The Botanical Society is working hard to implement target 15 of South Africa’s National Strategy for Conservation, which aims to build capacity in best conserving the country’s flora. BotSoc support for the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) Nature Conservation National Diploma has meant that no promising student has been prevented by lack of means from completing the diploma’s required, week-long practical training before entering the biodiversity sector.

Zeekoevlei Camp

The training is facilitated by a highly knowledgeable team from the City of Cape Town and uses the Cape Town Environmental Education Trust’s Zeekoevlei Camp. It encompasses many valuable practical skills, from using dart guns for baboon management to alien clearing and GPS mapping.

‘BotSoc is investing in sustainable, tangible partnerships. It does not come better than this’

– Professor Joseph Kioko, Programme Director, National Diploma Nature Conservation, CPUT.

BotSoc resources allow for much-needed field work and student visits to the SANBI herbarium and to Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. In addition, BotSoc supplies the students with copies of the Botanical Society’s magazine, Veld & Flora, and with the Botanical Society’s plant identification guides for use on their practicals and field trips. Students report that these learning resources have helped them complete course assignments, build plant identification skills and cultivate a deep passion and interest for the rich world of conservation.