THE GROOTVADERSBOSCH CONSERVANCY EMPLOYS 8 CONTRACTING TEAMS 

– thereby creating jobs for more than 130 people from the
​Suurbraak and Heidelberg area. 
​

WHEN YOU VISIT US, YOU’LL SEE
​THESE TEAMS IN ACTION. 

AND WILL EXPERIENCE THE VAST AREAS ALREADY OPENED UP THROUGH THIS CLEARING WORK. 

BETWEEN 1,000 TO 3,000 HECTARES ARE CLEARED EVERY YEAR 

​(depending on how densely infested the areas are). The focus is on our riparian zones, and we’ve cleared 56km of invaded river banks since 2014.

 
WHY?

​Pines, wattles and hakea cover many of our mountain ranges, forests and water catchments. So by removing them, we:
​

• Protect our mountain fynbos;
• Reduce flashfloods and therby protect valuable agricultural land; 
• Increase available water supply to rivers;
• Help our ecosystems function even better;
• Protect our indigenous forests from being transformed and replaced by invasive species;
• Reduce fuel load for wildfire, making fires easier to manage;
• And improve water quality – vital for the survival of our aquatic species and water supply that supports agricultural activities. 

​

THAT MEANS MORE WATER FOR PEOPLE LIVING DOWNSTREAM OF US – CRUCIAL DURING THE DRY MONTHS.
​IT ALSO HELPS OUR RIVERS FUNCTION BETTER DURING COSTLY FLOODS (THAT DESTROY INFRASTRUCTURE and remove valuable agricultural land). 

AT THE SAME TIME, THE PROGRAMME CREATES EMPLOYMENT FOR THE COMMUNITIES IN
​SUURBRAAK AND HEIDELBERG.

Unemployment and poverty levels are high here – placing stress on women who are mostly responsible for managing households.
Our programme is one of the biggest employers in the area.
 
Our alien vegetation clearing and restoration programme is supported by the Department of Environmental Affairs (Natural Resource Management), Gondwana Alive, LandCare (Department of Agriculture: Western Cape) and, most importantly, our members. We only clear on land where landowners make a financial contribution to the clearing. This means that landowners are invested in the activities, therby contributing to long term sustainability. This has made our programme one of the must successful in the country. 

Our programme is ably managed by Ricardo Januarie who has worked his way up from general worker to one of the best project managers in the Western Cape. He is now a registered pest control officer. 

CONTACT THE
​GROOTVADERSBOSCH CONSERVANCY

OFFICE HOURS: Mon to Thu: 7:30am to 5pm. Friday: 730 to 4pm. We are closed every second Friday.
MTB PERMITS: Available all hours at the Office (Cash in honesty box or Snapscan)

email

info@gvbconservancy.co.za
​

phone

071 691 6463
(Vodacom landline during office hours)

address

Map & Directions here