The first camp of 2023
The first camp of 2023

The Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve team has hosted its first two-day camp of 2023 in January, bringing together local youth from two different communities in Franschhoek. Just in time for starting school, the camp focused on helping them set positive intentional goals for the new year.

The first day started with spending time at the back of the Berg Dam. The youth were asked to close their eyes and listen to the silence surrounding them in the nature reserve – far away from the usual sounds that surrounds the everyday life in their community. They then explored the area and enjoyed a refreshing swim in the pristine river. Then a group activity - reflecting on what dreams they have for themselves and what they would like to achieve.

Spilt into four groups, each team read the Dream about Bees Life Goals Story, taking the group on a journey with girl their age who wants to become a beekeeper. The story had a personal touch, as it’s based on real life and created by one of our current interns, who wrote it specifically for the camp. The youth were encouraged to write down their own goals and dreams, and for those who felt comfortable, to share what they wrote with the group. Together, they looked first at the bigger picture, then breaking it down to yearly goals and planning, that can then lead to daily actions.

The evening pursued with a reflection session about first impressions of the camp and fun games, integrating youth from two communities who usually do not get along.

The following day they were tasked with creating individualized books for themselves to keep with them as reminders for their goals and dreams they want to accomplish. The group particularly enjoyed this activity, working together, and helped each other create the books.

In the last reflecting session, before returning home, the participants were asked to choose a person and share what they have learned from them. The group who initially did not get along, could share and appreciate each other at the end of the camp.

Celine Macdonald
December Wrap Up
December Wrap Up

As 2022 draws to a close, the Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve (CWBR) team could not have asked for a better way to finish the year. A BIG thank you to all our supporters, partners, old and new CWBR team members, current and previous interns and volunteers: the extended Cape Winelands Biosphere reserve family near and far. All of what we do would not be possible without you.  

We were honoured to join the graduation and celebrate the 16 teachers who have gained their Certified NFQ Level 4 Teachers Qualification in December 2022, made possible through a Rotary Global Grant ‘The Early Childhood Development (ECD) Legacy Project’ led by Rotary Club of Franschhoek and Drakenstein Valley.

The CWBR team started our journey alongside the ECD carers offering them bi-monthly teach-the-teacher outings since April 2021 until the commencement of their course in February 2022. In addition, transport was funded by the CWBR for eco-educational outings for the Legacy Project ECD’s who raised funds for entrance fees. The CWBR reached 218 children and 39 adults through this initiative. The teach-the-teacher project inspired further educational outings for teachers in other areas, and upon request from the Bonnie Peoples Project, the CWBR hosted a weekend programme for Bonnie Vale teachers earlier this year. Additionally, welcomed the Bonnie People Aftercare Youth and five teachers to the Cape Winelands in early December 2022 for a three-day educational programme. A total of 448 children and 94 teachers were reached since January 2022 through eco-educational outings and workshops for ECD Centres. 

In November, the CWBR team also hosted a three-day Anti-Poaching Snare Sweeps training facilitated by three ladies from the Global Conservation Force (GCF). 31 youth from several communities in the Cape Winelands area joined the three-day workshops. The group conducted Snare Sweeps in Idas Valley Reserve, Papagaaiberg Reserve, and Berg Dam Reserve, learning practical hands-on knowledge to take back to their communities. The event was instigated through and followed a weekend workshop which took place in October, ‘Introduction to Snares and Emergency Wildlife Response,’ arranged by Cape Leopard Trust and facilitated by GCF. Attended by a CWBR facilitator.

A very proud moment on the 3rd of November 2022, the International Day for Biosphere Reserves became official! As part of the week’s celebratory activities, an outing to the source of the Berg Dam was facilitated for 60 children and youth from a community in Franschhoek. While walking into the catchment, the group explored their surroundings, fostering their connection with and learning about the importance of nature. An educational day was also facilitated using the CWBR mobile educational unit STEAM-Y (Science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics for youth). Check out a video HERE

STEAM-Y has grown beyond its original vision and is still evolving. The CWBR, in partnership with like-minded organizations has reached 1926 individuals since January this year. Impactful initiatives including the Mobile Career Café, the Blossom Café, and ongoing holiday programmes have been established.

