CapeNature's 2025 Snapshot: New Species, Big Threats
It is home to more plant species than the entire British Isles and CapeNature is the team helping protect it. They've just released the latest State of Conservation Report, and it's a big one: over 13,000 hectares of wild and wonderful land were added to the Western Cape's conservation estate this past year – that's more space for fynbos, frogs and future generations to flourish.
With just over a million hectares (1,095,428) now under protection, the province is making significant strides in preserving biodiversity.
Guided by strategic planning tools like the newly adopted 2023 Biodiversity Spatial Plan, it's not just about locking down land – CapeNature is actively battling climate pressures, habitat loss, and invasive species by tracking ecosystem health and putting data-driven decisions into action.
CapeNature's new Species Prioritisation Tool means even the tiniest tortoise gets the attention it deserves.
This year's report also spotlights some recent remarkable field discoveries: scientists confirmed a brand-new endemic frog (Cacosternum cederbergense) in the Cederberg mountains, a once-extinct shrub (Psoralea cataracta) making a triumphant comeback and a never-before-described flower species, Ixia ebrahimii, blooming quietly in Wolseley.
This reminds us that the Cape's biodiversity is as rare and rich as ever – and still full of secrets.
Equally so, conservation isn't just about plants and pollinators – it's also about protecting nature from people who harm it - noting that of 350 ecosystem types in the province, a sobering 191 are considered threatened – especially our rivers, wetlands, and estuaries.
In the past year, CapeNature issued fines totalling R70,750 for illegal activities within protected areas, signalling a strong stance against environmental crime. However, it's not all doom and gloom: the report reflects an ecosystem-wide call to action that involves government and landowners.
Want to soak up more of the Cape's wild spaces?
Start with a Wild Card - from R880 per person for all parks. This nifty loyalty programme offers a full year of unlimited access to CapeNature reserves, including SANParks and more – think picnic-perfect forests, swimming spots, waterfall hikes and birdwatching galore.
Whether you're a weekend eco-warrior or a mountain biking fanatic, the Wild Card makes getting close to nature feel easy and accessible - while indirectly supporting conservation in the process.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Telegraph
16 ways to make the most of a small garden, with Chelsea gold winner Jo Thompson
It has been a busy year so far for garden designer Jo Thompson. Her latest book, The New Romantic Garden, was published in February; in May, she created the gold medal-winning The Glasshouse Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show, and now she has released an online course, The Fundamentals of Garden Design, with Create Academy. While she has designed gardens all over the world, what unites them all is a love of planting – 'I can't bear the sight of a bare pergola,' she says – as well as a desire to make spaces that feel like they have always been there, and 'create an atmosphere'. Her own garden in Kent is no different. It's small by country standards, as she lives in the middle of a village, so many of the ideas she applies to smaller projects are rules she lives by. Although she does have to break them sometimes: 'My garden is a laboratory where I try out varieties I may want to use in projects for clients.' Here are her tips for creating a sense of space and atmosphere in a small garden. Limit your materials First of all, get out into your garden and look at the material that surrounds you. 'You can't necessarily green out everything, but you can distract,' says Thompson. 'Remember that once your garden is full of beautiful things, the eye won't be attracted to that rusty padlock or gate that bothered you.' If your house is made from brick, then perhaps that's a material you repeat in the garden. 'Try to keep your choice of hard materials to three maximum – for example, brick, oak and stone – otherwise it can look too busy,' says Thompson. Keep fences simple Thompson isn't a fan of painting fences. 'Once you paint a fence, you've got to keep on painting it, and that's something to remember.' Instead, she recommends keeping wooden timber fences simple and letting them age naturally: 'Too many decorative details in a small garden can look really busy. I prefer to let the plants do the talking.' Instead of trellis with fancy filigree details, she recommends just a small enough amount of trellis that lets plants such as honeysuckle and clematis grow on top of themselves. 'You don't want the fence to be a feature in itself: that draws the eye and makes the garden feel smaller.' Plant in bulk In a small garden, you need plants near the windows that draw the eye as you look out. Thompson favours perennials that create airy veils you can look through; think plants with naked stems such as salvias, verbenas and rudbeckia. The classic mistake Thompson always sees in a nursery or garden centre is people with 20 plants in their trolley, but only one of everything. 'However hard it is, restrict yourself to fewer varieties, but more of them,' she advises. So instead of one lovely flower or plant, have five of them. 