Written by Kim Gordon, Stewardship Programme Coordinator.

Nature Connect administers a small grants facility on behalf of the Table Mountain Fund. The grants exist to bring new organisations and individuals into the conservation sector, and to support biodiversity work, community participation, youth involvement and sustainable livelihoods.

Our October 2023 call brought 30 applications. Four projects were selected for the 2024 cycle.

Green Hearts is a community team in Retreat, led by a local resident. They work with volunteers and young people to green the area, teach propagation and run nature-based excursions.

ARKYS Outreach runs long-term upskilling and education for young people on the South Peninsula. Their Chacma Champions project takes participants into local ecosystems and the baboon troops living alongside them.

Community Women Action, in Eerste River, runs an intergenerational programme pairing unemployed local youth with senior mentors. The work covers Cape Flats Sand Fynbos rehabilitation, excursions to nearby reserves, and training towards income-generating activities.

Mosselbank River Conservation Team is developing its younger members, the Wetland Wonderers, taking them beyond Fisantekraal to environmental sites across Cape Town.

Each of these was started by people who live where the work is happening. That is what the facility is for.