Before joining the Jonkershoek Reserve outside Stellenbosch as an administration assistant, Patrick Makuliwe was living on a disability grant and struggling to make ends meet. His job at the nature reserve means he is able to provide for his family – and has access to useful training that will stand him in good stead in future.

Watch the video to find out more:

CapeNature’s long-standing and successful Goukou-Duivenhoks wetlands project has created 55 jobs for people from the nearby Hessequa towns of Heidelberg and Riversdale – and won numerous South African National Biodiversity Institute awards.

Creating jobs while managing natural resources translates into a win for both the environment and local people. The 10-year rehabilitation project of the Verlorenvlei wetlands on the West Coast achieved this and more. Read more here: [LINK]

Job creation. Skills development. Career success stories. These are some of the great results CapeNature’s Keurbooms EPWP project has yielded for local communities.

From an EPWP contract position at Stoney Point Reserve to conservation assistant at De Mond Nature Reserve and, most recently, an appointment as full-time field ranger at Grootvadersbosch – Nico du Preez’s career progress is a shining example of a CapeNature success story.

CapeNature is constantly working towards greater inclusion for people with disabilities – not only for visitors, but also for its own teams on the ground. The organisation currently employs seven people with disabilities.

Overcoming social problems such as abuse and negative peer pressure. Tackling financial problems such as budgeting and managing credit. Grappling with educational challenges. Gaining awareness of issues around physical and mental health and fitness.

Marhostile Doyile is one of a team of people who work tirelessly to ensure that the facilities and public areas in the Goukamma Nature Reserve on the Garden Route is beautifully maintained.

Working in tourism services in tranquil Gamkaberg Nature Reserve in the Klein Karoo is a dream job for Adam Isaacs, who enjoys interacting with visitors and takes pride in helping to make them as comfortable as possible.

Coreen Coetzee found employment, and a new way of life, through working for CapeNature as a gannet monitor on Bird Island, 100m off the coast of Lambert’s Bay. She has since been promoted to a supervisory position and is passionate about her job and conservation.

Adrian Horn has been working at the Gamkaberg Nature Reserve in a position aligned to the Expanded Public Works Programme and feel privileged to have found a job in this beautiful setting.