Conservation at Work held an informative training day in Bredasdorp on Tuesday, 13 September. The event focused on the importance of soil and nature and how one can improve natural resources in an agricultural environment.
Francis Steyn, Manager of LandCare from the Department of Agriculture, Western Cape, highlighted the positive impact of organic farming. Steyn provided examples of how to eliminate soil erosion – specifically through no-till farming practices, and detailed the future of commercial farming and the importance of good natural resource management to benefit agriculture.
Lesley Richardson of the Flower Valley Conservation Trust also presented at the event – encouraging the sustainable use of natural resources. Flower Valley coordinates the Agulhas Biodiversity Initiative, a landscape initiative encouraging cooperation between partners to ensure healthy productive natural landscapes in the Overberg. Flower Valley also runs the Sustainable Harvesting Programme and an Early Childhood Development Programme.
Slithering Fynbos’ Francois van Zyl entered the room with massive and beautiful snakes. He spoke of the importance of snakes to a healthy-functioning ecosystem – and the devastating impacts to these ecosystems should a snake species become extinct, thereby leaving species such as rodents unchecked.
Conservation at Work hosts a number of training days per year across the province – bringing conservation-minded land users together to encourage sustainable management of natural resources.