Whatever the circumstances and setting, creating employment is good news. For a number of former substance abusers, getting the opportunity to harvest and control invasive alien species through CapeNature’s Natural Resource Management programme translated into the chance to make a new start and earn an income.

The Cape aloe is harvested for a variety of pharmaceutical and cosmetic purposes. As one of its poverty-alleviation and empowerment initiatives, CapeNature has assisted a cooperative in the village of Albertinia at the foot of the Langeberg mountains in the Hessequa district with capacity building and funding.

Community members of the small missionary village of Zoar have the right to graze their goats in a section of the Rooiolifantskloof area of the Gamkaberg Nature Reserve, according to an agreement with CapeNature.

A bioprospecting project based on an agreement between CapeNature and The Body Shop International has not only secured investment for efforts to reintroduce the iconic, threatened cedar tree (Widdringtonia cedarbergensis) into its natural environment in the Cederberg, but also brought development opportunities to the community of the Moravian village of Heuningvlei.

Invasive alien vegetation such as rooikrans depletes underground water resources, taking both water and space from the Cape’s indigenous trees and plants. They also pose a veld fire risk, and a threat to biodiversity as they disrupt the natural balance in ecosystems.

When CapeNature took over the management of the Stony Point penguin colony at Betty’s Bay in 2016, it also started to support the On The Edge restaurant managed by the Mooi Uitsig Community Trust, which had been established in 2007.

Sour figs have traditionally been harvested by local coastal communities. CapeNature have granted permits to some communities along the Overberg coastline to harvest sour figs for consumption, to sell, for medicinal use or to make jams.

CapeNature’s long-standing and successful Goukou-Duivenhoks wetlands project has created 55 jobs for people from the nearby Hessequa towns of Heidelberg and Riversdale – and won numerous South African National Biodiversity Institute awards.

Creating jobs while managing natural resources translates into a win for both the environment and local people. The 10-year rehabilitation project of the Verlorenvlei wetlands on the West Coast achieved this and more.

Job creation. Skills development. Career success stories. These are some of the great results CapeNature’s Keurbooms EPWP project has yielded for local communities

From an EPWP contract position at Stony Point Reserve to conservation assistant at De Mond Nature Reserve and, most recently, an appointment as full-time field ranger at Grootvadersbosch – Nico du Preez’s career progress is a shining example of a CapeNature success story.

CapeNature is constantly working towards greater inclusion for people with disabilities – not only for visitors, but also for its own teams on the ground.