The same week in November, the other half of the CWBR team and 10 Youth Citizen Scientists travelled to Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region to part-take in the 3rd National Catchment Ecological Infrastructure Indaba, in Hoedspruit. The Citizen Scientists are part of the UNESCO Be Resilient South Africa Project led by the UNESCO Regional Office for South Africa (ROSA). The CWBR team, together with UNESCO staff, launched the Citizen Science Community Engagement component in September this year. 

Since the launch, through various engagements, the participants have grown and learned more about themselves, their community, and grasped the opportunities with a thirst for more knowledge.

For many of them, they have come to understand the natural environment that surrounds them in a whole different way. In a curious driven scientific approach, they have been trained to use equipment such a water clarity tube (measuring turbidity and suspended solids), miniSASS kits (carefully capturing, then recording and scoring macro-invertebrates living in rivers to evaluate the health of a river), and PH strips, temperature, and dissolved Oxygen tests. Learning accessible skills through practical implementation, they previously thought were not within reach.

Four of the participants, along with four CWBR members, are enrolled in a Participatory Course for Activating Ecological Infrastructure for Water Security Learning networks.  The course takes place over three months from November 2022 – January 2023 with three two-day contact sessions and assignments that encourage collaborative implementation: combining science with work on the ground.

The group also attended a three—day course with Kartoza in December 2022, to learn about the field data capture tool which can be used to empower Citizen Scientists to collect data in the field using Mergin maps with the possibility to visualize it on the web. Gaining insight to the app they will be utilizing to collect data to be shared open source. The training also included QGIS training to have a deeper understanding of mapping and how the information will be used and distributed.

The CWBR team hosted the youth who attended the ROSA Youth Science Forum for two days in December. The group of 43 youth from biosphere reserves, heritage sites, and geoparks all over South Africa, together with 3 South African regional UNESCO office staff, were taken to the top of Franschhoek Pass. From a viewpoint, the group learned about the Watershed, different Catchment areas, as well as the geological location of the other four biosphere reserves in the Western Cape. A visit to the Franschhoek Water Hub was also done, where they met Dr Kevin Winter who explained the background, function, and what research is taking place there in how to biologically purify water. The evening followed with festivities, each participant wearing a traditional cultural dress from their region. With a backdrop of the Boland mountains and under a stary sky, UNESCO Certificates of Participation and Facilitation at the Youth Science Forum were handed out. 

For the first time since the pandemic, in September, the CWBR team also welcomed back 21 students and teachers from Athénée Action Humanitaire school - NGO. The group spent two weeks with the CWBR team, part-taking in the Edulink projects, learning about biosphere reserves first hand, part-taking in a Photography Workshop with five students from Athlone High, and journeying on a cultural exchange exploring the different landscapes and cultures in South Africa.

A Marine Science Engagement took place in Gordon’s Bay with 24 youth from a community in Franschhoek. The event was facilitated by the CWBR team and a marine biologist, in collaboration with CWBR Board member Dr Melissa Boonzaaier-Davids. The ecological outing was initiated as part of her National Geographic Early Career Grant to perform research on the marine invertebrate communities of the rocky shores of South Africa’s understudied coastal regions.

In this last week before Christmas day, the CWBR team will be gathering with the mothers currently attending the last cycle of Flourish classes in Villiersdorp for their baby shower. A CWBR facilitator regularly contributes to the programme, through lesson plans including ‘Eating Solids,’ facilitating Pre and Postnatal Yoga, supply of fresh vegies from the CWBR Hub Food Garden, and general support to the Flourish host.

The Be Resilient participants are also busy this week, engaging with their communities in Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis (CRIDA)Workshops. A CWBR facilitator, with an accompanying CWBR intern, has taken STEAM-Y educational equipment and camping gear to Twee Du Toll for a five-day holiday programme in collaboration with CapeNature. Youth from communities in and around Ceres as well as Franschhoek communities has joined the event.

At the CWBR Hub in Franschhoek, the CWBR Wood Workshop, a space to learn the artistry and skill of Woodworking, is fully equipped and ready to welcome the first group of students in 2023.

This year, in addition to three international volunteers from Luxembourg, the CWBR has also welcomed three interns from Eberswalde University in Germany for a three-month internship and research project as part of completing their studies in sustainable tourism, nature conservation and regional development.

