U3A Helderberg hosts talk on Leopards of the Cape

To cut through the myth and mystery around the Leopards of the Cape, U3A Helderberg has invited Jeannie Hayward, Communications and Media Manager for the Cape Leopard Trust (CLT), to address their monthly meeting on Wednesday April 3, at 10am at the Strand Town Hall.

Jeannie’s talk is entitled Saving a Spot for Leopards in the Cape. In a very visual presentation, Jeannie will share the story of the leopards of the Cape and give an overview of how the CLT studies these elusive creatures, what is known about their ecology and behaviour, and what is threatening their survival.

Her talk will showcase several of the CLT’s projects and highlight their three-pillar approach of research, conservation and education.

The Cape Leopard Trust, which was established in 2004, is an environmental NGO based in the Western Cape. It aims to facilitate and promote the conservation of biological diversity, with a focus on the leopard as a flagship species.

Jeannie Hayward, the presenter, is admirably qualified for her task of communicating these aims.

Her Karoo childhood ensured an intense love for the veld and nature and, during her university years (she has an MSc in Zoology from Stellenbosch), she often visited the Tankwa Karoo, Sandveld and Cederberg to do reptile surveys and research.

She then worked briefly in the television industry as a researcher on the natural history show GROEN and as a researcher and production manager on a series about South Africa’s threatened wildlife. She also compiled the text for the coffee table book Shoreline – Discovering South Africa’s coast.

In March 2010 Jeannie joined the CLT team as a coordinator and researcher on the new Boland Project. There she, along with her colleague Anita Wilkinson, established a successful leopard research project, the outcomes of which have informed conservation and management strategies in the Boland area.

Although still involved with research and conservation, as Communications and Media Manager Jeannie’s first priority is to ensure that the CLT’s research and educational as well as conservation message is disseminated to a wide public audience.

This is your chance to be part of that wider audience. Entrance for U3A Helderberg members is free, whille visitors pay R20 at the door. For further enquiries contact Denise Fourie at 072 211 1173.