Nature Connect Trust is a South African nonprofit conservation organization that connects children with nature, trains young people for green-economy careers and supports communities protecting urban biodiversity. Established in Cape Town in 2001, the organization works through environmental education, accredited conservation training, youth development, urban habitat management and small grants for community-based environmental projects.
Introduction
Nature Connect helps people develop meaningful relationships with nature while creating practical pathways into conservation employment and environmental leadership.
Its work is built around three connected priorities: developing whole-school environmental stewardship, creating green-economy opportunities for young people and advancing people-centred urban conservation.
The organization operates across eight South African provinces, with anchor sites in Cape Town and Calvinia in the Succulent Karoo.
Focus Areas
Nature Connect focuses on environmental education, overnight nature camps, sustainable schools, teacher development, youth leadership, accredited conservation training, green employment, urban biodiversity, habitat restoration, environmental stewardship, community conservation, species protection, sustainable livelihoods and small grants for grassroots environmental initiatives.
History and Background
Nature Connect began in 2001 as the Zeekoevlei Environmental Education Programme, commonly known as ZEEP.
The initiative started on the banks of Zeekoevlei in Cape Town with the goal of introducing children to nature through practical and immersive environmental experiences.
In 2006, the program developed into the Cape Town Environmental Education Trust. This transition allowed the organization to expand beyond a single community education project.
A conservation fund was established in 2007, and the organization began developing practical skills and employment pathways for young people interested in conservation.
The Conservation Leadership Project launched its first seven-year cohort in 2013. The program created a structured pathway through which schoolchildren could develop environmental knowledge, leadership skills and connections with conservation careers.
In 2021, the Cape Town Environmental Education Trust became Nature Connect Trust. The new identity reflected its broader work across environmental education, youth development and conservation.
Restoration of the historic Bokbaai homestead was completed in 2022, allowing Nature Connect to operate facilitated overnight camps at the site.
In 2023, its school program joined the UNESCO Greening Education Partnership.
In 2025, 20 River Wardens graduated with a nature-conservation qualification, while the Conservation Leadership Project’s 2019 cohort completed its seventh and final year.
Nature Connect celebrated 25 years of environmental and community impact in 2026.
Mission and Purpose
Nature Connect’s mission is to get people in Africa to love and protect nature.
Its purpose is based on the understanding that people are more likely to protect natural environments when they have meaningful connections with nature and can experience social or economic benefits from conservation.
The organization seeks to:
- Introduce children to nature.
- Build environmental awareness through repeated experiences.
- Strengthen teachers’ ability to deliver sustainability education.
- Develop youth leadership.
- Provide accredited conservation training.
- Create pathways into green-economy employment.
- Support urban and peri-urban conservation areas.
- Protect biodiversity and threatened habitats.
- Strengthen community participation in environmental management.
- Support grassroots environmental organizations.
- Connect conservation with sustainable livelihoods.
Vision
Nature Connect envisions people throughout Africa being connected to nature, acting as environmental stewards and benefiting from an expanding green economy.
This vision combines conservation with education, employment and community development. Nature Connect does not treat biodiversity protection as separate from people’s livelihoods and opportunities.
Geographic Reach
Nature Connect works in eight South African provinces:
- Western Cape.
- Northern Cape.
- Eastern Cape.
- Free State.
- KwaZulu-Natal.
- North West.
- Gauteng.
- Limpopo.
Its two principal anchor locations are:
- Cape Town: Environmental camps, school programs, conservation training and urban biodiversity initiatives.
- Calvinia: Youth conservation training in the Succulent Karoo.
The organization also manages or supports programs at schools and conservation areas in different parts of the country.
Governance and Structure
Nature Connect operates legally as Nature Connect Trust and is governed by a voluntary Board of Trustees.
The Board provides:
- Strategic direction.
- Financial oversight.
- Organizational accountability.
- Governance guidance.
- Risk management.
