Blog

*Disclaimer: I don’t really know how to start this

Stories are normally told from beginning to end; but this one in particular is an adventure that must be lived from start to finish.

5 flights and 2 travel days...

“And into the forest I go to lose my mind and find my soul” – John Muir

This is the sentence that sums up my stay with Nature’s Valley Trust, what a soul soothing experience that I will cherish forever. 

My motivation for volunteering for the Trust was that I felt...

The Importance of Environmental Education

Imagine. Imagine the smell of the Buchu bush as you softly crush its leaves between your fingers or the sound of the wind as it gently gusts past you while sitting and admiring the view from...

Nurdles: destruction in small packages

“I am a piece of marine debris, that found a way into the sea,

Over the waves and into the bay, I have traveled a long way.

But on the beach I do not belong, I get eaten by shore birds that scurry...

Entanglements due to fishing line

She was well known by our researchers. Her light colouration meant she stood out from the rest. Pearl was a White-fronted Plover never to be forgotten. She lived happily on the Nature’s Valley...

Things to do during the holidays

As the festive season is fast approaching many of us are winding down and starting to daydream about our summer holiday and for us nature lovers, this picture often includes immersing ourselves in...

The Best Time of My Life

Preamble from Mark Brown, NVT Program Director

Interning with NVT is NOT easy. We don’t do your typical ‘volunteer’ thing. We take on passionate young early career conservation minded people...

Can a non-scientist work for a conservation NPO?

That was the question I struggled with for a long time.  In fact, just two months before my internship was to start, I was unsure if I should even go.  I don’t study sciences, so I was worried...

…the party’s over. But wait, is the party really over with the Trust?

Dear team,

It is August 2017, meaning I’m now at the end of my journey in South Africa, but I truly hope not at the end of our journey together. I say this because I bring great memories of the...

Love Letter to the Valley

My time with Nature’s Valley Trust somehow seemed to be over before it had hardly begun. As an American traveling outside the States for the first time, I was so excited to take in as much as I...

Plettenberg Bay Celebrates World Oceans Day by Releasing 5 Rehabilitated African Penguins

The African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) was listed Endagered by BirdLife International in 2010. To boost their numbers again, BirdLife South Africa and its partners are currently working on...

Plastic = Not so Fantastic

International Coastal Clean-up Results

Just a few weeks ago NVT participated in Greenwood Bay College’s ‘Rocks to Robberg’ beach clean-up event, subsequently comparing results with the Green...

20 things to do in Nature’s Valley

1. Swim with Sharks in the gully

Nature’s Valley’s gully is home to some wonderful shark species. The sharks that are shown below are most likely spotted gully sharks (also known as Sharptooth...

Just Getting Started

As I reflect back on my time as an intern with the Nature’s Valley Trust, it's shocking how fast it went, and just as unbelievable how much could be packed into 90 days. The warm welcome I...

An introduction to NVT’s new WWF-SA Graduate Leaders Interns: Simphiwe Gininda & Anathi Mbona

NVT is a proud partner of the WWF-SA Graduate Leadership Program, and has been a participating organisation right from the program’s inception. Past interns include Cindy-Lee Cloete, Babalwa...