NLC Programme   |   Biodiversity Gardens   |   Noordhoek

#GROW

Connecting with indigenous plants by seeing, touching and smelling them

The Masiphumelele High School Biodiversity Conservation Garden is located in the community of Masiphumelele near Noordhoek on the southern Cape Peninsula. This area is ecologically significant within the Cape Floristic Region, lying between the Noordhoek Valley and the sea – a merging point of coastal habitats and fynbos-rich environments.

This special landscape served as the ideal space for this outdoor classroom. It was developed as part of BOT SOC’s Protecting and Restoring South Africa’s Natural Heritage project, combining conservation, youth skills development and environmental education.

Here, learners can connect with indigenous plants by seeing, touching and smelling them, while engaging with educational plant labels and storyboards developed as part of the project.

Youth skills development and conservation training

BOT SOC had 12 youths in the Cape Metropole who were trained as part of this project. Hosted by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, these youths were upskilled through classroom, theoretical learning and hands-on conservation training.

Beyond their work at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, the youth contributed to citizen science plant monitoring activities through the Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers (CREW) Programme, capturing species observations on iNaturalist.

These newly developed skills were applied during the development of the Masiphumelele High School Biodiversity Conservation Garden.

The themed planting areas include:

• Cape Flats Sand Fynbos, especially species that use remarkable strategies to survive
• Cape Flats Dune Strandveld, showing the species that thrive on lime-rich, marine-derived sands and shell fragments
• Coastal dune vegetation
• Medicinal plant species

Interpretive signage explains plant ecology, pollinators and conservation importance.

Plant labels provide information on:

• Scientific and common names
• Plant characteristics
• Cultural value
• Pollinators
• Ecological significance

Each label also includes a QR code linking to SANBI’s PlantZAfrica website, allowing visitors to learn more about each species. Interpretive signage was developed by BOT SOC and designed by Jeanette Erasmus.