I’ve always liked little pieces of unbuilt land in urban areas, those lots — “erven”, as we call them in South Africa — that haven’t been sterilised by bulldozers and where a few wild things survive. Although often overlooked by conservationists in favour of larger, more exciting areas of wilderness,

If I’ve learned anything from my decade-plus of living on the South Peninsula, it’s that baboons cause fights around here. Few things are more polarising in these parts these not-so-distant relatives of ours, but it might not always have been this way. Fossils show that

It’s trendy to have more nature in your life, either by spending more time in natural areas or by bringing more nature into your home and yard. Bringing more nature into your space is almost universally viewed as a Completely Good Thing but [downer alert!] I’m here to

It's the time of year when many fynbos patches around Cape Town turn a vibrant, deep pink from the abundant flowers of Pelargonium cucullatum, the Hooded Storksbill. Many Capetonians have no idea that this plant has played an important role in the global horticultural industry, and is in

Many people make a sharp distinction between nature conservation areas and areas occupied by humans. To them, the border between a national park or nature reserve and the adjacent farmland or urban neighbourhood is a hard line. On the nature side of the line we preserve wild species — it’s

Do you want to save species from extinction? Support conservation areas? Not be ripped off by the pseudigenous gardening industry? Or just develop an ancient superpower? Being able to identify and name wild species is fundamental to any kind of conservation work (professional or amateur) and to gardening as if

Some of you may be wondering why I’m so concerned about what gets planted in gardens. Why is the South Peninsula Nature Alliance, a conservation project, putting a good amount of its time, creativity and energy towards gardening? Why did I just publish over 2,000 words on pseudigenous

I live in Cape Town, in the heart of the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa, one of the most naturally diverse areas of the planet. The Cape Town Metro area contains about 3,400 indigenous plant species, more than are found in many U.S. states and more, even,

I live with my family in the southern reaches of the extraordinary, nature-rich Cape Peninsula of South Africa. As a climate and wildlife writer, I’ve spent much of my life and career observing and communicating about nature conservation here and in many other places. My work has convinced