s Plain. “For me, my career choice was not a matter of having something nice to do, but rather a calling. Nature can be quite spiritual, soul enriching and stimulating to the senses. If we, as urban conservators, motivate individuals within our local communities to became proactive and champion our cause, then we are doing our job.”

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Dalton Gibbs has worked for local government in conservation on the Cape Flats for the past 17 years. “I am passionate about mentoring young conservators and the conservation of nature in local communities.” In 2000 he was part of a team who established a trust fund which provides environmental education to poorer communities on the Cape Flats. Having helped to establish a number of nature reserves, he has also been involved in the reintroduction of extinct plant species back into the wild.

Hlangalandile Mananga (a.k.a. Anga) is a Site Controller at Wolfgat and Macassar Dunes Nature Reserves. “The most thrilling part of my work is the positive interaction between nature and human beings through environmental education. Also, I’m proud of my contribution towards a global goal of meeting a set target to preserve remnants of Strandveld vegetation under tremendous pressure.”

Howard Langley’s childhood was spent enjoying all the wonderful natural assets that were then an integral part of the Fish Hoek Valley. A year after matriculating in 1967, he fulfilled a boyhood dream when he was appointed as a Game Ranger in the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve – the beginning of a life long career in environmental management that culminated in 2005 with his retirement from SANParks as Regional Manager in the Western Cape. Much of Howard’s understanding of urban conservation was informed by his tenure as Reserve Manager at the Rondevlei Nature Reserve. “Urban conservation sites must primarily be places for human well-being, with spinoff benefits being the conservation of natural values, including biodiversity. Unless urban conservation sites become parks for people, providing a range of people benefits, they will not survive in the long term.”

Ismail Ebrahim is the Programme Manager for the Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflower (CREW) in the Cape Floristic Region (CFR). “Since starting work in the conservation sector, I have had a great passion for fynbos and conserving it. In an urban context, there are many challenges facing the last remaining remnants of vegetation. I am really passionate about making people aware of this amazing and exceptionally diverse flora so that they can have the same mind-blowing experience when they walk in field and discover these fantastic floral treasures.”

Jan Geldenhuys is Chairperson of the Harmony Flats Working Group. “In about 1984 or 1986 I got involved in community development at Casablanca and in activism against forced removals. Now that I am older, my passion for nature in our community as part of our development has grown. It adds something new in my life.”

Julia Wood heads up the City of Cape Town’s Biodiversity Management Branch. “I am a greenie who cannot believe my luck at being in a position to direct and secure conservation areas in Cape Town for present and future generations. It is for our children’s children, and for the long term future of the planet, that I do what I do.”

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Julian Britz is a community worker and Chairperson of Casablanca Concern Group. “I am passionate about beautiful nature. I am a people’s person. I love plants and animals and people. I completed a two-year training course through which I learnt a lot about our heritage and how plants are part of that.”

Kelvin Cochrane has been an active community greener for at least six years and is Project Manager of the Cape Flats Wetlands Forum. “My passion is rehabilitating rubbish dumps. I like turning urban spaces into green spaces.”

Koos Retief is Reserve Manager at the Rietvlei Wetland Reserve in Milnerton. His passion for conservation stems from a love for the natural environment imprinted on him since his youth when he was exposed to diving and mountaineering. “My motivation in life is to preserve areas of natural habitats for the use and enjoyment of society in general.”

Lewine Walters is currently Reserve Manager for Wolfgat and Macassar Dunes Nature Reserves, previously she managed only Macassar Dunes. “What drives me is working in and with communities and partners that want to make a change for the better of the environment. Urban nature conservation means working and thinking in new and inspiring ways.”

Lindela Mjenxane is Managing Director of Beyond Expectations Environmental Project. “I’m driven by a passion to serve the young mind. I want to serve the youth while they are still searching for their future direction to give them a sense of hope and courage and to give them a sense of entitlement. My passion is all about the wonderful workings of nature and to help with social issues.”

Luzann Isaacs is Reserve Manager at the Edith Stephens Wetland Park. “I’m fascinated by the interface between people and nature, how this happens and how it benefits both. I think that nature is at its peak value when people become a positive component in its ecosystem. I’m a champion for nature, but this should not be left only to the people who do it as a profession - nature looks after everyone. I come from the communities I work in now, and find it easy to understand the context that some urban reserves need to function in.”

