The Lunar Eclipse By Marc Ryder.
randomlightphotography

OUR TEAM

COMMITTEE

Marc Ryder - Chairperson

My wife Lorna and I moved to Pennington in 2005 from Gauteng.

I like many of my fellow committee members have no formal environmental background.

I have been involved in clearing of alien vegetation in and around the Makamati wetland and trail since I arrived. Elsa Pooley assisted me in re establishing a section of badly degraded Swamp Forest upstream of the dam. More recently I have been working on the Impiti Garden project.

Having travelled extensively in Africa, I have seen how quickly and permanently man can change a landscape, this drives me to help protect our unique natural areas.

Evelyn Heunis - Deputy Chairperson

I am another one of the committee members who has no formal or indepth knowledge of matters environmental. However, I have a keen interest in our natural world and a firm commitment to the beauty and biodiversity that exists in Pennington. Lennart and I moved from Gauteng to Pennington in 2004. We had been looking for a place to settle on the South Coast, and Pennington stole our hearts. We immediately joined the Pennington Environmental Group, and enjoyed participating in PEG's activities. When the Chairperson of PEG, Wain Simpson, contacted me in 2007 and explained that she was going to propose that PEG become the Pennington Conservancy, in line with current trends, she also asked if she could nominate me for the committee. Although I'm really not a person who likes to sit on committees and go to meetings, I decided to take the plunge. I have certainly learnt a great deal and been privileged to meet and work with wonderful people.

Clive Quickelberge

Clive is an Entomologist and Ornithologist.  He worked for 11 years at the East London Museum serving as an Ornighologist and then for 19 years at the Durban Natural Science Museum as Curator of Invertebrates.  He established and Natal Butterfly Society and has written 3 books:

Collections and recollections:  the Durban Natural History Museum, 1887-1987

Familiar South African Butterflies & Birds of the Transkei

Terry Wilsenach.

When I retired in 2008, Ann and I decided to move to Pennington.

I had been a Headmaster of a Co-Educational boarding school in Johannesburg with over a 1000 pupils and we lived on the property for 18 years. Our school encompassed about eleven hectares in the Bruma Lake area of Johannesburg and our aim was to develop a green lung in the midst of very busy highways and byways.

As many of our pupils were from disadvantaged backgrounds, we were determined to make it an environmentally friendly school with pleasant, safe surroundings which the local community could use too. We instituted a tree planting programme, encouraged bird life which we eventually had in abundance and planted well over a thousand roses with expert advice from Ludwig Taschner, South Africa’s well know ‘Rose Man’.

We love Pennington because it is still one of the few unspoilt places and firmly believe that [quote] ‘only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught, will we realise that we cannot eat money’.

Mary McKenzie - Communication & Marketing

Let me start by saying that I am by no stretch of the imagination an “environmentalist”. Indeed, my knowledge and understanding of what is required to protect our environment is almost non-existent. However on saying that, my commitment and enthusiasm for our environment is huge and common sense tells me how vital protection of this environment is to all of us.

Andrew and I came down to Pennington for a week-end and fell in love with this lovely, friendly village.

Within a couple of weeks of our return to ‘reality’, we sold our home in Fourways, bought a home in Pennington and I applied for and got a transfer to Nedbank Limited, Durban. I design Home Loans training material – a far cry from all things natural!

We moved to Pennington during November 2007 and haven’t looked back!

I was treasurer for ‘Bushbabies SOS’ located in Craigavon, Fourways and their focus is to save Bushbabies living in an urban environment. Amongst many other activities, we planted 100’s of trees that will eventually form natural corridors to allow Bushbabies to move around the neighbourhood.Visit their website: www.bushbabysos.org.za

When I arrived in Pennington my one thought was: ‘How am I going to become involved in this community?’ Fortunately this question was answered when I received a call from Evelyn asking if I would like to take up the position of Treasurer for the Pennington Conservancy and the rest is history…….

NON-COMMITTEE

Colin Fourie - Treasurer

A product of Natal University, Colin qualified as a CA (SA) in the early 1970's. He married Lowell, a midwife, and they immediately left for London where Colin spent his time doing audits for multinationals.

On returning to South Africa, they decided to settle in Johannesburg and Colin spent the next 30 years with some of the large corporates. He fulfilled the role of Executive Director and was a shareholder for a commercial security group. Colin was specifically responsible for group structuring, finance, mergers and acquisitions. He has also been a trustee of several retirement funds and a non-executive director for an insurance company. Colin retired 5 years ago and relocated to Pennington earlier this year where they have had a holiday home for about 10 years. Colin and his family have always enjoyed scuba diving on Aliwal Shoal and he obviously enjoys active sports - the Dusi, Comrades, Iron Man, Argus, etc. He and Lowell also enjoy the bush and make sure they spend some time there every year. Colin and Lowell have been married for 40 years and have 3 married children: an engineer son in Sydney, an artist daughter in Cape Town and a vet daughter in Johannesburg.

THIS WEBSITE IS CURRENLY HAVING A FACE LIFT. PLEASE BE PATIENT DURING THE SURGERY.