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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
N
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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