2021 WESSA Annual Review

MEMBERSHIP

These are WESSA members, volunteer earth stewards, that since the organisation’s inception ninety-five years ago, have formed the lifeblood of the organization. Typically, membership-volunteer focus on the following activities: Direct Earth-steward activities : Such as beach/trail/river clean-ups, alien plant “hacks”, rewilding river systems, water (course) stewardship, forest rehabilitation, grassland conservation and snare removals. This is physical, sweat-inducing, getting-out-there work, whereby picking up a piece of plastic or uprooting an alien sapling counters in practical ways the negative impact humanity has on our planet. Public educational activities : Members often set up and lead expert- guided walks or public talks/lectures by environmental experts. Members also participate in “world day” events such as World Oceans Day, etc. all in the effort to improve ordinary citizens know-how and care of their local environment. Support to associate groups : Membership branches are extensively involved in many of the regions in supporting “Friends-of…” groups and local conservancies/nature reserves. Some regions also give small grants to environmental organisations or specific projects such as the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Rhino anti-poaching K9 unit. Citizen-science projects : Several membership branches took part in the iNaturalist app’s City Nature Challenge, whereby a picture is taken of a plant or organism and uploaded to the global iNaturalist database. This “mapping” allows researchers better insight into what grows where, when, and builds up natural science’s knowledge base. Other such recent initiatives also include a bio-blitz of macro-invertebrates in KZN, BathawkCam (Bat Hawk) monitoring, and coordinated bird counts. Species-specific conservation projects : Depending on the location, members get involved in local initiatives to promote conservation efforts of specific species, such as: the Magaliesberg Vulture and the Magaliesberg Blue Crane initiatives, Magaliesberg Saving our Species project or co- sponsoring Eagle tracking in the Lowveld as some examples Environmental Governance : several regions and branches are actively involved in giving input into environmental impact assessments (EIA’s) for instance: Karpowerships, or the proposed nuclear build at Thyspunt, or sand-mining or fishfarms in Algoa Bay. In some instances, members are involved in giving input into specialized panels, for example the DFFE High-level panel report of the management of elephants, lions, rhino’s and leopards or the sustainability of African Penguins. A number of On any given weekend in South Africa, and quite possibly a weekday too, you’ll find a bunch of people doing some kind of “planet-care” work in the place they live. They do so voluntarily, they do so repeatedly, and they do so with little reward or recognition. Often too at personal expense. In their corner of our country, they can be found doing their little bit, which when counted as one, makes a significant positive impact on our environment.

Annual Review 2020-2021

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