Mark Ogilvie is Chief Executive Officer of the Cape Town Environmental Education Trust. “The four years that I have been with the Trust have been more rewarding than twelve years as a teacher in the classroom. I can see the lives of children impacted in a positive way by the education programme that we run. I see local communities taking ownership of their natural environment. I can see budding grade twelve learners being given the chance to study conservation.”

Ntsiki Mlotywa is Manager for Communications and Practice Development at Cape Flats Nature. “I am passionate about people and changing lives through stakeholder engagement processes. My greatest joy is knowing that our approach of engaging all partners is well received and supported by our partners, funders, the conservation community and in particular, the main beneficiaries – the communities that we work with.”

Dr Patricia Holmes is a plant ecologist with 26 years of botanical and ecological work experience in the Cape Floristic Region. She has been employed for four years as the City of Cape Town’s Biophysical Specialist, within the Biodiversity Management Branch. “I am passionate about the Cape Flora, the conservation of threatened ecosystems and species, and the restoration of degraded ecosystems.”

Paula Hathorn is Cape Flats Nature’s Project Manager. “I live in a city and cherish the moments when I am able to be in nature. I believe that people need nature to have decent lives, to breathe and eat and sleep, but also to have fun and find some peace and quiet in our busy urban existences. I am passionate about finding ways people and nature can be together to the benefit of both.”

Sabelo Lindani is Site Manager at Harmony Flats Nature Reserve. “I’m passionate about life and fascinated about how everything beneath the sun is interconnected in some way or the other. I love working with people and making them realise that they are part of the ecosystem, making the impossible possible and linking the rich and poor using natural areas.”

Senza Kula is the Co-ordinator of Ilitha Lomso. “I am a young person who is inspired to change others and am very passionate about the environment. I believe I have the capacity to change the landscape of the community.”

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Stacy-Anne Michaels is the Environmental Education Officer at the Edith Stephens Wetland Park. “My passion for conservation began as early as age 12, when my favorite past time was to walk to my local nature reserve and observe nature’s beauty, without the need to understand it. This drives my work, as most youth on the Cape Flats are missing this experience: an opportunity to release similar frustrations to my own during my teen years. It is a healthy necessity of adolescence and a strong building block for youth to face many social issues that will confront them.”

Sue Soal works for the Community Development Resource Association (CDRA), a centre for organisational innovation and developmental practice. Over the last six years, she has collaborated with Cape Flats Nature in various capacities, including as evaluator, trainer, mentor, advocate, colleague and friend. “I have learnt tremendously about urban nature conservation, citizenship and its connection to conservation, the challenges of institutional change, and the importance of dedicated, visionary leadership. Cape Flats Nature has inspired in me a deep commitment to the emerging practice of conservation, pursued through social engagement. I imagine that this commitment, and all I continue to learn from it, will last a lifetime.”

Tanya Layne is SANBI’s Urban Nature Programme Developer. “I am driven by my experience of the healing power of nature as a space in which to be free to be me… and a wish for all people to have access to this experience. I’m passionate about building an equitable society, and believe that nature can make a big positive difference in the everyday lives of people living in poverty in so many ways.”

Dr Theo Manuel combined his love for conservation and education in all that he did. Theo’s PhD research, for which he received a C.A.P.E. Conservation Award, was innovative and inter-disciplinary. He analysed people’s perceptions of the Wolfgat Nature Reserve in Mitchell’s Plain, providing an early example of how an urban conservation site can improve the quality of life for the people living adjacent to such an area. He also linked his ideas about conservation to school curricula and involved local schools in his research efforts.  Because of a childhood accident, Theo was severely disabled and walked with great difficulty, but he never appeared to let this get him down. His tragic death in 2008 was a great loss to everyone who knew him but particularly to the broader conservation community.

Tshepo Mamabolo is Reserve Manager at Bracken Nature Reserve and a few satellite sites in the Brackenfell Area. “My mission is to change perceptions - nature is not exclusive to certain groups. It is a privilege that we all need to take responsibility for to ensure sustainability for future generations. I also want to help urban dwellers know that you don’t have to spend thousands of Rands and time travelling afar to enjoy and experience nature, nature is right on your doorstep!!! Love and respect it and it will florish right in front of your eyes!”

