Organisations involved
Implementer
Referring partner
Our mission
Ferncliffe forest wilding (FFW) is a non-profit set up in 2021 to restore biodiversity in this endangered eastern mistbelt forest habitat, a remnant that survives above the city of Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. It's on municipal-owned land; and consists of around 250 hectares, with timber plantations over another 380 hectares. As a peri-urban forest, it is important as a watershed, as well as a leisure space for citizens. The most serious threat are non-native invasive plants (IAPs). These continue to invade and degrade the remaining primary forest areas. Creepers such as Mauritius Thorn (Caesalpinia decapetala) smother mature trees; recruitment does not take place due to dense infestations of Solarnum mauritianum, Lantana camara and others.
We plant over 50 species of mistbelt forest tree, most sourced locally (or grown ourselves). We plant older saplings to up survival rates in a biome where there is dramatic summer vegetation growth (these survival rates are 90-95%). And we clear IAPs. We're a bit like the Slow Food movement of restoration: We take time to build tree guards using harvested invasive bamboo, and return to weed around saplings. We map all trees so they can be monitored. We are a tiny team, but we also hold public volunteer events, and educational visits. We've just been assessed by Plant-for-the-Plant and earned a 'Top Project' status. FFW has recently successfully raised funds to secure 5ha of private land at Ferncliffe to rewild.
Accepting volunteers
Yes | [email protected]Funding campaign*
Yes | https://ferncliffe.org/support/Classification
- Forests
- Freshwaters
- Increases Health & Wellbeing
- Mitigates Climate Change
- Protects Freshwaters
- Reduces Disaster Risks
- Safeguards Biodiversity
- Supports Livelihoods
5
Employees1
VolunteersImpact
Have planted 1038 indigenous trees & over 50 species;
Tree survival is 95%;
Created over 800 paid work days for young people (above minimal wage);
Have made progress in negotiations to have Ferncliffe gazetted as a Protected Environment (with other stakeholders);
Have cleared approximately 4 hectares of invasive vegetation;
Have held over 40 community engagements, including talks and invasive clearing and tree-planting for volunteers and school groups;
Recorded biodiversity using iNaturalist and other records;
Seen species records increase, particularly waterbirds (by five species);
We are committed to enabling this forest to retain and grow biodiversity. There are definite ecosystem service benefits for citizens: air & water, flooding risks & cooling. And the planted trees will start to offset the removal of the invasives.
