We focused on alien invasive clearing, biodiversity restoration and monitoring, and supporting systems change to help nature thrive

www.wildrestoration.org

For a number of years The Sophia Foundation has had a developing relationship with Rupert Barnard and Michelle De Bruyn, the initiators of Wild Restoration.  Primarily focused on alien vegetation clearing, they recently expanded their work to include an Invasive Clearing Action Network.   As one of the Foundation’s areas of interest is in the creation of corridors in the Cape Floristic Region that will allow for the safe migration, interbreeding and dispersal of animals and plants, we agreed to sponsor the extension of their work to include corridors.  This undertaking has grown organically, and they are in the process of building a solid basis for this corridor work whilst.

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Through the funding from The Sophia Foundtion they have been able to install numerous trail cameras across the Western Overberg that are helping them and landowners to understand which animals are present in the habitats where they are working, and how they are moving.  The ease of movement of animals is hampered by roads, fences and infrastructure, transformed lands, as well as human presence and noise. Connection across landscapes is vital for the long-term vitality of both individual species, and ecosystems as a whole.  Animals often avoid contact with people, and so trail cameras are an effective way to understand more about how corridors can reconnect landscapes.  Based on this knowledge, it can be established how best to remove obstacles and improve the flow of wildlife. 

Rupert reports "We have facilitated and coordinated collaboration with landowners around wildlife corridors and biodiversity restoration in multiple locations within the Western Overberg region. These include the Riviersonderend mountains, Kleinriviersberg, Swartrivier and Steenboksberg, near the towns of Botrivier, Greyton, Tesselaarsdal and Stanford. As development and urban encroachment further reduce wild areas in this region, coordinating biodiversity restoration has become ever
more important.

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Our entry point with landowners has often been around the urgent need for invasive clearing on their land. This has then led to conversations and collaborative action with their neighbours covering broader biodiversity management, strategic firebreaks, wildlife corridors and formal land protection to support longer term biodiversity stewardship.

We hosted a restorative retreat at Bodhi Khaya near Gansbaai with conservation stakeholders from the Cape Floristic Region. It was an opportunity for people working in conservation to reconnect with themselves, each other and wider nature, and rebalance their thinking. Participants gained experience with various tools around listening, thinking and systems change.  The group also collectively modelled the current conservation system and how it could shift in time to better support nature and connectivity. 

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We very much appreciate the support of The Sophia Foundation in our efforts to mitigate habitat fragmentation caused by human development and look forward to an ongoing partnership with the Foundation as together we work towards securing effective biodiversity corridors and conservation leadership in the years ahead."

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Contact: Rupert Barnard and Michelle de Bruyn