'Put three of them together, and then two of them a little bit further away,' says Thompson. 'Then repeat nearer the house, so you've got that sense of harmony and the eye isn't zigzagging about.' Have fun with bulbs Bulbs are great for small gardens, where you can plant tiny ones into pots and have them near your kitchen window. 'Have things like Iris reticulata and muscari on a bistro table – the flowers that you're not necessarily going to see if they're at the end of the garden,' says Thompson. 'You can chop and change, and move things elsewhere from season to season.' And then, of course, you can plant the bulbs out in your beds: 'There's an allium for every space.' Plant a rose Roses are plants that Thompson returns to again and again, for their beauty. She is sure there is a rose for every garden. 'They're not as high-maintenance as people think. They can cope with hot weather, especially if they are in the ground and have sent their long tap roots down,' she says. Blush Noisette is a small climber that doesn't get higher than 8ft or 9ft. 'It's a great rose for a small space.' Thompson recommends looking for repeat-flowering roses that offer bang for their buck: 'English roses are great for that. Olivia Rose Austin is a very popular one, with a lovely, pretty pink colour. Look for scent: go to David Austin or Peter Beales now and smell them. You'd want to be planting them in November.' If space is very tight, then roses can work well in pots, so long as you water them: 'Olivia Rose Austin thrives in a pot, as does Emily Brontë, and Kew Gardens. The latter will bloom all summer.' Keep furniture compact Sitting outside and perhaps having a little barbecue is part of enjoying a garden, but be realistic about how much space you have. 'You don't need a built-in barbecue and permanent sofas,' says Thompson. Instead, if your space is really tiny, have folding garden furniture that you can store in a small shed and bring out when the weather is good. Add a statement parasol If you want to make your space more jolly, then think about investing in a fabulous parasol. Thompson is a fan of the East London Parasol Company. 'They're not cheap, but there are loads of really good ones,' she says. If you want to spend less, check out Dunelm. 'I have a bright orange one that's quite retro,' says Thompson. 'Whatever your tastes are, you can really go with it. Just remember to bring them inside [if the weather's bad].' Look up Thompson is partial to a pergola, if there's space, as a way to add height: a vital consideration in a small garden. She also advises making use of fences and walls to add climbing plants that draw the eye up, creating the illusion of more space. Have unexpected moments Small pots clustered together are a favourite thing of Thompson's. She also likes auricula theatres: display structures used to showcase auriculas, a type of primula. They usually feature tiered shelving units that provide shelter from rain and sun, while their dark backgrounds enhance the visual impact of the colorful blooms, allowing for close-up viewing or viewing as a group. 'Even a little bookshelf on a wall where you put your terracotta pots with one or two little spring bulbs is quite fun as well,' says Thompson. 'It looks really pretty, and uses no ground space at all.' Avoid brightly coloured pots Good pots that are frost-proof are worth investing in. However, Thompson advises going for softer colours in a small garden; pinky terracottas and orange pots that will calm down with age. 'I probably would avoid too many bright colours, because they do grab the attention and can make it feel small,' she says. 'Steer away from those bolder colours, and towards the calmer ones for a smaller place, if you want it to feel calm.' Don't go overboard with storage Think about what sort of storage you really need, and choose the worst corner of the garden. Often, a shed like a little sentry box will suffice. 'That will be simple enough to put in a spade, a rake and some trowels,' says Thompson. She advises against putting a storage unit in a place where it will become a focal point, and 'don't necessarily have the door facing out; turning it 90 degrees can work nicely'. Don't default to a lawn – and avoid plastic In a small space, opting not to have a lawn might be prudent. 'I understand that it's nice to have something underfoot, but a lawn means you will need a lawn mower,' Thompson points out. If you have a small shady garden, you're unlikely to be able to grow a lush lawn, but don't be tempted by artificial grass, says Thompson: 'A few people I know haven't realised that in a heatwave, when you sit on Astroturf, it burns you. It's also unhygienic; I think that's something a lot of people don't realise. You only need cats and foxes going across it peeing, and it's disgusting.' If you want a low-maintenance alternative to a lawn, permeable surfaces such as gravel will still allow you to embrace clusters of pots and seating. 'You've got to think about the drainage, and then have paving stones if you want to be able to walk barefoot through your garden,' says Thompson. 