Hi, welcome to my blog! You have reached the place where education and conservation meet. A place where we champion the impactful conservation work being done in Africa, while educating on some important topics which you might have heard floating around. If terms like sustainability, protected areas, endangered species or biodiversity sounds a bit foreign to you, do not fear! Simply stick around and you might just make sense of it, while joining me in celebrating our unique and extraordinary natural heritage and the heroes who dedicate their lives to protecting it.
I think before we go further, it is time for a full disclaimer! I am a total newbie when it comes to blog writing. I am for a large part figuring it out as we go along, however I am beyond excited to go on this journey and I hope you will follow along! This post will be a short introductory post, with a little bit of information on myself as well as focusing mainly on the reasons behind me starting this blog and the things that you can expect from this blog.
It is at this stage that my research on blog writing has indicated that I should tell a bit about myself. I will keep this applicable to nature and brief, as I would like to get back to the essence of the blog namely conservation, but here goes. I have been privileged to grow up in the Highveld of South Africa in a city called Kempton Park. Although not specifically known for its natural beauty, my love for nature started here from a young age, somewhere between watching my silkworms grow, helping my parents care for our fruit trees and being chased by geese at our local dam (but that’s a story for another day)! I think back fondly to the December holidays spent in the Pilanesberg or the July breaks spent in the freezing Madikwe nature reserve and more recently the awe-inspiring trips to the Kruger National Park. These are just a few of the special nature experiences which have shaped and nurtured my passion for nature and more importantly to conserve and protect it.
I have been lucky enough to study nature conservation along with various additional courses in development, sustainability, green building and project management. Currently I am also helping to run nature clubs at schools in the Gauteng area. This has led to this point in 2025, where I have a burning desire to share the knowledge I have built up and the experiences which I have been so lucky to have and continue to have. I have a keen interest in all aspects of nature from grass identification through to large herbivores such as giraffes (my favourite animal by the way) and everything in between. My biggest interests however are sustainability and sustainable development and the theory of biodiversity across all three levels (genetic, species and ecosystem).
We now get to the question of why I am starting this blog? The first reason is a desire to educate, both myself further and anyone reading the blog posts. During my studies and work I have gained knowledge on a range of topics, and it is my mission to share it on this platform. I do however, not for one moment think that I know everything as I am constantly learning further. I also believe that many of our environmental problems can be solved through education by creating a desire among people to conserve our planet, and to provide them with the tools to do it through explanations and discussions which are clear and easy to understand. You can thus look forward to some educational posts diving into theoretical concepts, some features where we showcase ongoing conservation projects and nature reserves or some thought provoking discussion within our community which we are building.
The second reason for starting the blog is to sow optimism and hope with regards to conservation in Africa. We do not have to search far to find the many threats that our natural systems face. This is the unfortunate reality. However, there is some amazing work being done all over to combat these threats and environmental degradation and this is what we will focus on.
My hope for this blog is to educate and to show the beauty of nature in order to build a community filled with hope, knowledge and motivation for change. Whether a student, professional or just a nature loving individual, the blog is for anyone who is open to learning and discussing in a respectful manner. I urge everyone who reads the blog to use it as a kick-starter in learning about a term or subject and to go explore further, both in books as well as outside in nature. We were placed on this earth to enjoy it and to protect it, and I urge you to do both fully.
If you made it to this point, thank you and well done! I invite you to follow along on this journey. Please give our social media pages (@Conserve and Protect Africa) a follow and look out for the next blog post.
Be filled with nature!
Willem🐛