Xola Mkefe uRhadebe (uRhadebe is his clan name) is the Park Manager at West Coast National Park. He has 14 years experience in the conservation sector including in SANParks’ People and Parks programme, and as the founding Communications Manager of Cape Flats Nature. “I love people and nature, I am always intrigued when I see young people being moved by beautiful landscapes, birds and other animals. I enjoy bringing people’s attention to look beyond what meets the eye and discover the greatness of their creator while looking at His masterpiece as displayed in Nature.”

zwai (Mzwandile) Leon Peter is an Area Manager for Cape Town City Parks, having served as Cape Flats Nature’s Communications Manager for five years. “What excited me the most about my work with Cape Flats Nature was the people-centered approach that allows us to make nature conservation relevant and meaningful to communities battling to make ends meet. I am proud of the fact that the local youth acknowledge me for inspiring them to love and care for the natural fragments that exist in front of their door steps.

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Bracken Nature Reserve is re ha bilitating the prev ious ly func tion ing landfill site with in its boundaries. The vege tation types on this 36 hectare reserve are Swart land granite renosterveld and Cape sand fynbos with more than 160 plant species. Bracken is managed by the City of Cape Town.

Rietvlei Wetland Reserve, 663 hectares, has perma nent and seasonal wetlands surrounded by Cape Flats dune strand veld vege tation with more than 220 plant species recorded. Rietvlei is managed by the City of Cape Town.

Harmony Flats Nature Re serve is a small nine hectare site containing criti cally endangered Lourensford allu v ium fynbos. Locals refer to the reserve as a hidden treasure because of its spectacular flora – about 220 plant species are found in this small area. Harmony Flats is managed by the City of Cape

Town and is a Cape Flats Nature partnership site.

Mamre Nature Garden is on community owned land, part of the rich history of the area which was a Moravian Mission Station. The vege tation type is endangered Atlantis sand fynbos and more than 150 plant species have been recorded. The Nature Garden is 254 hectares with a core conservation area

of 13 hectares. Mamre Nature Garden is a Cape Flats Nature partnership site.

Table Mountain National Park is a 25 000 hectare park managed by South African National Parks. It is prim arily an open access Park and has 4.2 million visitors annually. Table Moun-t ain Na tional Park’s vision is A Park For All, Forever, and it aims to be recognised as the world’s premier urban national park.

places you will visit

Edith Stephens Wetland Park was established around a core piece of land donated to the Kirstenbosch National Botan-ical Garden by a botanist, Edith Stephens, to protect a rare plant. The vegetation type is a transition from Cape dune strandveld to Cape Flats sand fynbos. Edith Stephens Wetland

Park, 39 hectares, is managed by the City of Cape Town and is a Cape Flats Nature partnership site.

Wolfgat Nature Reserve pro-tects spectacular coastal lime-stone cliffs and is covered with Cape Flats dune strandveld vege ta tion with more than 150 plant species. This 248-hectare reserve is named after the brown hyena or strandwolf which occurred in the area up

to the 1840s. Wolfgat is managed by the City of Cape Town and is a Cape Flats Nature partnership site.

Macassar Dunes Conser vation area covers more than 1 000 hectares and the vegetation type is Cape Flats dune strand veld vege tation. The area has more than 178 plant species. Macassar Dunes is managed by the City of Cape Town and is a Cape Flats Nature partnership site.

zeekoevlei is the largest natu-ral inland water body in Cape Town. It is a popular picnicking, sailing and fish ing spot and the 344-hectare site is used by 23 sporting clubs. There are two over night environmental educa tion centres on its shores. Zeekoevlei is managed by the

City of Cape Town as part of the False Bay Ecology Park.

Rondevlei Nature Reserve has permanent and seasonal wetlands with Cape Flats sand fynbos and Cape Flats dune strandveld vegetation. It is 290 hectares with 278 plant and 237 bird species recorded, and hippopotami have been re-introduced. Ron devlei is man -aged by the City of Cape Town

as part of the False Bay Ecology Park.

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18 foreword: finding your way around this book