'Not everything has to be a square of lawn.' Be careful of mirrors Some mirrored glass behind a climber can give a sense of the garden going on for longer than it does – but, says Thompson, 'more often than not it just ends up looking like you've put up a mirror to make your garden look bigger. Especially if you put it in a sort of arch directly facing you, it's the one thing you always see.' Instead, if you want to add a mirror, place it behind plants: 'And then you just get an idea of light, just those sort of speckles of light.' Choose simple water features The sound of water flowing is lovely if you live in the city and want to distract from traffic sounds, but Thompson prefers to keep it simple and avoid anything too trickling. 'Those water features with pebbles and things coming out of stones that you see in the garden centre can be too much,' she says. 'A simple trough with a spout is lovely, because if you're going to be constantly looking at it, you don't want to go over the top. You want something easy to maintain.' Forget symmetrical borders A common sight for Thompson is gardens with rectangular borders of 20cm, 'which is totally and utterly pointless, because you can't grow anything apart from climbers', she says. Instead, give up on the idea of your garden being symmetrical and look at where the sun hits it: 'Make your sunniest border your deepest border, and give plants at least 45cm. You can plant things like geraniums that you can cut and they will keep coming back.' Create winter interest In a smaller garden, you won't have a choice of beds to dedicate to the different seasons. Instead, Thompson says, simplicity can be calming in winter. 'Have blobs of evergreen such as Ilex crenata or euonymus that give a little bit of structure in winter, but then get lost in summer.' Easy additions, for example, pots with winter-interest bulbs such as snowdrops and early spring croci set on a bistro table, will help to keep your garden looking good throughout the year – whatever its size.
Powys County Times
04-08-2025
- Powys County Times
Garden opens to promote natural measures that boost flood resilience
A new garden in Oxfordshire is aiming to promote the uptake of flood resilience measures by demonstrating nature-based solutions as a first line of defence for UK properties. Opening at Howbery Business Park on Monday, the project offers free public access to a blueprint for how outdoor spaces, such as an ordinary terraced house garden, can help reduce flood risks. It builds on the silver medal-winning Flood Resilience Garden that debuted at Chelsea Flower Show last year. The now permanent and reimagined garden in Oxfordshire seeks to show how a combination of functionality and aesthetics in gardens can help address the urgent need for widespread flood mitigation. Extremes of heat and rainfall driven by climate change and years of underinvestment in water infrastructure have left the country exposed to increasingly frequent and intense flooding, with one in four homes at risk. The garden comes as part of a resilience campaign by Flood Re, a joint initiative between the Government and insurers to make flood insurance cover for households more affordable. Features include a pond that doubles as a sump to collect water and a smart rainwater tank that allows remote drain-down ahead of predicted rainfall. The space also spotlights a range of carefully curated wild flower meadow plants, edible and shade resilient greenery and the water loving-species, Baldellia ranunculoides, Caltha palustris, Lychnis flos-cucul, Rodgersia and Juncus ensifolius. The garden's designer Ed Barsley, from the Environmental Design Studio, said: 'With this garden, we wanted to demonstrate that flood resilient design needn't be a compromise. 'You can create spaces that are both beautiful and enriching, whatever the weather. 'The original garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show was a magical, if fleeting, moment. 'In reimagining it for a permanent setting, we've worked hard to ensure it can endure and thrive for decades to come.' Flood Re said changes to outside spaces and gardens, as well as internal changes such as the use of specialist plaster, raised electric sockets and tiled floors, can help households to reduce the potential for and impact of flooding and to recover more swiftly. It also noted the collective benefit that communities would see if there was widespread adoption of flood-resistant features and built-in water storage. The garden also supports the Build Back Better scheme, launched in 2022 to enable qualifying policyholders to benefit from up to £10,000 towards the installation of flood resilience measures, Flood Re said, adding that it is now offered by over 70% of the UK household property insurance market. Kelly Ostler-Coyle, director of corporate affairs at Flood Re, said: 'We're thrilled that the flood resilient garden now has a permanent home, open and accessible to the wider public. 'Outdoor spaces like this are vital in providing a natural first line of defence against flooding. 'This garden demonstrates how thoughtful choices in plants and landscape design can offer both aesthetic value and tangible protection — helping to minimise physical damage and emotional strain when floods occur. Andy Brown, joint chief executive at the consultancy HR Wallingford, which owns the site, said the garden 'looks magnificent'. 'I am sure (it) will inspire everyone who visits, as well as providing a tranquil space for those that work here. 'We expect there to be more intense and more frequent rainfall in coming years, as an impact of climate change, but resilient gardens such as this one will help reduce the risk of flooding, lessening the impact on lives, the environment and infrastructure.'
