Walker Bay Nature Reserve honoured with Green Coast Award
CapeNature’s Walker Bay Nature Reserve has once again been recognised for its outstanding commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainable coastal management, receiving a Green Coast Award from the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) for the 2025/26 season.
The announcement was made during the national Blue Flag and Green Coast Awards ceremony held in Port Alfred, co-hosted by WESSA and the Ndlambe Municipality, on 31 October 2025. The annual event celebrates excellence in coastal management, environmental education and nature-based tourism along South Africa’s coastline.
The Green Coast Programme, developed by WESSA, recognises natural, less-developed coastal sites that uphold environmental integrity while promoting responsible tourism and community involvement. Sites are selected based on their commitment to conservation, eco-tourism initiatives, and the protection of coastal biodiversity.
Walker Bay continues to be one of the flagship provincial reserves and the Green Coast Award builds on the recognition Die Plaat Beach received last year after being named on Condé Nast Traveler’s prestigious list of Best Beaches in the World. This Green Coast Award reflects the hard work of our staff and partners who conserve one of the Western Cape’s most ecologically diverse stretches of coastline. Recognition like this reinforces CapeNature’s ongoing commitment to conserving our coastal ecosystems while ensuring that local communities benefit from nature-based tourism.
Walker Bay, located between Hermanus and Gansbaai, is also historically significant, with records of Middle Stone Age people (65 000 to 85 000 years ago) living in Klipgat Cave. There is also evidence that Khoi and San people lived in the area about 2 000 years ago.
The reserve is pristine and picturesque with an abundance of coastal and marine life. It is known as one of the best spots in South Africa to do land-based whale watching. Every year, southern right whales gather in the sheltered bay to breed and calve their young.
Its inclusion in the national Green Coast network highlights CapeNature’s ongoing efforts to balance conservation with responsible visitor access and education.
WESSA’s Green Coast network has more than doubled in size this season, showing the growing national commitment to protecting South Africa’s coastal heritage through collaboration between government, conservation agencies, and communities.
As WESSA marks 99 years of “People Caring for the Earth,” CapeNature’s recognition under the Green Coast Programme is both an honour and a call to continue its mission of connecting people with nature in ways that develop stewardship, learning, and shared responsibility for the environment.
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