Simonsberg Environmental Education Centre set to equip community

Monday, 8 October, 2012
Delvera Farm
Members of the Simonsberg and surrounding communities are poised to protect a biosphere both threatened and unique, with the opening of the Simonsberg Environmental Education Centre at Delvera Farm.
The centre will formalise public access to the Greater Simonsberg Conservancy; a non-profit venture involving the protection of a third of a combined total of 5,000 hectares spanning 28 member wine farms. The conservancy is home to a range of threatened species; including a 300 year-old tract of Breederiver Yellowood trees on the founding wine farm, Delheim.
 
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Delheim’s co-proprietor Nora Sperling-Thiel said, “Our aim is to open the facility to the community, sharing the resources with pre-existing projects and agencies. Courses can be run in anything from indigenous plant propagation to owl-box building for children, skills for fire fighting and anything in between.”
 
The centre will be open seven days a week, initially by appointment only. Weekend workshops will begin in the coming months, and members of the public, particularly schools, are encouraged to book for visits in the interim. 

On offer are a well-stocked library and periodic displays by Eco-friendly artisans and members of the conservation community. Themed environmental weeks will commence in 2013, with school groups as their specific focus.

Special thanks are extended to the Cape Winelands District Municipality, who provided valuable funds in collaboration with Delheim, and other members of the Greater Simonsberg Conservancy.

For bookings and information contact Georgina Thomas on: +27.792763638 or | email: conservancy@delvera.co.za.