Western Telegraph
04-08-2025
- Western Telegraph
Garden opens to promote natural measures that boost flood resilience
Opening at Howbery Business Park on Monday, the project offers free public access to a blueprint for how outdoor spaces, such as an ordinary terraced house garden, can help reduce flood risks. It builds on the silver medal-winning Flood Resilience Garden that debuted at Chelsea Flower Show last year. The Flood Resilient Garden at Howbery Park (Flood Re/PA) The now permanent and reimagined garden in Oxfordshire seeks to show how a combination of functionality and aesthetics in gardens can help address the urgent need for widespread flood mitigation. Extremes of heat and rainfall driven by climate change and years of underinvestment in water infrastructure have left the country exposed to increasingly frequent and intense flooding, with one in four homes at risk. The garden comes as part of a resilience campaign by Flood Re, a joint initiative between the Government and insurers to make flood insurance cover for households more affordable. Features include a pond that doubles as a sump to collect water and a smart rainwater tank that allows remote drain-down ahead of predicted rainfall. The space also spotlights a range of carefully curated wild flower meadow plants, edible and shade resilient greenery and the water loving-species, Baldellia ranunculoides, Caltha palustris, Lychnis flos-cucul, Rodgersia and Juncus ensifolius. The garden's designer Ed Barsley, from the Environmental Design Studio, said: 'With this garden, we wanted to demonstrate that flood resilient design needn't be a compromise. A galvanised steel pergola with climbing plants, recycled stone paving, recycled wooden deck benches and tables and a pond feature as part of the garden (Flood Re/PA) 'You can create spaces that are both beautiful and enriching, whatever the weather. 'The original garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show was a magical, if fleeting, moment. 'In reimagining it for a permanent setting, we've worked hard to ensure it can endure and thrive for decades to come.' Flood Re said changes to outside spaces and gardens, as well as internal changes such as the use of specialist plaster, raised electric sockets and tiled floors, can help households to reduce the potential for and impact of flooding and to recover more swiftly. It also noted the collective benefit that communities would see if there was widespread adoption of flood-resistant features and built-in water storage. The garden also supports the Build Back Better scheme, launched in 2022 to enable qualifying policyholders to benefit from up to £10,000 towards the installation of flood resilience measures, Flood Re said, adding that it is now offered by over 70% of the UK household property insurance market. A recycled galvanised watertank, which helps slow and manage the flow of rainwater into the garden alongside Caltha palustris, Iris and Juncus ensifolius (Flood Re/PA) Kelly Ostler-Coyle, director of corporate affairs at Flood Re, said: 'We're thrilled that the flood resilient garden now has a permanent home, open and accessible to the wider public. 'Outdoor spaces like this are vital in providing a natural first line of defence against flooding. 'This garden demonstrates how thoughtful choices in plants and landscape design can offer both aesthetic value and tangible protection — helping to minimise physical damage and emotional strain when floods occur. Andy Brown, joint chief executive at the consultancy HR Wallingford, which owns the site, said the garden 'looks magnificent'. 'I am sure (it) will inspire everyone who visits, as well as providing a tranquil space for those that work here. 'We expect there to be more intense and more frequent rainfall in coming years, as an impact of climate change, but resilient gardens such as this one will help reduce the risk of flooding, lessening the impact on lives, the environment and infrastructure.'
