This time last year, CWBR welcomed the 2019 class students from Lycée Athénée de Luxembourg for the schools fourth annual trip to the Western Cape, South Africa. The purpose, a cultural exchange and to part-take in the educational projects in the Winelands that the schools NGO, Athénée Action Humanitaire (AAH), funds in partnership with Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve.

Two weeks packed with activities, landscapes, and meeting people from all backgrounds to enrich not only the Luxies experience but the locals as well. A sharing of life experiences, exchange of knowledge, laughs, and culture.

The trip gives opportunity for the Luxembourg students, who have studied South African history, fauna and flora, ecology, and culture for a year, a chance to experience what they have learned first-hand.

It is also an opportunity for the students and teachers to see the projects and meet the people who have changed their own lives through the opportunities given by the AAH Edulink project. Seeing the effect of the collaboration first-hand.

Though the trip could not take place this year, due to the situation the world finds itself in because of COVID-19, here are some of the memorable moments captured by the students and teachers while travelling through the Western Cape in 2019, to be enjoyed from your couch at home.  

When asked to describe South Africa in one word.

Amazing. Beautiful. Breath-taking. Crazy. Complicated. Diverse. Enriching. Extraordinary. Fun. Impressive. Overwhelming. The different landscapes.

A day at Care Career Connection

Kitchen Workshop

Horticultural Garden

Artisan Workshop

Education through Project Engagement

FGASA & Life Skills students

The Data Collection Project

Adventure

Pontoon moved by hand

Ancient Landscapes

Kayaking

Zip-lining

Experience Different Landscapes

Franschhoek Valley

Table Mountain Cape Town

Vast Landscapes Garden Route

Biodiversity and Knowledge about Conservation

King Protea

Alien & Indigenous Vegetation

Protea

Cultural Exchange

Tour of Mandela’s House

Four individuals who had a big impact on history

Cultural Exchange Point of Human Origin

Animals and Conservation Efforts

Lion

Lioness

Zebra

South African Penguin

The setting sun over Cape Town seen from the airplane window on the way back to Europe

Though posted before the national 21-day lockdown, this article, written by Dr Anthony Allwood has advice on how to approach the current situation we all find ourselves in. The article has useful links to websites with up to date information and can be listened to via an audio recording.

Click title to read article:

‘Covid-19: A doctor’s personal reflection on a global pandemic and what we in South Africa can do’

Global Shapers, in collaboration with CANVA, with information from the World Health Organization have created posters with advice:

The Fynbos has evolved over millions of years in the presence of fire and through natural selection has developed numerous strategies to persist in this winter rainfall, nutrient poor environment. One of these strategies is serotiny, the retention of seed in the flower head which is only released on death of the plant, usually as a result of fire. These seeds then give rise to the next generation. This is found in several of the proteas such as the sugarbush, Protea repens, however others such as the King Protea, Protea cynaroides, resprout after fire.

So although the Fynbos has evolved mechanisms to survive fire, this should not happen too frequent, 10 to 15 years generally but in arid areas the appropriate interval can be as much as 30 years. This is to allow the slow maturing, reseeding species of protea in particular, to have flowered several times in order to produce enough seed to ensure the next generation.

Too frequent and fires cause the decline in species that have the reseeding strategy for persistence. It also results in a predominance of re-sprouting species.

The season of the fire is also important and should, from an ecological point of view, be towards the end of summer and before the first "winter" rains. One of the many reasons is so that the released seeds are not exposed to seed "predation" by birds, rodents etc for too long.

A relatively recent problem that has complicated this system is the invasion of many Fynbos areas by invasive alien plants. These are generally large woody trees that grow very much more quickly and become larger than the local indigenous vegetation and radically alter the fuel load. This results in fires that are much hotter than would be the case normally. This has a severely negative impact in the indigenous biota which has not evolved with this heat intensity. It also on occasions alters the physical properties of the soil which can lead to accelerated erosion.

