Brunsvigia bosmaniae in flower on the dolerite koppie
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Adopt a sheep for Avontuur
All sheep are adopted!
Avontuur Nature Reserve needs some sheep to ensure we manage the biodiversity well, maintaining a sustainable and special place on the Bokkeveld Plateau in South Africa.
We also need local guardians to monitor biodiversity and maintain the fragile balance of the ecosystem in a changing climate. And of course we need social justice to make it work.
You can be part of this!
Avontuur Spring Splendour
Now open to the public
Thursday – Sunday 11-17.00
Permits R100 per person for a day pass
Available at the Nieuwoudtville Publicity Association
Black Harriers breed on Avontuur
This summer a nesting pair of Black Harriers bred out four youngsters on Avontuur. They chose a remote site, and would probably not have been observed if not for the satellite tracking device fitted to the female a year before in the West Coast National Park. PhD student Marie-Sophie Garcia-Heras tracked them down, and was able to monitor the growth of the nestlings. In this picture the male Black Harrier is released after being measured.
GEF Small Grants Project makes good progress
In 2013 we implemented the first phase of a soil and water conservation project that includes significant activities on Avontuur. The project was launched at a well-attended workshop at Avontuur on 11 May 2013. In the course of the winter the team of Andre van Wyk, Areefa Tietis, Cynthia Coetzee, Andries Opperman and Moeti Phala constructed a series of check-dams and micro-catchments on the more degraded part of Avontuur, with very impressive results (see our photo gallery).
Related resources
Volunteers
Looking for a an opportunity to make a contribution to conservation? We are willing to host volunteers who would like to undertake research or conservation work on Avontuur (minimum 2 months). We can provide supervision and basic accommodation, but are not able to pay volunteers for their work.
Research opportunities on Avontuur
Avontuur has been the site of some exciting research in the past years on subjects as diverse as solitary bees, soil erosion and Black Harriers. We are willing to collaborate with students and senior researchers. Our soils are the most under-researched part of the environment, and if your research interest relates to soils crusts or earthworms, please let us know. For all research-related queries please contact Noel Oettle dryland@global.co.za.