On 10 December 2025, the Danabaai coastline gained something special. Representatives from the Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve (GCBR), together with members of the Danabaai Conservancy and local community,...
General
Celebrate Sustainably: Simple Ways to Enjoy an Eco-Friendly Festive Season
The festive season is a time of joy, celebration, and connection, but it’s also a period when waste levels rise significantly. Fibre Circle, South Africa’s government-recognised producer responsibility organisation (PRO) for paper...
September is for Biodiversity: Nurturing Nature Where You Live
September is Biodiversity month all around the world. It is a time to focus on biodiversity, see how we can celebrate it and support more biodiversity in our surroundings. Planting a greater diversity of native plants, embracing insects in your garden with a bug...
Fynbos in Focus: How a South African Designer Turns Wildflowers into LEGO Art
A LEGO set dedicated to showcasing the beauty of the Cape Floral Kingdom? It sounds like a dream, but thanks to local designer and lifelong LEGO enthusiast Christoff van Wyk, it’s one step closer to reality. Christoff has poured his love of South Africa’s fynbos and...
Rediscovering the Lost Langeberg Mountain Trails
Nestled within the majestic Langeberg Mountains surrounding Riversdale in the Western Cape lies a network of trails that has long captivated adventurers, explorers, and nature lovers alike. Yet in recent years, these trails had all but disappeared. Overgrown...
Earth Hour 2025: Join South Africa in a Global Movement
On Saturday, 22 March 2025, from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm South African time, the world will dim its lights to celebrate Earth Hour. This inspiring event began as a grassroots movement in Sydney, Australia in 2007, when communities were encouraged to switch off their lights...
Henque Waste: Creating a Cleaner Future While Empowering Local Communities
On February 5, 2025, GCBR’s Friends of the Biosphere team was invited for an on-site tour of the Henque Waste and Recycling facility in Mossel Bay, one of our young interns joined us as he is very interested to learn more about recycling The remarkable Henque team has...
Friends of the Biosphere Programme: Empowering Communities for a Greener Future
Friends of the Biosphere is an initiative of the Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve (GCBR). This programme supports volunteer initiatives led by passionate individuals and groups with small grants to enhance the impact of environmental projects. This funding is made...
Easy Steps to Creating Recurring Payments
Every contribution and donation to the Friends of the Biosphere program helps us achieve more, protect more, and give more to our environment, biodiversity, and planet! None of this would be possible without our amazing Heroes—and of course, our FRIENDS who take on...
The Power of Citizen Science: How Everyday People are Changing the World
Citizen science is changing the way we gather data, make discoveries, and tackle global challenges. Thanks to advances in technology and the widespread use of smartphones, everyday people now have the opportunity to contribute to scientific research in ways that were...