We are privileged to have Michael Rutzen as our guest speaker on Tuesday 29 March at 17h30 (5.30 pm) at the Green House. Mike free dives with great white sharks in order to understand their behaviour better. He is one of only three people in the world able to communicate with great white sharks using body language. Michael has been …
What We Learned About Aquatic Canaries
The WCC February talk by Edward Archer focused on how we can use biological markers to give us information about the health of our waterways – the so-called aquatic canaries. In an area that is chronically short of water we cannot afford to pollute any of it and these indicators can give us early warning when there is a problem.
Thought Provoking Talk by Richard Peirce
Richard Peirce, well known shark conservationist and author of the recently published book The Poachers Moon gave a thought-provoking talk at the Green House at the end of November. The thesis of his talk was that the many NGOs working in the area of wildlife conservation are perhaps sending out the wrong message themselves. In order to publicise the good …
The Tale of the Kukumakranka
On a Sunday evening late in December I got a call from an excited Frank Woodvine. “Have you ever seen a kukumakranka?” he asked. Frank is the elder statesman of the Hermanus Botanical Society and a former curator of Fernkloof Nature Reserve. I had recently read an article about it in Veld and Flora so I could at least appear …
AGM 2014
About 60 members and guests gathered at the GreenHouse on 9 September for WCC’s 12 AGM. We appreciate the support shown by Mayor Nicolette Botha-Guthrie for WCC’s work. Chairman Jamie Hart outlined the aspirations and future plans of the organisation, especially in developing activities that will result in an income stream to make the organisation less dependent on grant funding. …
Volunteer Frog Monitoring Project
A project to monitor frogs in the wetlands on the Hermanus Golf Course was launched in June. The aim of the project was to assess the health of the wetlands on the golf course. Volunteers from the Hermanus community were invited to participate. A number responded and learnt much about the frogs that occur in this area and how to …
Rhinos Are Real – And Little Ones Are Really Cute
“Rhinos are just big babies. They are afraid of everything – they even cry like babies. But what stands out about rhinos is the very strong bond between a rhino cow and her calf.” This is the way Dr William Fowlds, wildlife vet, described rhinos in a recent talk to members and guests of Whale Coast Conservation. In his work …
WCC & Rivendell Estate Rhino Conservation MOU
WHALE COAST CONSERVATION AND RIVENDELL ESTATE JOIN HANDS FOR RHINO CONSERVATION Spring arrived this first weekend of September with the Botriviera Spring Weekend at Rivendell Estate. The ‘pink’ theme included the Rivendell Rosé and the pink flowers decorating ‘Wetsi’ the wire replica of a rhino orphan. As part of the festivities Whale Coast Conservation and Rivendell Estate joined hands in …
What is a Patch of Fynbos Worth?
Summary of a talk to the Hermanus Botanical Society by Anina Lee and Sheraine van Wyk The Hermanus Botanical Society’s annual Soup-and-Sherry evening took place on Friday 20 July. Anina Lee, Whale Coast Communications Manager, and Sheraine van Wyk, WCC Environmental Education Manager, were the guest speakers. The topic was the sustainability of Fernkloof Nature Reserve in the face of …