BIRDING RESOURCES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTRES IN THE OVERBERG

BirdLife Overberg has been awarded a small grant by the Roland and Leta Hill Trust to develop birding resources for Environmental Education centres in the Overberg. The project is entitled “The development of educational and interpretive programs about wild birds for the educational centres of three gardens or nature reserves in the Overberg”. The purpose will be to enable environmental educators and bird-watchers in the Overberg to have resource material on the interrelationship between bird and plants and the resources will be utilised by environmental educators, bird-watchers, school groups and the general public.

The Overberg region of the Western Cape Province is internationally known as a tourist destination – think of the Cape Floral Kingdom, spectacular land- and seascapes, acclaimed wines, whale watching, reserves and flower gardens, the list just goes on. The Overberg hosts a diverse range of sought after endemic bird species, such as the Cape Sugarbird, Orange-breasted Sunbird, Victorin's Warbler, Protea Seed-eater and many more. Further to this, several under-utilized and ecologically varied birding destinations such as De Hoop and De Mond nature reserves, several fynbos reserves such as those at Harold Porter, Fernkloof, Caledon and Salmonsdam, as well as Stony Point and the Bontebok and Agulhas National Parks and many more need to be properly exposed to a rapidly growing bird-watching fraternity. Very little meaningful educational material exist about the birds of the Overberg in general and the interrelationship between birds and the environment in particular.

The project is aimed at the development of integrated educational packages on birds and the environment and to initially establish these packages at the environmental education centres in three flower gardens or reserves in the Overberg district of the Western Cape Province. Several gardens or reserves could be considered in this regard. Four institutions, namely the Bontebok and Agulhas National Parks, the Postberg EE centre at De Hoop nature reserve and the Overstrand Conservation Foundation have been invited to put forward proposals to participate in this project. The final decision on where the proposed project will be implemented will be based on practicalities, visitor numbers and the existing environmental education infrastructure of these gardens or reserves. The opinion of project sponsors or donors will also be considered in this regard. A further critical aim of the project will be to contribute towards the consolidation of the conservation status of Important Bird Areas (IBA's) in the Overberg by increasing its visibility within the public and general tourist domain.

The resource material that could be developed include:

• The development, design and printing of A4 metal posters on the common birds of each reserve or garden to be attached as a permanent feature in the EE centres

• The duplication of existing A4 laminated posters on the common waterbirds and shore birds of the Overberg, as well as the common garden birds and fynbos birds of the Overberg

• The duplication of the third edition of the checklist of the birds of the Overberg

• The development, design and printing of A1 sized posters on the interrelationship between birds and plants, as well as birds and the environment

• The design, drafting and duplication of educational CD's and an instruction manual for educators

• Copies of BirdLife South Africa's curriculum based lecture packs will also be made available to educators on a regular basis as part of the annual National Bird Week.

It is believed that such a package will enable the staff of gardens or reserves to service their visitors far more effectively and allow visiting school groups, as well as members of the general public to have meaningful educational and interpretive resources to utilize. The members of BirdLife Overberg have a long and proud record of the development of such resource materials and some of these products are reviewed briefly on the club's website. (See “Bird Clubs” under the Overberg Birding Route). These projects were all financed through fund raising campaigns or local and in some cases even international sponsorships.

Some of the products for this project have already been financed through independent sources, such as the third edition of the checklist of the birds of the Overberg that was sponsored by Tru-Cape. Further financing is needed for the duplication of brochures and potential sponsors will be approached in this regard soon.

This pilot project will be managed in such a way that the products being developed could in future be duplicated in other reserves and gardens. Finally, the aims of the proposed project are threefold:

• Firstly the project will practically highlight and illustrate the critical importance of the conservation of birds and their habitats as described in the mission statement of BirdLife South Africa

• Secondly it will allow both recreational visitors and educational groups the opportunity to learn more about the interrelationship between birds and plants in a sustainable, but mostly enjoyable manner

• Thirdly it will allow the project team to improve collaboration and cooperation on multi-disciplinary levels with environmental practitioners from other fields, be these governmental agencies or NGO's.

All individuals or organizations that are interested in sponsoring sections of the project are invited to contact Anton at birding@overberg.co.za or 0825503347.

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