Grootbos Foundation

Grootbos Foundation The Grootbos Foundation changes lives, uplifts communities and conserves the Cape Floral Kingdom

Our objectives include:

*Conserving, rehabilitating and protecting the natural environment of the Western Cape region, particularly the flora and fauna on Grootbos Private Nature Reserve and the Walker Bay region.

*The provision of education relating to indigenous horticulture, agriculture, conservation, ecotourism, greening and life skills education.

*Training and skills development for disadv

antaged persons with the purpose of enabling them to obtain employment or become self-employed.

*Using sports and sports facilities as a tool for social integration, promoting healthy lifestyles for youth, and increasing environmental awareness and life skills amongst communities.

*Research including ecological, educational, social and scientific research on topics related to our core programmes.

*Developing sustainable and innovative solutions to tackle the issue of food insecurity.

*Protecting and supporting vulnerable communities in meaningful ways during the Covid 19 pandemic.

03/09/2026

There is life after fire, and you can experience it in Stanford.

Leon Kluge's award-winning "Life after Fire" botanical exhibit will be on display in Stanford between 12 - 27 September 2026.

This display is a celebration of the incredible resiliance of native fynbos landscapes. Inspired by the widespread wildfires which tore through several mountainous areas of the Cape in the 2025/2026 summer season, the exibit champions the blooms and bulbs which burst forth in the first months after a fire.

Book your tickets now: https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/EventCategories.aspx?itemid=1595779908

The display is part of the Stanford in Bloom village festival.

Stanford in Bloom Leon Kluge Siphokazi Jonas

02/09/2026

🎥🕵Motion sensor cameras, offer a unique window into nature. The Grootbos Foundation Conservation Team uses camera traps to monitor animals, insects and plants. While this footage can be a crucial part of their research, there is always time to simply appreciate these incredible images and the amazing diversity they are showcasing.

So much of our work is grounded in the nature that surrounds us, so let’s take this little compilation as an opportunity to marvel at nature’s ability to go about its daily business as it always has, regardless of human development.

Our Green Steward project helps small independent contractors in securing contracts to clear invasive plants in the area...
31/08/2026

Our Green Steward project helps small independent contractors in securing contracts to clear invasive plants in the area.

Currently the teams are busy clearing a few areas in the Walker Bay Fynbos Conservancy specifically identified for their biodiversity value. The team in the picture is working hard hand-pulling young Port Jackson plants from a wild fynbos area. In the foreground, a little patch of oxalis will now get to thrive because the Port Jackson will be removed and will not get the chance to overpower the little indigenous plant.

The wildfires earlier this year provided us with the unique opportunity to remove alien plants by hand-pulling the little shoots. Removing them before they get too big to be removed by human strength only, benefits both nature and humans.
This method ensures that there is no negative impact from herbicides on the soil, it creates job opportunities for local teams, is an investment in future fire management and overall benefits the well-being of endemic fynbos plants - good news all around!

This programme is supported by The Jobs Fund.

26/08/2026

📚🍎At Masakhane Hub, Grootbos Foundation offers a quiet place for children after school during the week. Here they can complete their homework, do research for school projects and assignments and can access computers to support them. The hub is also a place for fun and play. Whichever activity the children join, they will receive a healthy meal or snack.

This video was taken at an especially busy afternoon homework session at the Masakhane Hub.

Have you booked your tickets to Chelsea Flowers in Stanford?Chelsea Flowers in Stanford returns with it's most impactful...
24/08/2026

Have you booked your tickets to Chelsea Flowers in Stanford?

Chelsea Flowers in Stanford returns with it's most impactful exhibit yet. Inspired by the widespread wildfires which tore through several mountainous areas of the Cape in the 2025/2026 summer season, this exhibit is a celebration of the incredible fynbos of the Cape Floristic Region, one of the world's most unique botanical regions.

Leon Kluge led South Africa to won a Gold award as well at the coveted ‘Best exhibition in the Great Pavilion’ award at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026.

Fire for fynbos is far from a disaster, but an opportunity for regrowth, and regeneration.

A large part of the display showcases the diversity of bulbs, orchids and other wildflowers which emerge after fire has swept through fynbos landscapes.

Join us in Stanford this September, in the heart of the fynbos landscape.

At Green Futures College, we want all our students to receive comprehensive training that prepares them for the future a...
21/08/2026

At Green Futures College, we want all our students to receive comprehensive training that prepares them for the future and helps them find employment.
As part of their training, students spend some time in the classroom gaining essential horticulture and landscaping knowledge. They then put this knowledge into practice while working at the Green Futures Nursery.

