In 1975, I took a group of eight women on a walking trail in the Mashatu Game Reserve in northeastern Botswana. They had told their husbands they were off to the bush for five days, and their husbands had to take care of their kids while on ‘trail’. This trail ultimately led to the formation of the EWT Ladies Committee
Klein Swartberg Mountain is home to the only known populations of the Critically Endangered Rough Moss Frog, which faces grave threats within this range, including habitat loss caused by alien invasive plants and frequent unplanned fires, which have led to a severe population decline.
The infectious drive for amphibian conservation by local frog conservation pioneers has awakened a love for frogs and frogging within the community, who flocked to the newly proclaimed Umgavusa Protected Environment to catch a glimpse of the Endangered Pickersgill’s Reed Frog.
It is widely known that plastic, in its various forms, can be found in every ecosystem, on every surface and in every corner of the planet. It leaches toxins and strangles wildlife; it chokes waterways and animals. Microplastics negatively affect all life, humans included. Yet we keep manufacturing them; worse, we keep discarding them recklessly and frivolously, as if they were leaves on the wind. Every single human being has a role to play here. We all need to buy less plastic, use less plastic, demand less plastic, and, most important, discard it responsibly.
In celebration of World Health Day on 7 April, we acknowledged the important role raptors (predatory birds that hunt other animals or feed on carrion) play in supporting humans and our well-being.
Like a tree – our power lies in our ability to convene, support, and assemble – bringing together our team’s brightest minds and most passionate hearts – and those of our partners and associates. As we celebrate our 50th birthday and forge a pathway to achieve even more over the next 50 years, it is through these people that we draw our inspiration. Inspiration for the next 50 as the race against extinction and to stem the impacts of climate change and ecosystem destruction ramp up