Ten of the 23 organisations that attended the Eco Indaba in March 2026 were represented at the inaugural meeting. Various reasons were given why more didn’t attend, such as ‘not enough time before the invite was sent out’ and possible public march disruption on the...

Since the start of 2026, the Kogelberg Biosphere Wildlife Rescue and Training Centre has recorded 25 roadkill incidents in the Kogelberg Biosphere on roads including the R44 and R43. These incidents include: 4 porcupines 3 grysboks 3 spotted eagle owls 3 caracals 2...

Living in Betty’s Bay, one is blessed each day with wonderful sightings of our resident wildlife and birds, surrounded by gorgeous seascapes and mountains. On a morning walk through the Harold Porter Botanical Garden, you may come across our 23‑strong baboon troop...

Megan Mayhew Bergman Fri 10 Jul 2026 12.00 BST https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/10/ecological-grief?CMP   As so much of the world is changing and habitat, ecosystems, areas as we knew and loved, and species are transformed and lost – we may not...

In an article published in the Argus on 10 July, titled Don’t Fall for the Big ‘Us‑and‑Them’, Rudi Buys explores how polarising narratives are used to divide communities, particularly in political contexts. He warns of the destructive consequences when groups are...

Ode to the Starry Night My Neighbour’s ☠☣⚠‼ Light         Starry, starry wonderful starry night Oh how beautiful, how bright Wait, oh wait, oh dear wait It’s my neighbour’s ☠☣⚠‼ light   That has blinded my night sight How I wish upon star That...

I missed the 9 June Community Engagement due to illness, but on 9 July I heard a shortened form of the SANCCOB and CapeNature presentations at the Protected Area Advisory Committee (PAAC) for Stony Point Nature Reserve and MPA. Here are some of the points and my...

Thanks to Keith Hamilton for his fascinating talk on winter birding, presented with his beautiful bird photographs. Contrary to what you may think, Keith pointed out that winter is a good time for birding as  the fynbos is in flower and the proteas, ericas and aloes...

Twenty-eight volunteers met on a chilly morning at the parking area on the western side of Malkopvlei (Bass Lake) to clear the public open space bounded by Edward Avenue, Green, Bass and Anglers roads. The goal was to complete the removal of, primarily, rooikrans from...

Do you know your birdlife & waterways in Betty’s Bay? Waterway SpotlightWe are encouraging our local community to take the time out and share your story, photos and experience of one of our special Malkopsvlei/Bass Lake, Grootvlei or Rondevlei history and ALL bird...

Twenty-four volunteers met on a clear, chilly winter’s day at the parking area on the western side of Malkopvlei (Bass Lake) to continue with this, the third hack to remove Waterberry trees (Waterbessies) which have invaded the wetland on its northern side. Reneè Smit...

Drafting of the proposed Environmental Alliance Constitution Subsequent to the Overstrand Eco Indaba held on 28 March 2026, the Interim Steering Committee (“Steercom”) responsible for the drafting of a proposed Constitution for the Environmental Alliance kicked-off on...

The fun of Nature Journaling - why we all need to do it. So... why am I telling you about Nature Journaling? Because somewhere along the way, we became permanently attached to our devices. Not all bad, of course—but in the process, we drifted away from nature. Life...

In the last newsletter we included an infographic on Biosphere Living, and a question of “do we love the biosphere to death” with our actions? Here is a “50/50” type question from a resident Although this style of article is different to those we usually feature in...

Last month, Mike The Owl Box Man, showed us how dangerous it is to put poison out for rodents. Owls suffer from secondary poisoning after eating those rodents and other poisoned prey. He asked us to stop using poison and consider using humane animal traps. At his...

It was World Bee Day on 20 May. The theme for World Bee Day is ”Bee together for People and Planet – A partnership that sustains us all”. To celebrate this day at our BBC4thSATURDAY event on 25 May, we hosted Lourens and Dylan Kruger from the Cape Honey Bee...

On behalf of the Ratepayers Association my job is to assist our members in all queries and concerns related to respecting and preserving our biosphere way of life. Our request for reducing the speed to 60km/h on the 10.4 kilometres of Clarence Drive through our...

ERF 4030: Crassula Lifestyle Gardens & Botanical Walk Current discussions with the directorate: Property Management of the Overstrand Municipality is progressing well, ensuring that we stay in line with the Lease agreement to achieve the proposed plan for...

The Hangklip Botanical Society (NPC) trading as the Kogelberg Branch of the Botanical Society of South Africa is doing amazing work. See notes re: The achievements of the Hackers over the past month The Bookshop turnover for this past financial year which has...

Twenty-seven volunteers met on a drizzly and windy day at the parking area on the western side of Malkopvlei (Bass Lake) to continue with the removal of the Waterbessie trees which have invaded the wetland on its northern side. This was the third hack here this year....

We see it happen so often. New residents arrive with a un-informed idea of what living in the Kogelberg Biosphere is all about. Houses pop up that make us groan in dismay at how inappropriate they are and how they have destroyed the fynbos. New owners face challenges...

This may sound like a daft question, but it is worth considering. Humankind is the only creature on earth that can and has destroyed swathes of nature and large-scale ecosystems. We may have been nature lovers in big cities within environments that were heavily...

In the last update, we gave you information on some of the potential changes at Stony Point. CapeNature is conducting a community engagement survey on the Stony Point Nature Reserve. They have asked the BBC to help distribute the link to the Betty's Bay community....

A BBC event for the city Nature challenge Big thanks to Peter Oxford of BBC for such an informative walk on 25 April.   We set off from Sea Way Drive but we didn’t get very far. There were so many shells, to see and identity in just a short distance on the...

Mike Amira, the Owl Box Man, gave us a passionate, humorous and informative talk on his work of rescuing owls in different predicaments and building owl boxes, bat boxes and catios. Mike’s rescuing escapades have involved climbing the heights of chimneys and roofs as...

On Saturday 21 March 2026, the members of the Kogelberg Branch of the Botanical Society overwhelmingly voted to close down the Kogelberg Branch of the Botanical Society of South Africa and voted in favour of the formation of the Hangklip Botanical Society NPC with the...

Twenty-five volunteers met on an overcast and cool day at the St Francis of Assisi Anglican Chapel to remove aliens from the verges of Porter Drive.  This was an amazing turnout considering that the hack took place over the Easter long weekend.  It was great to have...