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Annual General Meeting 2022 Invitation

Invitation

Garden Route Biosphere 2022 AGM

30 November 2022

12:00 to 13:30

 

You are cordially invited to the Garden Route Biosphere Reserves Non-Profit Company’s 2022 Annual General Meeting. The meeting will take place virtually using the Microsoft Teams platform from 12h00 on the 30th of November 2022. The programme will include a statement made by the Garden Route Biosphere chair and chief executive providing feedback on their various activities over the past year and a presentation of the financial statement. The programme will further include the presentation of the proposed updates to the Garden Route Biosphere constitution.

Please RSVP before 28 November 2022 at admin@gardenroutebiosphere.org.za to receive a link to join the meeting.

For any further information please feel free to email Ms Aneri Roos at admin@gardenroutebiosphere.org.za.

 

We look forward to your participation at the event.

 

Garden Route Biosphere Reserve

Facilitation team

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Save the Date: SWSAs Network Engagement

11 May 2022
10:00 to 15:00

Dear valued Stakeholder,

It is with great pleasure that we invite you to the 2nd Strategic Water Source Areas (SWSA) Network engagement. The SWSA Network engagements are designed to be collective learning events that bring together stakeholders from across the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve (GRBR), to share knowledge and information about key aspects of our SWSAs and related projects in the landscape.

In the first network engagement a strong call for information related to the SWSAs in the Garden Route was made.  The biosphere reserve and WWF have responded to the call and established a State of Knowledge project for the Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma SWSAs, which will be introduced at the engagement. Furthermore, we will present feedback from the SWSA Network stakeholder analysis, where we hope to get your input on who else we should be engaging with. We will also provide feedback about the establishment of the SWSA Working Group, which is designed to be a higher level landscape decision-making and co-management platform for the GRBR.

The engagement will take place virtually using Microsoft Teams from 10h00 to 15h00 on the 11th of May 2022. The programme for the event will further include presentations and discussions around four key topics: 1) Water and human well-being, 2) Water and risk, 3) Water and economy, and 4) Water rights and responsibilities. Click here for the detailed programme.

Please register your interest here by 9 May 2022.

We look forward to your participation at the event.

Garden Route Biosphere Reserve
Facilitation team

 

Event Registration
Download Programme
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Annual Reporting 2021

Our AGM was held online 1st December during which the current GRBR Chair – Prof. Robert Fincham – and the GRBR Chief Executive  – Dr. Bianca Currie – presented their annual statements and annual reports respectively.

These can downloaded here and read at your leisure:

Chairperson’s Statement AGM 2021

Chief Executive’s Annual Report 2021

We welcome feedback and comments can be emailed to admin@gardenroutebiosphere.org.za

Thank you and best wishes for the season.

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Report: SWSAs Network Engagement

The GRBR established a Strategic Water Source Areas (SWSAs) Network and hosted the first social learning network engagement on the 15th of September 2021 to introduce the project and to bring together the diversity of stakeholders in the GRBR to learn from one another through conversations around water, the economy, risk and human wellbeing.

This report documents this engagement, providing a participant analysis of who attended the virtual meeting, the conversations that took place, as well as a description of the engagement process and methods used.

The report also provides insight into the next steps the SWSA project will be taking.

Views expressed in the document do not necessarily constitute those of the GRBR or WWF but merely documents the conversations had by participants during the event.

Download the Full SWSAs Report here

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AGM Notice: 2021

Dear Garden Route Biosphere Reserve Stakeholders, 

You are kindly invited to join the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve 2021 Annual General Meeting to be held online via Microsoft Teams. 

Date: Wednesday, 1st of December 2021 

Time: 11h00 – 12h30 

RSVP: Ms. Luzanne Visagie at admin@gardenroutebiosphere.org.za before 29 November to receive a link to join the meeting. 

 

Connecting to TEAMS 

Please note that you will need to either

(1) download the TEAMS App to your device (https://www.microsoft.com/en-za/microsoft-365/microsoft-teams/download-app ) or

(2) you can join via (2) the web browser (link provided when you rsvp and receive meeting invite link) to access the platform. 

The meeting documents and a link to join the meeting will be sent to you when you RSVP. 

How to join a TEAMS meeting 

(1) Join a Teams meeting from the app (https://www.microsoft.com/en-za/microsoft-365/microsoft-teams/download-app ): From your Calendar, select Join on an in-progress meeting. Choose the audio and video settings you want. Select Join now. OR 

(2) Join a Teams meeting on the web: In your email invite, select Join Microsoft Teams Meeting. Type in your name. Choose the audio and video settings you want. Select Join now. Depending on meeting settings, you will get in right away, or go to a lobby where someone in the meeting can admit you. 

