Blog
Working in conservation is to work for a better world
Working for the Nature’s Valley Trust (NVT) has helped me to grow in both a personal and professional way. I am a student of Journalism and International relations from Madrid, Spain, and for...
An interns farewell
My six-month South African adventure has come to an end. I travelled to Plettenberg Bay to learn how to survey and monitor shorebirds but I never expected to also experience such a variety of...
World Oceans Day!
The theme for World Oceans Day today is "healthy oceans, healthy planet", and it encapsulates the ethos we have about our work at the Nature’s Valley Trust. So much of what we do involves...
Highs and lows of the shorebird field season
The NVT Shorebird Research Team recently finished a great 6 months field season working on White-fronted Plovers. With a total of 83 nests, over 1500 kilometers hiked, plus 500 hours of...
Boats, Birds and Bellyaches
At 5 we woke, down on the beach for 6, ready for action. The boat we were to spend our day on, researching wildlife abundance and ocean conditions, was ready waiting for us on the sand. Framed...
Fish netting like a novice
There I was, up to my elbows in a bucket of live fish, desperately trying to catch one and measure it in the name of conservation. This was one of many life-time firsts for me as I helped the NVT...
A Cape Cod Goodbye
Sitting at home on the cold and wintery peninsula of Cape Cod Massachusetts, I wish I could be back on the warm sunny beach of Nature’s Valley, taking a swim in the lagoon. My time with...
Work hard, Play hard. The NVT way!
I came to NVT for an internship for my undergrad studies. Finally, I was going to do real fieldwork, something that I had always thought to be what I wanted to do with my life. Doing the actual...
Brackenburn Private Nature Reserve: A Newly Discovered Gem
A 2km drive on Askop Road, off the N2, along a winding road, brought me to the gates of the Brackenburn Private Nature Reserve. Upon my arrival I was greeted by five dogs: Baloo who looks like a...
Lawnwood’s Slithering Serpents
With the warm summer months finally here, we will be enjoying the outdoors much more frequently. This includes beautifully scenic hikes in and around Nature’s Valley, fabulous beach time under...
The end of the beginning
This is it, when one reaches adulthood they have to leave their family to make a start for themselves. They take with them their values and teachings to share with the world. The family name will...
Swim with seals with offshore Adventures
The opportunities to snorkel around the world are endless, but the opportunity to snorkel with seals? Now that’s hard to come by. Last week Craig, Twan and I were lucky enough to have this...
Be glowing and beach-ready this summer!!
This is for all the ladies out there... Whether you need some pampering after a long, hard 2015 or you just want to spoil yourself with an end of the year treat, stop by Elysian Spa at the...
Introducing the Tsitsikamma-Plettenberg Bay Important Bird and Biodiversity Area
Big news in recently was the national launch of the new IBA Directory for South Africa, along with the first status report for the countries IBA’s. Hang on you say – what is an IBA? And why is...
Reflections from an Ornithologist
It’s been a couple of weeks now that I left the beautiful Valley, and it took me really this long to digest all the great experiences and impressions I gathered during my two weeks of voluntary...