Waterberg Biosphere Reserve

05/10/2026

Congratulations to Lapalala Wilderness School 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

Congratulations to our 2026 Climate Change Award winners 🌍

🥇 GOLD: Project 90 by 2030: advancing climate action and a just transition by empowering communities and advocating for a low-carbon future.

🥈 SILVER: Lapalala Wilderness School: equipping young people with the knowledge and connection to nature needed to understand and respond to environmental challenges.

🥉 BRONZE: Greenpeace Africa Clean Air Campaign: campaigning for cleaner air and action on the pollution and fossil-fuel emissions impacting communities across Africa.

Thank you for all your work in helping move climate action from conversation to implementation 🙏🏽

The Climate Change Award is supported by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

05/10/2026

Registration for the Powerade Marakele Marathon 2027 is open!

Get your entry for SANParks iconic Big 5 marathon now and join South Africa’s running community at the start line.

📆 6 March 2027
📍 Marakele National Park, Thabazimbi
🔗 https://marakelemarathon2027.myactive.co.za/

Rᴜɴ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪʟᴅ. Rᴜɴ ꜰᴏʀ ᴄᴏɴsᴇʀᴠᴀᴛɪᴏɴ. Rᴜɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʟᴇɢᴀᴄʏ.

05/10/2026

🌍WORLD HABITAT DAY
5 OCTOBER

HABITATS, SUSTAINING LIFE

Healthy habitats are essential for biodiversity, clean water, climate resilience, and sustainable livelihoods.

The Waterberg Biosphere Reserve joins the global community in celebrating Habitat Day, recognising the importance of conserving and restoring natural ecosystems that support both people and nature.

🌿 Protect Natural Habitats
🦋 Conserve Biodiversity
💧 Safeguard Water Resources
🌳 Restore Ecosystems
🤝 Support Sustainable Communities

HABITAT COUNTS

From the iconic Waterberg mountains and savannas to rivers, wetlands, plants, insects, birds and wildlife, every habitat plays a vital role in sustaining life and maintaining the ecological balance of our planet.

People and Nature Thrive Together

05/10/2026

🌿 **Tiny Wonders in the Heart of the Waterberg Biosphere**

While the Waterberg is famous for its iconic wildlife, some of its most fascinating residents are far smaller. At **Lindani**, nestled in the heart of the **Waterberg Biosphere Reserve**, even a single caterpillar making its way through the bush is worth pausing to admire.

Recently, an extraordinary sighting revealed a wriggling mass of caterpillars gathered together, a reminder that nature's most captivating moments are not always the biggest ones. These tiny creatures play an essential role in the ecosystem and showcase the incredible diversity that makes the Waterberg such a special landscape.

The sighting highlights an important conservation message: biodiversity extends beyond large mammals and birds. From insects and plants to predators and pollinators, every species contributes to the health and resilience of the biosphere.

🐛 Sometimes the greatest discoveries happen when we slow down, look closer, and appreciate the small wonders around us. In the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve, every creature, no matter its size, is part of a remarkable natural story.

🌿🐛

05/10/2026

🪲 **Waterberg Research Helps Unlock Southern Africa’s Dung Beetle Diversity**

New research has brought greater clarity to the taxonomy and distribution of the dung beetle genus *Milichus* across southern Africa. By revisiting museum collections and combining historical records with new field data, researchers corrected long standing species misidentifications and updated the known distribution of several species.

The study confirmed that three *Milichus* species occur in South Africa: *M. apicalis*, *M. dudleyi* and *M. rhodesianus*, while also recording new country and provincial occurrences.

The **Waterberg Biodiversity Project** played an important role in this work. Field data collected during a dung beetle survey led by Dr Werner Strümpher of the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History contributed valuable evidence to the study. Logistical support was provided by Marilize Greyling of the Waterberg Research Support Centre (WRSC), who also served as Project Manager for the FBIP Waterberg Biodiversity Project.

This research highlights the value of long-term biodiversity monitoring in the Waterberg. By combining field surveys, museum collections and collaborative research, scientists can deepen our understanding of biodiversity and reveal patterns that would otherwise remain hidden.

🪲 From a single dung beetle survey in the Waterberg to a broader understanding of species distributions across southern Africa, every specimen and every dataset contributes to a larger conservation story.

29/09/2026

𝗔 𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗜𝗦 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡 𝗔 𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗘.🌳

It is shade for a child.
A home for biodiversity.
A contribution to healthier communities.
A natural ally in building climate resilience.
And a legacy that can outlive us.

Through the 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲 , South Africa is turning collective action into something that can be seen, nurtured and grown — one tree at a time.

Tomorrow, 𝟭𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘀 will be planted across the country as South Africans come together to create greener spaces and invest in the future of our environment.

🌱Because when we plant a tree, we don't just change a landscape — we help shape the future.

24/09/2026

Biosphere
Heritage
Home

Heritage Day Everyone!

23/09/2026

23/09/2026