After the tragic fire at Boesmanskloof

Sightings of the mountain springing back to life

As part of the Science Bus 2020 project, the local CWBR team, a FGASA & Life Skills graduate (and passionate cyclist!), are joined by international volunteers from seven countries around the world, to part-take in a 109 km cycle tour. 

What is the Science Bus?

The mobile classroom that helps to initiate and develop innovative training programmes to support teachers and facilitators combine a practical hands-on experience to theoretical learning.

To excite children and young adults about math and sciences.
The classroom and children can be transported to pristine areas for activities. Subjects can be taught in a natural environment, which allows those activities not only to be fun and informative but to develop their seven senses.

Why are we riding the Cycle Tour

To raise: R 100 000 toward educational equipment for the mobile classroom

Participants: A team of 9 dedicated locals and internationals

Challenge: To complete the 109 km cycle tour in seven hours or less. (Easier said than done! But we have all trained hard)     

When: 8th March 2020

Our slot in the cycle tour: Start 8h00 Finish 17h00

Where: The route circles the Cape Point Peninsula, with start and finish in central Cape Town, near the Castle of Good Hope. Check out the route map

Follow live updates on the day on our Facebook page

Read more about the Science Bus Project and follow the progress.

If you want to join us from your couch

Please sponsor a rider on the day. Donate locally or through our partners to help us reach R 100 000

Please quote: Cycle for Education

All proceeds go toward the educational equipment and we will keep you updated on expenditure through our website

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

For the curious:

CWBR Projects

Athénée Action Humanitaire

OnePlanet

History of the Cape Town Cycle Tour

             On the 8th of February 2020, CWBR facilitated its fifth Western Cape Field Guides Association of South Africa meeting, this time at Tygerberg Nature Reserve, with guest speaker’s Dr Don Pinnock and Dr Tony Rebelo.

The day was filled with both new and familiar faces. Many not only attend for the informative talks but also have an opportunity to catch up and network with old friends.

Dr Tony Rebelo, through interactive use of the iNaturalist app, engaged the audience, shared the fundamentals of how to best utilize it as a tool. Not only to learn about different species through identification but how it can also be used to generate educational guidebooks of species; plants, animals, and reptiles of the area visited when guiding. In collecting observations through photography or sound recording, it is a virtual library of quality data that is shared with scientists, researchers, conservationists, and the general public who are working to better understand and protect nature.

How it works. The app can be downloaded onto a phone. Take a photo and upload to the iNaturalist app. Through the data already available and GPS pinpointing the location of where the photo is taken, the app identifies the subject in the picture almost immediately. Then displays several options with distinctive features and in-depth information to choose from. If the species is rare or Red Listed, the location pin can be displayed as a 25 km radius. The account can have followers who can assist to identify and contribute valuable information about the subject in the photo. The iNaturalist account is also accessible online with more features to further explore.

iNaturalist is a joint initiative by the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society and in southern Africa by the South African National Biodiversity Institute

Join the fun in April!

City Nature Challenge 24th – 27th April 2020

A worldwide competition between cities to record which city has the greatest biodiversity of species

iNaturalist is used to gather the information

Sign up and download the iNaturalist app

Don Pinnock shared his experience of writing the book The Last Elephants in collaboration with Collin Bell. The book was inspired by the devastating news from the Great Elephant Census of 2016. It was compiled by collecting wisdom from over 40 experts, researchers, writers, conservationists, poets and park rangers throughout Africa.

It highlights the plights that elephants face.

The book is supported by stunning photos by internationally renowned wildlife photographers.

A compilation of clips from the film Last of the Big Tuskers by James Carrie was shown to the audience to give an understanding of how important it is to preserve the strong genes of elephants for their survival.   

Above video contains clips compiled from the movie Last of the big Tuskers. Produced and directed by James currie

Thank you to Care Career Connection for supplying a delicious meal mostly made from their organic garden.

The fantastic venue at Tygerberg Nature Reserve

One of the great dished supplied by CCC

This month, Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve (CWBR) features in The Franschhoek Tatler. A local newspaper in Franschhoek. To create awareness of CWBR, inform on the current projects, and how to get involved. Pick up a copy at your local shop or click on the logo below to read the full article online.