You can also view an instructional video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH6bSIwR0-4 

 

Online Meeting Etiquette 

To ensure that our session runs as efficiently as possible we ask that you take note of the following online meeting etiquette: 

  • Please note that the session will be recorded and your participation in the meeting indicates acknowledgement of this. 
  • When joining the meeting please have you microphone on mute to cut out any background noise, you can enable it when you need to speak. 
  • To get the Chair’s attention we ask that you put your camera on (if you wish to do so) or raise your hand or ask to be addressed in the comments. The Chair will acknowledge your request and invite you to enable your camera and or microphone. 
  • When it is your turn to speak, please announce your name before speaking. 
  • You may wish to use the conversation chats on the side to send a message. Please also introduce yourself when commenting in the chat. 

We look forward to seeing you there. 

Best wishes, 

Robert Fincham 

Chair, Garden Route Biosphere Reserve 

AGM 2021 – Website Notice.pdf

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Invitation: SWSAs Network Engagement

Save the Date: 15 September, 2021

Dear valued stakeholder,

Water is linked to nearly all aspects of our economy, human health and well-being, and is tied to nearly every Sustainable Development Goal we seek to achieve.

Water is related to much of what we all do in the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve and therefore requires an integrated approach where a diversity of stakeholders can come together to learn and co-ordinate for the sustainable management of water resources in the area. Click here for more background information. 

The Garden Route Biosphere Reserve and WWF South Africa is therefore excited to invite you to the first Strategic Water Source Areas (SWSAs) Network Engagement.

15 September 2021 (online)
10:00 to 15:00 

Register your interest here

The SWSAs network engagement will be a virtual event primarily structured around three important conversations. Ten-minute pre-recorded presentations will be distributed before the event to catalyse the conversations on the day of the network engagement. With climate change as a cross cutting theme, we will have the following conversations:
  • Conversation 1: Water & economy
  • Conversation 2: Water & fire risk 
  • Conversation 3: Water & human well-being
The Social Learning Network Engagement will commence at 10:00 and the dialogues will follow from 11:00 onwards and will not overlap so that participants can attend one, two or all three of the dialogue sessions, depending on their interests. We would appreciate your contribution and participation in the conversations that take place so we can get the necessary diversity of views, perspectives and opinions so that we can improve security of the Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma SWSAs.
Please register your interest here by 6 September for attending this SWSAs network engagement event. You will be asked to provide us with your email address so that we may further communicate with you directly and send you the programme and links to access the presentations, and to connect with us on the day.
We look forward to engaging with you!

Kind regards,
Garden Route Biosphere Reserve

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AGM Notice 2020: Online

Notice: Annual General Meeting GRBR 

4th of December 2020, 10h00 – 11h30

Dear Garden Route Biosphere Reserve stakeholders,

With COVID-19 still very much with us and the need to avoid public gatherings, we are holding the forthcoming AGM online.

You are cordially invited to join the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve 2020 Annual General Meeting to be held via Microsoft Teams.   (View AGM invitation as pdf)

Please RSVP Ms Luzanne Visagie at admin@gardenroutebiosphere.org.za before 1 December to receive a link to join the meeting.

AGENDA

 1. Welcome 

2. Introduction of board members present 

3. Apologies 

4. Ratification of previous minutes 

5. Matters arising 

6. Chairman’s statement 

7. Presentation of the financial statements 

8. Questions and answers 

9. Closing 

 

Connecting to TEAMS

Please note that you will need to either (1) download the TEAMS App to your device (https://www.microsoft.com/en-za/microsoft-365/microsoft-teams/downlaod-app) or you can join via (2) the web browser (link provided when you rsvp and receive meeting invite link) to access the platform.

The meeting documents and a link to join the meeting will be sent to you when you RSVP.

How to join a TEAMS meeting

(1) Join a Teams meeting from the app (https://www.microsoft.com/en-za/microsoft-365/microsoft-teams/download-app): From your Calendar, select Join on an in progress meeting. Choose the audio and video settings you want. Select Join now.

OR

(2) Join a Teams meeting on the web: In your email invite, select Join Microsoft Teams Meeting. Type in your name. Choose the audio and video settings you want.

Select Join now.

Depending on meeting settings, you’ll get in right away, or go to a lobby where someone in the meeting can admit you.

You can also view an instructional video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH6bSIwR0-4

Online Meeting Etiquette

To ensure that our session runs as efficiently as possible we ask that you take note of the following online meeting etiquette:

• Please note that the session will be recorded and your participation in the meeting indicates acknowledgement of this

• When joining the meeting please have you microphone on mute to cut out any background noise, you can enable it when you need to speak.