One of the interns has taken on researching Biosphere Reserve to Biosphere Reserve tourism. In line with the SADC-UNESCO flagship programme “UNESCO journeys in Southern Africa,” the vision is to create a holistic tourist experience that has a positive impact on the sustainable economic development of the Biosphere Reserves and their surroundings. All five Biosphere Reserves in the Western Cape will be joined by a tourism route giving tourist's the option to choose responsible accommodation, food and activities. The aim with this unique venture is to provide equitable career opportunities to local communities while contributing to nature conservation projects at the same time. 

A fantastic busy end to a very eventful year. A BIG thank you again to all involved!

Wishing a happy festive and adventurous season,

The CWBR team

Celine MacdonaldUNESCO Be Resilient
A Heritage Day Never to be Forgotten
A Heritage Day Never to be Forgotten

Introduction:

Awodwa Confidence Tobo, one of our Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve Youth Board members, shares a very special occasion for this year’s Heritage month. On the 23rd of September, she hosted a launch in Khayamandi of her recently published book ‘Oom and Thandi: A Heritage Day Never to be Forgotten.’

The Book Launch

Oom and Thandi: A Heritage Day Never to be Forgotten is based on true life events. I learnt about Oom’s passing after a spiritual trip I embarked on in Nepal in 2017. After a year of mourning him, I believed that it was time to honour the memories we shared together. And that is how and Oom and Thandi was birthed.

The book highlights themes such as race, prejudice, discrimination, and power dynamics between Oom and Thandi and the community they live in. They face a lot of scrutiny because one is old and white, and the other, young and black. Both were born in two different places, Oom from Germany and Thandi a township in South Africa, however they meet at a neighbourhood called Lovely Valley where they become friends. It is where they showcase, their friendship and ultimately, teach other about reconciliation and building bridges.

The book emphasizes how the two overcome obstacles of being judged by the colour of their skin instead of the kindness they show to each other. They help people in their community understand that friendships are about empathy, appreciation and understanding one another which soon becomes a success as their planned event that brings people together.

The book launch on the 23rd of September emphasized these topics, discussed amongst a panel and the audience, while we celebrated and dressed for Heritage Day. A meal was shared together, and the night finished with a drumming circle.

Stephen Smuts
Community launch of the Be Resilient Project
Community launch of the Be Resilient Project

‘Seeing the Unseen: The Value of Water’

Launch of Citizen Science programme and Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis (CRIDA) stakeholder engagements

Meet our Be Resilient Citizen Scientists! The team, from different communities along the Eerste River, are currently being trained in water monitoring methods as part of an exciting research project. UNESCO Be Resilient South Africa in partnership with Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve (CWBR) is implementing Citizen Science and Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis (CRIDA) engagements involving communities in the Eerste River catchment.

The launch coincided with World Water Week 2022 - the  theme of which was “Seeing the Unseen: The Value of Water” – building on the need to see, understand and, more importantly, value water. These new ways of encouraging communities’ involvement in the management of water to tackle challenges such as food security, health, agriculture, biodiversity, and climate, lead to an inclusive 21st century approach to sustainable water management.

There are two methodologies explored in this project: community engagement in discussion and learning of their local resources through development of community scientists, and participatory development of climate change adaptation plans for water security.

Led by Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve, together with three UNESCO Be Resilient South Africa project representatives, the launch of both the implementations of the Citizen Science program and CRIDA engagements took place from the 29th of August to the 1st of September 2022, as part of celebrating World Water Week 2022 (Originally began as the Stockholm Water Symposium in 1991).

On the first day of the launch, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) presented, and together with the CWBR lead, led a discussion on why water quality is important. The participants were trained on a wide range of indicators of river health, including images to convey pollution stories. The 17 Sustainable Goals were presented as a way to show the connection between local and global challenges, highlighting the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach from the ground up, alongside top-down implementation of solutions.

Following the theoretical portion of the day, the participants part-took in practical MiniSASS activities by the river. They gained insight into one of the ways in which they, as Citizen Scientists, will collect data.

On the second day, scholars from Stellenbosch University and University of Western cape introduced the citizen scientists to the importance of building community scientists and on the concept of a catchment scale water management. The importance of how invested communities and ongoing participation in Citizen Science is crucial in ground-up data collection that contributes to developing new approaches in research was highlighted. 

