By Dr Sarah Venter

Another 22 baobabs and counting

Baobabs on confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers continue to be vulnerable to the over utilization by elephants.  The only way to effectively protect baobabs from elephants is to wrap them in wire mesh.  In November 2023 the Baobab Foundation wrapped another 22 baobabs in wire mesh.  Over the course of three days another 15 baobabs were protected in [...] Continue Reading
By Dr Sarah Venter

Grow your own baobab

Baobabs produce a large fruit which are filled with hard kidney-shaped seeds.  These seeds are “nature-designed” to survive harsh conditions and to germinate at exactly the right time so that the young seedling can grow and survive in the wild.  Our job is to crack that code by mimicking the natural conditions that stimulate germination and allow the seedlings to [...] Continue Reading
By Dr Sarah Venter

Do bees pollinate nocturnal baobab flowers?

Pabalelo Phori (MSc candidate) investigates the role of bees and other insects visiting baobab flowers. The buzzing of bees around baobab flowers in the early morning is a common sight and although bees are an important pollinator of many species, do they actually play a role in pollinating baobab flowers?  This is the important question that Pabalelo will be investigating [...] Continue Reading
By Dr Sarah Venter

Do baobab trees matter?

Liam Taylor (MSc candidate) investigates the ecological consequences of elephant-induced tree mortality on bird communities. Liam Taylor is an all-round naturalist, who takes identification of everything he sees seriously.  From insects to reptiles and mammals to trees, but his passion is birds.  He is one of those birders who the moment a bird tweets or flies past everything else is [...] Continue Reading
By Dr Sarah Venter

Let’s save the baobabs

Thanks to donations from Skoon Skincare (South Africa), Dr Jackson Skincare (UK), Lather (USA) and BaoMed (Netherlands) the Baobab Foundation has managed to raise enough funds to protect another fifty baobab trees. In October (2023) Mphadeni Nthangeni (Park Manager), Steven Khosa (SanParks Ecologist), the Honorary Rangers (Mapungubwe Cluster) and Sarah Venter (Baobab Foundation) will be starting this daunting task. There [...] Continue Reading
By Dr Sarah Venter

Green Defenders

The Green Defenders are local community action group headed by Thuso Mukoma of Mukomawabane Village in northern Limpopo. The group solves environmental problems such as erosion and pollution around their village and then get together to take action.  Their activities include tree planting, monitoring illegal harvesting of fuel wood and building gabions.  Their efforts are important to the environment in [...] Continue Reading
By Dr Sarah Venter

Big Bite Tree Collapses (Video 4)

Big Bite Tree Collapses (Video 4) I visited this tree in November 2022 (Video 1 in this series), less than seven months later this tree collapsed and died.  It was a tragic sight and has emphasised the urgent need for the protection of baobabs from elephant damage in this forgotten park.
By Dr Sarah Venter

Livhuwani’s baobab tree

Livhuwani tells us about her tree (Video) Livhuwani Nelitshindwi planted her tree 6 years ago as part of the Baobab Guardians project.  The project started in 2014 encouraged people in rural villages to plant and protect baobab seedlings from being browsed by domestic animals.  When trees reach 3 meters high they are then safe from browsers and can continue to […] Continue Reading

By Dr Sarah Venter

Denzhe Pre-school supports the community

“Each year there is more demand for the Preschool” says Principal Munzhelele “as the community grows so do the needs of the community”. In 2019 when the school was first opened by the Baobab Foundation, the school only have a handful of children.  "We are expecting a greater intake of children next year and we need to prepare for this in [...] Continue Reading