• To get the chairperson’s attention we ask that you put your camera on (if you wish to do so) or raise your hand or ask to be addressed in the comments. The chair will acknowledge your request and invite you to enable your camera and or microphone.

• When it is your turn to speak, please announce your name before speaking.

• You may wish to use the conversation chats on the side to send a message. Please also introduce yourself when commenting in the chat.

We hope you can join us and look forward to seeing you there.

Luzanne Visagie

Administrator

Garden Route Biosphere Reserve

AGM invite 2020

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Workshop Outcomes Report: Enviro. Education Strategic Planning

The Environmental Education Strategic Planning Workshop Report is now available for download.

This report is focused on the outcomes of the first Youth Environmental Education Workshop held at the Environmental Education Centre at the Garden Route Botanical Gardens on the 26th of February 2020. These notes document the outcomes of the workshop which was primarily aimed at mapping the ‘education landscape’ and identifying gaps and needs in youth environmental education in the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve domain.

The first workshop invited participants to introduce their organisation and briefly share with the group their education focus  current activities. A second open discussion was facilitated around the gaps and needs in youth environmental education in the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve.

A post-workshop survey eliciting participants’ feedback on the workshop yielded positive responses. Comments included:

• Informative, inspiring and “eye opening” • Good, necessary and important! • Productive • Well-structured and well conducted.

Many participants commented on the fair and open discussion where the diverse stakeholders were given a platform to share their programs and exchange ideas. However, one participant offered constructive criticism and wrote, “some key players were absent” and added that some topics were somewhat broad and irrelevant. The participant stated that for future discussions it would be best to narrow the focus in order to be more productive. Other participants highlighted the need to get teachers involved and that the time-slot for the workshop inhibited their participation.

Workshop outcomes – including opportunities and challenges – will need to be revisited given the COVID-19 impacts on education spaces.

VIEW THE OUTCOMES REPORT HERE

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Workshops CANCELLED until further notice

In light of the Corona virus / Covid-19 threat and ensuing advice arising from the President’s address (15 March 2020), we regret to inform you that all the workshops (all focus areas) for the GRBR collaborative strategy development process will be cancelled until further notice.

These scheduled workshops include:

Town and land Use Planning
3 April 2020 (Knysna)
15 May 2020 (Jeffreys Bay)

Water pollution
24 March 2020 (Knysna)
8 May 2020 (George)

Education
18 March 2020 (George)
8 April 2020 (George)

We will communicate new dates once the threat has passed and apologize for the inconvenience.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Bianca Currie
Chair
UNESCO Garden Route Biosphere Reserve

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Strategy Planning: Water Pollution – Workshop 1

Invitation to address water quality issues in the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve

Date: Tuesday 24th March 2020
Venue: Knysna Log-Inn Hotel, 16 Gray St, Knysna Central, South Africa
Link to venue: https://goo.gl/maps/gs7x3REvce29wWdr5 

Workshop Overview
The Garden Route Biosphere Reserve (GRBR) is undergoing a collaborative strategy development process, and as part of this process interested individuals and organisation are cordially invited to attend the first of two workshops to identify and contribute to tackling water quality issues within the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve. We hope that our approach will lead to a strong sense of action required at the landscape level, while learning from and working with specific project level work already underway. We are looking for tangible actions that can be taken to conserve our valuable water resources.

The purpose of the first workshop is to:
1. Identify and discuss major threats to water quality in the GRBR domain,
2. Identify existing water quality initiatives, where we invite participants with existing initiatives to give a short (5 minutes) introduction.
3. Ask how we as a community can come together to tackle some of the identified threats and to support existing successful initiatives.

The key outcomes of both workshops are to establish a working group to develop a programme to tackle Water Pollution, which the GRBR will ratify into a proposal document by June 2020.  The proposal will be used to leverage the GRBR as an overarching mechanism to raise funds for coordinated actions by stakeholders in the landscape which are aligned with the vision and mission of the GRBR.

Participants are encouraged to commit to and attend both workshops to ensure continuity and consistency in the development of ideas, knowledge and outcomes.  The workshops will be held on Tuesday 24th of March in Knysna and Friday 8th of May in George.

Registration for the Workshops
Please express your interest in attending as soon as possible, but not later than 19th of March 2020.

 RSVP email to Luzanne Visagie at admin@gardenroutebiosphere.org.za  (or Luzanne.visagie@mandela.ac.za)

Contact Person: Dr Louw Claassens
Email Address: kyss.louw@gmail.com

Please let us know if you would like to occupy a 5-minute slot to introduce your initiative.

Project Team: Bianca Currie, Louw Claassens and Ntombi Vundla