- Support for executive leadership.
- Oversight of programs and institutional sustainability.
Nature Connect subscribes to the Independent Code of Governance and Values for Non-Profit Organisations in South Africa.
The organization has also worked to align its governance policies with King IV and the Department of Social Development’s Code of Good Practice for South African Non-Profit Organisations.
Board of Trustees
Nature Connect’s Board includes professionals with experience in conservation, environmental management, education, tourism, communications, social impact and organizational leadership.
Current trustees listed by the organization include:
- Nicole Biondi, Chairperson: An independent consultant and leadership coach with experience in tourism, conservation and social-impact communications.
- Mike Gregor, Trustee: Chief Executive of Rapula Farming, with experience in conservation initiatives and nonprofit environmental education boards.
- Stephen Granger, Trustee: An environmental professional with experience in land surveying, environmental studies, metropolitan environmental strategy and ecological organizations.
- Pavitray Pillay, Trustee: A marine biologist and conservation communications professional serving as Head of Business Development and Marketing at WWF South Africa.
- David de Korte, Trustee and retired Chairperson: A founding member of Nature Connect and former school headmaster with extensive experience in education and community development.
Executive Leadership
Dr Anthony Roberts serves as Chief Executive Officer of Nature Connect.
The organization’s professional team includes employees working in:
- Environmental education.
- Conservation-site management.
- Accredited training.
- Youth development.
- Fundraising and partnerships.
- Finance and administration.
- Human resources.
- Media and communications.
- Biodiversity management.
- Field-ranger services.
- Nursery and habitat management.
This multidisciplinary structure allows Nature Connect to connect education, employment and conservation within one organizational model.
Funding Mechanisms
Nature Connect finances its activities through a combination of:
- Grants from trusts and foundations.
- Individual donations.
- Corporate giving.
- Program sponsorships.
- Service fees.
- Government-supported training initiatives.
- Skills-development funding.
- Environmental partnerships.
- Biodiversity-offset funds.
- Bequests and legacy gifts.
- Multi-year donor commitments.
- Contributions to particular programs or participant cohorts.
In its 2023 reporting, Nature Connect stated that grants from trusts and foundations represented 51% of its organizational income. Service fees accounted for 25%, while donations, training-related funding and other sources made up the remaining income.
Income patterns can change between reporting years, so current financial figures should be checked in the latest integrated report.
Tax-Deductible Donations
Nature Connect Trust is an approved South African Public Benefit Organisation.
Qualifying donations may be eligible for a Section 18A tax-deductible certificate under the South African Income Tax Act.
To qualify, a donation must be a genuine charitable contribution and cannot provide a direct commercial benefit to the donor. Sponsorships involving advertising, tickets, hospitality or promotional exposure may not qualify as tax-deductible donations.
Individual and Corporate Giving
Individuals and businesses can support Nature Connect through:
- One-time donations.
- Recurring contributions.
- Electronic bank transfers.
- Program sponsorship.
- Funding an environmental training cohort.
- Multi-year commitments.
- Bequests.
- Gifts in kind.
- Workplace volunteering.
- Hosting trainees or interns.
- Providing first-employment opportunities.
Nature Connect provides reporting for significant multi-year and named gifts, showing how funding was used, who benefited and what changed.
Small Grants
Nature Connect also operates as a grant facility supporting grassroots conservation and community groups.
Its small grants are not financed only from unrestricted organizational funds. The organization may administer funding on behalf of environmental partners and funding institutions.
Nature Connect has been appointed to issue small grants on behalf of the Table Mountain Fund for projects within the Cape Floristic Region.
2027 Small Grants Funding Call
Nature Connect is accepting applications for its 2027 small-grants cycle.
Successful projects may receive grants of up to R36,250.
Only one application per organization will be accepted.
Projects must be located within 50 kilometres of Cape Town’s central business district and demonstrate a strong connection between community participation and one or more of the following:
- Conservation.
