Grootbos Foundation Conservation Volunteer Experience

Volunteer Hamish Philipson has been with the Grootbos Foundation for the past two weeks to learn more about the work of the Grootbos Foundation. Studying Environmental Science, Hamish was particularly keen to spend time with the research team learning about current projects in botany, entomology, carbon sequestration and dating, whilst making time to save this Garden Acraea from a footpath where it might have been injured.

Hamish: I am studying environmental science in the UK at Nottingham University, and volunteering at Grootbos for 2 weeks during my Easter holiday. I connected with the Foundation because of its conservation work, but have also had the chance to spend a day with each of the other teams. Thank you so much; I have felt so welcomed, and both enjoyed and benefited from this experience immensely.

Here, the team was scouting for Proteaceae from which to core for carbon dating. Sean Privett, our managing director, has always wanted to know how old these resprouting Proteas and shrubs are and spent the day identifying large individuals for this project with research intern, Lindelwa Hlubi and volunteer, Hamish Phillipson. Stay tuned for the fieldwork chapter....