A year-long part-time course is being offered through which participants will be become accredited field guides to the Highveld and its neighbouring savannah bushveld.

What is it? Learning about identification at the Kloofendal Nature Reserve

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ATURE enthusiasts are invited to enrol for a course aimed at empowering them with the skills needed to interpret the natural environment.

Run by Bushveld Training Adventures (BTA), the nature guide and environmentalist course will cover many aspects that make up the natural environment, like weather and soil. It will run from Friday, 4 January 2008 until the end of November at Kloofendaal Nature Reserve in Roodepoort and the Country Club Estate in Woodmead.

According to Sakkie van Aswegen, the owner of and trainer at BTA, the main objectives of the course are to provide nature lovers with a better understanding of issues, including the environment, fauna and flora of the Highveld and the adjacent savannah bushveld.

But, most importantly, he notes, the lessons are aimed at instilling an interest in and love for nature and the many things that constitute the natural environment. "The level of knowledge and skills gained by the course will enable the graduate to interpret the environment and nature, providing an enriching and educational experience."

Accredited by the Field Guides Association of Southern Africa (FGASA), the course involves part-time study consisting of theoretical and practical sessions followed by tests, projects and assignments. Lectures are conducted during the day and in the evening. During the day lessons take place at Kloofendaal, evening classes are at the Country Club Estate.

Training is at Combretum Park, 25 kilometres north of Bela Bela and 18 kilometres east of Nylstroom, on the road to Boekenhout.

Topics that will be covered include ecology, soil, astrology, weather, trees, reptiles, birds, amphibians and the sounds of the wilderness. Van Aswegen, a specialist in field guiding, will present the course. Karin Spotiswoode, a registered field guide specialising in tours of the West Rand nature reserves, will assist. Various specialists will be invited to help with the different modules.

Once they have completed the course, participants will receive a nationally recognised certificate in field guiding, earning a National Qualification Framework certificate (NQF2). This meets the level one content requirements of the FGASA, qualifying participants to be field guides.

The one-year course costs R6 800; this fee includes lectures, tuition during practical fieldwork and course material. It does not cover entrance fees into parks and reserves during practical lessons and membership to FGASA, which is required for assessment.

Course requirements include own transport, appropriate bush wear, stationery, binoculars, nature books, insect repellent and sun block. Participants are expected to attend lectures regularly and to go on field trips, where theory is augmented with practical experience.

"It is a very intensive course," says Van Aswegen.

For bookings and more information, contact Bushveld Training Adventures on 011 679 2298 or visit the Bushveld Training Adventures website.

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