NVTrust Newsflash February 2013
Greetings from our new director
Well, the relaxing December holidays will already be a distant memory for most of us, and 2013 is hurtling along at a great pace! I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself, and thank you all for making my transition into the Nature’s Valley Trust family an easy one. My wife Kelly, son Jesse (6), daughter Kate (3) and I moved down to the area at the end of October 2012 for me to take up the position of Program Director at the Trust.
My predecessors, mainly Julie and Daniel, have left such a wonderful heritage and I look forward to building on the excellent foundation they have set down in the past. We have settled well in Plettenberg Bay, and I am really enjoying getting to know the Nature’s Valley area and its surrounds.
We had an excellent December season in the valley, and on behalf of Cindy-Lee and I we thank you all for participating in our holiday program, and hope you enjoyed your stay in the valley. For me, it was a wonderful opportunity to meet many of you, and to see what life in Nature’s Valley is like in season. The major highlight of 2012 was undoubtedly the 5000+ participants that engaged in our various Environmental Education programs, ably led by Cindy-Lee. We had new Eco-schools registered, and continued success with our community conservation projects, most notably the Kurland Clean Up, and Kurland Greening Projects.
Moving in to 2013, we are very excited about the year ahead. While continuing with the existing programs, we launch our new research programs which will add extra value to the Trust’s work not only in Nature’s Valley, but in the greater Garden Route area too. We kick off with a fynbos research program in April, and aim to continue with phase 2 of the Tsitsikamma Rivers Project too. We are also hosting our first post-graduate student – Ms Minke Witteveen is doing an MSc on Kelp Gulls through UCT under the supervision of Prof Peter Ryan and myself.
The last bit of exciting news for now is that we will be welcoming seven (yes 7!) interns into the Nature’s Valley Trust family from 1st April. Three interns for 12 months will be funded by the National Research Foundation, and four interns (for between 18 and 30 months) will be funded by the Table Mountain Fund through WWF-SA. We are so grateful to these two organisations who will cover the salary costs of these posts. We will have three interns working with Cindy-Lee to ensure the continued growth of our Environmental Education and Community projects, and four interns working with me on our new Research programs. Being able to get extra hands on deck without having to fund these salaries is an exciting proposition for us, and enables us to build on the vision of the Trust – to maintain the long term environmental integrity of Nature’ Valley and surrounds by becoming proactively involved in issues that impact on the future of the area.
Finally, we are grateful to all who donated to the NVT during 2012. Your contributions helped keep us going as we pioneer important conservation work in the area. Without your continued support we cannot get the job entrusted to us done. Thank you!
Mark Brown
For the NVTrust Team
“THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS FOR THE TRUST TO BE SUPPORTED BY A REGULAR, ANNUAL COMMITMENT FROM THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO LOVE NATURE’S VALLEY”
This remains our intention and motivation. Donations, primarily by the Nature’s Valley community, have enabled the Trust to be established, and sustained since 2001.
ANY DONATION TO THE NATURE’S VALLEY TRUST, NO MATTER HOW LARGE OR SMALL, IS APPRECIATED
All donations will go toward the running and projects of the Nature’s Valley Trust. Please send an email or fax the donation form below to Cindy-Lee Cloete, indicating your donation amount, Please consider making your donation either a monthly or yearly commitment to the Nature’s Valley Trust and indicate it on the donation form.