The real fun starts with small landscaping contracts, like this one at Romansbaai near Gansbaai. The students have the opportunity to put their new skills and knowledge to the test while generating funds for the training programme.

From propagation and consulting with clients to designing and planting indigenous gardens, and installing irrigation where needed, students experience every stage of the nursery and landscaping process. This hands-on approach helps them develop a broad set of practical green skills.

This estate has an approved indigenous plant list. The Grootbos Nursery collects cutting material to propagate some species, while others are grown from seed, ensuring the gardens reflect the region's unique biodiversity

This practical work experience is supported by The Jobs Fund.

19/08/2026

📹🕵Grootbos Foundation Conservation Team uses camera traps across the landscape to observe and study the behaviour of animals, plants and insects. Even though we have often used these motion-sensor cameras to help us conduct research, there are still some lovely little surprises that come with constantly observing our environment.

One particularly unexpected catch from recent weeks is this little grysbok munching on a Gladiolus overbergensis or, more accurately, five of them over the course of what seems to have been a very satisfactory midnight snack.

Gladiolus overbergensis is a very special flower that is not only endemic to the Overberg region, but is also making its first appearance on the reserve since the last major wildfire two decades ago.

It seems that it is not only special to us, but pretty tasty too.

Before our 31 Employability Programme participants started their 10-day workplace placements with a variety of local bus...
17/08/2026

Before our 31 Employability Programme participants started their 10-day workplace placements with a variety of local businesses last week, they had one final Work Readiness Workshop to attend.

Our top priority with all of our projects is setting our participants up for success. With the Employability Programme, that means supporting them not only during their short work experience, but also afterwards. So, while this final session prepares them for the following two weeks, we will continue to mentor and monitor their journeys as they work towards securing employment.
Sometimes, all that's missing is confidence and an opportunity to change someone's life.

We can't wait to see what doors open from this experience for these keen young people as they take their first steps into the world of work.

This programme is supported by The Jobs Fund.

14/08/2026

In 2025, Grootbos Foundation invited award-winning poet and author Siphokazi Jonas, to visit the work of Grootbos Foundation, and the natural fynbos landscapes of the Walker Bay region. Her poem explores the landscape, the people and their passions as she weaves the story of how human heritage and the natural environment are rooted together.

This poem makes us feel incredibly proud to call this region home. It is an honour to live in close proximity to wild pristine natural places and to share this landscape with the unique plants, insects and animals found here. It is an honour to conserve this deliicate ecosystem.

“To preserve what remains for the future
to protect the smallest of these
even that which does not serve us
To be humbled by our belonging
in an ecosystem defined by inherent value
where even the smallest blade and peskiest fly
are worthy of existing, together.”

The Walker Bay region is about to burst into bloom this September, thanks to both the incredible fire-triggered 'superbloom' and Leon Kluge's Life after Fire display which will be recreated in Stanford. Siphokazi's poem reminds us to celebrate the beauty in the grand and the small things, from the insects to leopards and bulbs to forests which call this landscape home.

Join Grootbos Foundation in celebrating our natural heritage. You too can experience fynbos both in the natural wild and also through Leon Kluge's spectacular fynbos exhibit called 'Life after Fire' which will be on show from 12-27 Sept in Stanford. Tickets are available on Webtickets.

🕵Thyreus bees (family: Apidae) are commonly known as cloak-and-dagger bees, or cuckoo bees. As their name suggests, thes...
14/08/2026

🕵Thyreus bees (family: Apidae) are commonly known as cloak-and-dagger bees, or cuckoo bees. As their name suggests, these bees are remarkably sneaky. They parasitize other solitary bees by entering their nests and laying their eggs inside brood cells. When the Thyreus larvae hatch, they kill the host larvae and feed on the pollen and nectar provisions left by the host mother. This behaviour is strikingly similar to that of cuckoo birds, which lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species and leave the unsuspecting foster parents to raise their chicks.

Because Thyreus bees rely entirely on their hosts to provide food for their offspring, they do not collect pollen themselves. As a result, female Thyreus bees lack the specialised pollen-carrying structures, such as scopae (specialised clustered hairs) or corbiculae (pollen baskets), that are found in many other bee species.

Address

Grootbos Private Nature Reserve
Gansbaai
7220

Opening Hours

Monday 08:00 - 16:00
Tuesday 08:00 - 16:00
Wednesday 08:00 - 16:00
Thursday 08:00 - 16:00
Friday 08:00 - 16:00

Telephone

+27283848048

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Grootbos Foundation posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Grootbos Foundation:

Shortcuts

Share

Category