by Yonela Rubuluza
I cannot begin to describe my experience with Nature’s Valley and NVT. I joined NVT on Monday 9th January 2023, as a Groen Sebenza Intern (A South African Government initiative that aims at creating priority skills and work readiness for graduates in the biodiversity sector). I was fortunate enough to be stationed at NVT.
I still remember being picked up from Shell Service Station by the director of NVT, Prof. Hendri Coetzee, an academic, a leader and a career coach that I will forever hold respect for. I had always passed by the Garden Route going home to the Eastern Cape from Cape Town and I did not know that there was this little Eden called Nature’s Valley. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Very peaceful, safe, clean and pristine.
I resumed my duties as a horticultural intern, responsible for managing and maintaining the village’s botanical garden (Phyl Martin Park). What an experience! Phyl Martin Park and it’s little nursery is my former big project that I patiently transformed and made it to being enjoyed by both locals and visitors. The garden is small, but it’s filled with sections that are very educational and informative. Worth a visit! You will find an abundance of bird species, common reptiles (boomslang & puff adder), resident bushbucks, vervet monkeys and baboons.
To the team, what an amazing team this conservation group has. Highly skilled, dedicated, team orientated and always willing to help everyone. The organizational culture and skills transfer at NVT is unmatched. In my entire academic and career life, I have never met so many educated and skilled people from everywhere around the world gathered in one place and sharing knowledge and skills.
While everyone has their special project at NVT, work and operational duties are broad. From participating in water quality assessments, conducting bird and mammal surveys, landscaping maintenance at Phyl Martin Park, forest work in Hebron, community work in Nature’s Valley, and neighboring Covie & Kurland villages, marine debris and micro plastic surveys along the coast. You’re basically exposed to all the projects, and you get well trained. It is at NVT where I learned to respond and attend to stranded animals, birds and mammals and was trained on the relevant procedures.
To the interns, NVT attracts the best people ever! I was lucky to have been the longest intern of which in my 2 years at NVT I got to meet and live with so many interns from around South Africa, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Italy, England, Germany, Hong Kong, USA, France, Paraguay, and the Netherlands. You can just imagine the experience. I enjoyed it so much that I not only met interns but also made lasting friendships. I will forever miss the Friday fun days, the weekly activities, the afternoon swim’s, the sunset dinners at the point, the braai at the lagoon and other adventures we had. It was so special.
To the friends I made: Tiaan Botha, Sky Beveridge, Jez Harrington-Heys, Nicholas Marais. Thank you so much gents! And to the mission station: Nicole, Brandy, Kayla, Sophie, Floris, Julian, Ruby, Kate, Manon, Katie, Carla. Thank you so much.
And lastly I would like to thank the senior staff members that guided and coached me into successfully completing my internship: Prof. Hendri Coetze, Lauren Moriarty, Brittany Arendse, Giorgio Lombardi, and Sky Beveridge.