The photo features the first day of training with our citizen scientists, Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation, UNESCO and CWBR staff.

As the two days were brought to a close, the participants stopped at points of interest along the river. The history of their community and challenges that they face linked to the river was shared.

The CRIDA stakeholder engagement was held over the two following days, with the community in Idas Valley. CRIDA consists of five stakeholder engagement stages. On ground CRIDA phase I involves stakeholder engagements to develop the shared problem understanding of water security issues in the catchment area. To solicit their understanding of their felt experiences with water challenges in their catchment. This is a crucial first engagement step to ensure communities are aware of the CRIDA methodology and a need to develop climate change adaptation plans that speak to sustainability of their water resources. 

Through ongoing engagements, the Citizen Scientists will be further trained on performing river monitoring field surveys (instrumentation, data recording and reporting) for key pollution indicators.  The focus on the watershed scale understanding of pollution in the Eerste River – from source to sea – is a novel approach towards building important context on the differentiated levels of pollution along the stream, and thus interrogation of what land uses could be contributing to pollution.

The photo features Idas Valley CRIDA group

C Macdonald and T CathcartUNESCO Be Resilient
How healthy is the river?
How healthy is the river?

As part of Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve’s (CWBR) environmental education outreach events, the CWBR team regularly shares the river health monitoring method, miniSASS, with children and youth, as part of the mobile education unit STEAM-Y* activities.

(*Science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics - for youth)

Participants can learn about the natural life in their immediate environment, how to determine the health of a river, as well as be introduced to what a healthy river looks like in pristine environments such as nature reserves. 

During the outing, the groups are asked to consider where water comes from, what the water cycle is, why it is vital for the survival of all organisms, why some people do not have access to water, and what signs indicate polluted waters.  Exploring what water needs to be healthy and why rivers are so important. Then how water is transported from the mountains to the people. That rivers are homes of many little creatures: micro invertebrates.

How it works

The micro invertebrates present in the river depends on the quality of the water and participants identify the life collected with special nets. Using quality assessment sheets, the group learns about the dichotomous key for determining the species of micro invertebrates. When the micro invertebrates are identified the group then marks the presence of this genus in their assessment sheet. Once the group feel confident that they have found everything in their tray, they make the calculation giving the resulting water quality grade, learning that the grade indicates the water quality, not the quality of their work because of what they found!

Taking the evaluation further

To be able to expand on the activities offered through STEAM-Y, the Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve (CWBR) team hosted a training session at the CWBR Hub in Franschhoek, facilitated by three staff from the Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation (DWS), earlier this year. The two-day workshop was attended by CWBR facilitators, DEA&DP, and interested stakeholders to be trained more in-depth in MiniSASS as well as the understanding of monitoring river health and why it is important.

As part of this training, sessions with two groups of grade 8 learners at Franschhoek High also took place in the afternoon over two days. DWS did a short presentation about river health to the students, explained MiniSASS, and proceeded to do a hand-on exercise with the students in the river flowing alongside the school.

Watch this space for an exciting new project wherein the CWBR team, together with partners, will be training Citizen Scientists in monitoring river health!

 

Celine Macdonald
Mandela Day 2022
Mandela Day 2022

Theme

Food gardens, fruit trees and indigenous trees: creating awareness of the connection between food security and climate change

The Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve (CWBR) team partnered with CapeNature to bring a new experience of hands-on educational activities to the Cape Winelands community on Mandela Day. The activity day was hosted in partnership with Stellenbosch Municipality. One-hundred-and-thirteen children and youth from Ida’s Valley participated in the day's event, which was held at the Ida’s Valley Community Sports Field.

The CWBR STEAM-Y (Science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics - for youth) educational trailer was set up in the centre of the sports field. On either side a session was held with participants which included My Body and Biodiversity and its Importance. Surrounding the trailer further out in the field, an Indigenous Medicinal Plants session took place and a Growing Your Own Food session. CapeNature facilitated a session on the Water Cycle highlighting the importance water has in our lives.

Snacks and beverages were supplied by the municipality and sandwiches were donated by Bridge House school, made by students, as part of their Mandela Day 2022 commemoration.

Celine Macdonald