Wild Rescue NPO

02/09/2026

STILBAAI NUUS - Wat as van die belangrikste...

02/09/2026

🌿 GET THE WILD IN YOUR INBOX 🌿

Wild Rescue is launching a monthly newsletter! 📬🐾

Get the latest on:

🌱 Events and activities at Wild Rescue
🐾 Conservation projects and campaigns
🌸 Our latest content and news coverage
📰 Fascinating conservation stories from South Africa and beyond

One email. Once a month. Plenty of wild things to discover. 💚

If you love nature, wildlife, biodiversity and conservation - or simply want to stay connected with what we're doing at Wild Rescue - we'd love to have you with us.

Join our growing Wild Rescue community and let a little bit of the wilderness arrive in your inbox each month. 🌿📩

👉 SIGN UP HERE: https://wildrescue.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=89ce3d2e22dfde72acb0735a4&id=3da649ea74

01/09/2026

🌳 IT'S NATIONAL ARBOR WEEK! 🌿

From 1-7 September, South Africa celebrates the trees that shade us, shelter wildlife, protect our soils and help keep our ecosystems healthy.

And what better time to plant indigenous? 🌱

Indigenous trees belong here. They have evolved alongside our local wildlife and ecosystems, providing food and shelter for birds, insects and various species.

🌿 A tree can become a home.
🐦 Be a source of food.
🪲 Act as a refuge. 
🌍 Help prevent erosion and be an important part of a healthy ecosystem.

This Arbor Week, we encourage you to think carefully about what you plant. Alien tree species may look appealing or serve other purposes, but can be invasive and harmful to our indigenous ecosystems.

Plant a tree that belongs. Plant indigenous. 💚

Whether you have a sprawling garden or just a small patch of soil, every indigenous tree can help create a richer, healthier space for nature.

And remember: the right indigenous tree in the right place can grow into a gift for generations to come.

🌳 This Arbor Week, let's put down roots for a wilder future.

01/09/2026

"What if some of the most important lessons children could learn happen in the outdoors? That is the question behind Wild Classroom, a new environmental education programme launched by Wild Rescue nature reserve near Still Bay, which aims to bring school learners from surrounding communities onto the reserve to explore, experience and learn about the natural world first-hand." Hessequa Municipality Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve Tuin Op Die Brak Gerrit du Plessis Sekondêre Skool

Wild Rescue nature reserve launches ‘Wild Classroom’ education programme to reconnect Hessequa schoolchildren with nature.

01/09/2026

Please note: "The submission deadline for the draft National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) 2026–2035 has been officially extended to September 9, 2026. This extension offers the public, environmental organizations, and stakeholders additional time to review and contribute to South Africa’s primary blueprint for conserving and sustainably managing its biological resources over the next decade."

01/09/2026

🌸 HAPPY SPRING DAY, SOUTH AFRICA! 🌿

Today, we welcome a new season of longer days, warmer sunshine and new life. ☀️

Here in the Cape, spring is one of nature's greatest celebrations. The veld begins to stir, flowers emerge, pollinators get to work and the landscape reminds us of the extraordinary richness of the natural world around us.

Spring is also a reminder of something important:

Healthy ecosystems make life possible.

They provide clean water, abundant food, fertile soil, flood protection and many other benefits that support both people and wildlife.

So, as we celebrate the beauty of a new season, let's also celebrate - and safeguard - the natural heritage that makes it possible. 🌍💚

Let the wild bloom. 🌼

Happy Spring Day, South Africa! 🇿🇦

31/08/2026

Wild Rescue is hosting two special guided walks over the next two weekends; each offering a different window into the extraordinary biodiversity of our local fynbos.

5 SEPTEMBER — PROTEA TRAIL - with Martjie Fia Fourie
Join Martjie Fourie for a guided walk through our Protea Trail and discover the remarkable diversity of proteas and their ecological relationships.

12 SEPTEMBER — RENOSTERVELD TRAIL - with CHRISTINA MARS Chris Stina
Join local Still Bay botany legend Christina Mars on our Renosterveld Trail and explore one of the most threatened vegetation types in the Cape Floristic Region.

LOCATION: Wild Rescue nature reserve, Portion 35, Klipfontein Farm no. 414 - between Still Bay and Riversdale

Saturday 5 September 2026, with Martjie Fourie: 10:00AM - 2:00PM on the Protea Trail

Saturday 12 September 2026, with Christina Mars: 10:00AM - 2:00PM on the Renosterveld Trail

WHAT TO EXPECT: Join us at Wild Rescue around 10:00 AM for an introduction, commencing the trail walk by 10:30 AM. Our specialist guides will share their biodiversity knowledge and insights along each trail, at a comfortable pace.

EXPLORE THE RESERVE: Your booking includes full-day access to our nature reserve. Visitors are welcome to bring a packed lunch or picnic basket. Coffee and tea served in our Education Centre.

COST: ZAR 100 per person on arrival

Bookings Essential:
Space is limited!

Email: [email protected]
WhatsApp: 078 875 5776

31/08/2026

🌿 WOMEN WHO KEEP THE WILD ALIVE 🌿

What does it take to protect nature?

A botanist walking the fynbos.
A water specialist restoring mountain catchments.
A conservation leader building partnerships.
A wildlife rehabilitator who put her life savings into protecting a piece of the wild.

There is no single path into conservation - and no single way to make a difference.

We spoke to five remarkable women working to protect the natural heritage of the Western Cape:

🌱 Aileen Anderson — water warrior and conservation leader
🌿 Linda Fletcher — from the corporate world to biosphere conservation
🌸 Dr Christina Mars — free-range botanist and champion of local flora
🌺 Naomi van Schalkwyk — doyenne of the Cape Floral Kingdom
🐒 Gill Simpson — founder of Wild Rescue and lifelong wildlife advocate

Their stories are remarkably different. But they share something powerful: a deep belief that protecting nature means protecting our future.

They talk openly about biodiversity loss, invasive species, disappearing habitats, water security, climate change, funding, dealing with bureaucracy - and what it takes to keep going when the challenges seem overwhelming.

But above all, they offer hope.

Because conservation isn't the work of a select few: There is a place for all of us in protecting the wild.

Read 'Women Who Keep the Wild Alive' on the Wild Rescue website. 🌿

https://wildrescue.co.za/women-who-keep-the-wild-alive/

31/08/2026

31/08/2026

The exceptional women featured in this interview series – Aileen Anderson, Linda Fletcher, Christina Mars, Naomi van Schalkwyk and Gill Simpson – come from remarkably different backgrounds. Some are botanists, others conservation managers, environmental strategists or wildlife rehabilitators. Some began their careers in science, while others found their calling after successful careers in business, education and advertising. Yet despite their different journeys, they share a common conviction: that conservation is ultimately an investment in people, communities and future generations. Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve Tuin Op Die Brak Grootvadersbosch Conservancy

Conversations with women leading conservation in the Western Cape – protecting our natural heritage and refusing to give up on nature. Women’s Month is an opportunity to celebrate those whose work quietly shapes the future of South Africa. While the contributions of women are often recognised in...