Grootbos Foundation Monthly Update | March 2024

08 April

General

Grootbos Foundation March Update

March has been a very productive month at the Grootbos foundation. With all our projects and initiatives well underway, it has been exciting to watch the progression. As we reflect on the strides we've made thus far, from seeing our coaches off on an American adventure to new computers at the Masakhane Hub, we are filled with a sense of pride and anticipation for what lies ahead. 

Grootbos Foundation Coaches Travelled to the US

A delegation of 12 South African coaches was offered an opportunity to travel to the USA as part of a US diplomacy initiative to encourage shared learning between sports development coaches in the US and South Africa. After a rigorous application process, 6 coaches from Grootbos Foundation's Sports Development team were selected to take part in this programme along with 6 other coaches from South Africa. 

For 10 days in March, the delegation visited North Carolina State University as part of the ENVEST programme. ‘Empowering New Voices through Education and Sports Training’ focuses on developing young leaders in the sports development field in aid of strengthening sports development projects for social empowerment. This experience was both a great honour and an incredible learning opportunity. In preparation for their trip, the coaches did online educational modules on leadership and self-reflection exercises. 

The trip was a mixture of educational and cultural events; the coaches had the opportunity to explore North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC, and to visit Washington DC; they attended leadership workshops and had the opportunity to coach teams from the US; they also had the opportunity to attend an ice hockey game and professional soccer match. 

Professional development of this kind means that Grootbos Foundation coaches are on the cutting edge of social and sports development thinking. This means they will be better positioned to support the children in our programmes and our communities as a whole. 

Empowering our team means empowering our community. 

Two Great Conservation Organisations

Grootvadersbosch Conservancy is a non-profit Trust based outside Swellendam which is committed to the protection of 25,000 hectares of critically endangered flora and forest patches as well as the conservation of the wildlife that thrives there. 

Grootvadersbosch Conservancy has a mission and vision for conservation which is very similar to that of the Walker Bay Fynbos Conservancy, of which Grootbos Private Nature Reserve is a member. 

Collaboration, learning and sharing between conservancies, private nature reserves, and provincial nature reserves (like those managed by Cape Nature) is the best way to build connections and corridors for nature.

In 2023, the team from Grootvadersbosch Conservancy visited Grootbos in order to observe the conservation work, scientific research, invasive plant clearing project and indigenous nursery run by Grootbos Foundation. In exchange, Grootvadersbosch Conservancy hosted  Grootbos Foundation’s Conservation Research team for two nights to showcase Grootvadersbosch Conservancy and Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve. 

The Grootbos Foundation team used the opportunity for strategic planning and to explore the Grootvadersbosch landscape which consists of Afromontane forests and renosterveld. This proved to be an exciting opportunity to see different plant and wildlife species which don’t occur on Grootbos Private Nature Reserve. 

While  the team wasn’t able to find the elusive and endemic Grootvadersbosch Dwarf Chameleon (Bradypodion venustum), they were able to find an Eastern Ghost Frog (Heleophryne orientalis), this particular frog is an exciting find as it is usually difficult to locate and is confined to pristine, forested streams and rivers in the Langeberg area between Montagu in the west and the Gouritz River in the east.
 

United in Sport for Social Change

In March, Grootbos Foundation participated in the Sports for Social Change Network conference held in Johannesburg, joining other Sports Development NGOs from South Africa and across the continent. The event also welcomed guests from the academic realm of Sports Development, as well as representatives from government and the public sector. Together, attendees convened to discuss topics such as youth development, employability through sports, child safeguarding, and effective Monitoring & Evaluation methods.

Speakers included Ms Keitumetse Lebaka, the Chair of SSCN, Mr Ollie Dudfield from Olympism365 and Academics Professor Cora Burnett and Professor Poalo Bertaccini. 

It is awe inspiring to see so many NGOs united in the mission to use sport for social change.

Computers For A Brighter Future

The Masakhane Hub is a space operated by Grootbos Foundation where children and youths can study, complete homework and focus on projects and research. 

The Hub offers a safe, quiet space for students to do homework with adult supervision and to receive a healthy sandwich to tide them through the afternoons. In an increasingly digital world, access to the internet and functional computers is a necessity. For many of us it is almost unthinkable to be without Wifi, both for work and for distraction. 

Grootbos Foundation provides internet access and free Wifi at the Masakhane Hub. Local students use these computers to complete project research, homework assignments, engage in fun numeracy and literacy tasks, or even write and print their CVs. 

Computer literacy skills themselves have a positive impact on a child’s future learning. Grootbos Foundation has recently added additional computers to the Hub to ensure more children get the opportunity to use computers each day.
 

Mentorship Is The Key To Successful Business

Grootbos Foundation Enterprise Development team has begun recruitment for the next cohort of entrepreneurs. This programme teaches hopeful entrepreneurs about the mechanics of running a business. The programme guides applicants through the process of developing a business plan and pitching a business concept to a selection panel. The panel selects viable businesses which align with green economy principles and have passionate responsible leaders at the helm to receive 12 months of mentorship and two tranches of seed funding.

Through the mentorship process, these businesses receive personalised feedback on their finances, marketing strategies and management of employees. This mentorship is incredibly valuable to entrepreneurs as it helps them build sustainable businesses. 

Unemployment in South Africa is a national crisis with 40% of youth under 35 years being unemployed. The Enterprise Development programme seeks to alleviate unemployment in the Overstrand Municipality by encouraging entrepreneurship.

Nature’s Beautiful Killer

This incredible flower mantis was spotted by the eagle eye entomologists in the Conservation Research Team. The team was enamoured with its beautiful mimicry of a flower as it sat in wait for its unsuspecting prey to fly by.