- Biodiversity.
- Environmental education.
- Sustainable livelihoods.
- Green-economy skills.
- Ecotourism.
Applications must be submitted by October 19, 2026.
Who Can Apply for the Small Grants?
The 2027 funding call welcomes applications from:
- New organizations entering the conservation sector.
- New organizations entering the ecotourism sector.
- Registered nonprofit organizations in good standing proposing new initiatives.
- Individuals seeking to establish community conservation activities.
- Community groups.
- Youth-led initiatives.
- Women-led or women-focused initiatives.
- Groups working in under-resourced communities.
Preference will be given to applicants that have not previously received funding from Nature Connect.
Eligible Small-Grant Themes
Projects may address:
- Biodiversity enhancement: Green-space clean-ups, habitat restoration, ecological rehabilitation and indigenous planting.
- Sustainable livelihoods: Recycling, green-economy skills, environmental enterprise and community capacity development.
- Environmental education: Programs raising environmental awareness, especially within under-resourced communities.
- Ecotourism: Citizen-science tourism, wildlife monitoring, local nature-guide initiatives, youth ecotourism and community-linked marine tourism.
- Integrated environmental projects: Initiatives combining two or more eligible themes.
Activities the Small Grants Will Not Fund
The funding will not support:
- Conferences.
- Bursaries.
- Scholarships.
- Large capital items.
A maximum of 20% of the grant may be used for salaries where necessary.
Applicants should propose practical projects proportionate to the maximum grant of R36,250.
How to Apply for the Small Grants
Applicants should follow these steps:
- Review the complete call published on the Nature Connect website.
- Confirm that the project will be implemented within 50 kilometres of Cape Town CBD.
- Select the most appropriate conservation or green-economy theme.
- Define the project’s environmental and community outcomes.
- Explain how local residents will participate.
- Prepare a practical implementation plan.
- Develop a realistic budget.
- Describe relevant partnerships and the project’s potential long-term benefits.
- Complete the official online application form.
- Submit the application by October 19, 2026.
Applications sent by email will not be considered.
Shortlisted applicants are expected to be notified by October 30, 2026, and invited to present their projects to a review panel during November.
Selected projects are expected to operate between December 1, 2026, and August 2027.
Whole-School Environmental Stewardship
Nature Connect’s whole-school approach helps schools integrate environmental responsibility into their policies, teaching, facilities and daily activities.
Rather than depending on a single motivated teacher, the program aims to establish systems that can continue when staff members change.
Support may include:
- Teacher professional development.
- Environmental lesson resources.
- School sustainability planning.
- Outdoor learning experiences.
- Environmental clubs.
- Food gardens.
- Waste reduction.
- Water and energy conservation.
- Biodiversity activities.
- Learner-led environmental action.
Nature Connect reported reaching 7,952 learners through outdoor experiences during a recent 12-month period.
Sustainable Schools Programme
The Sustainable Schools Programme provides schools with practical resources, professional development and community support for sustainability education.
Schools can access a dedicated Sustainable Schools Hub containing:
- Educational resources.
- Environmental activity guidance.
- Teacher development materials.
- Sustainability-planning support.
- Opportunities to share achievements.
- Information about environmental rewards and recognition.
The program encourages schools to embed sustainability across teaching, leadership, operations and learner participation.
In 2026, St Mary’s RC Primary School was recognized as the Most Sustainable School in the Western Cape through the program’s rewards initiative.
Environmental Camps and Excursions
Immersive outdoor experiences are central to Nature Connect’s education model.
The organization provides:
- Overnight environmental camps.
- Guided nature activities.
- School excursions.
- Field-based environmental learning.
- Facilitated conservation experiences.
- Curriculum-connected outdoor activities.
Since 2001, 62,689 children have attended overnight camps, while 98,791 children have participated in environmental excursions and school activities.
Approximately 89% of groups hosted by Nature Connect come from under-resourced schools.
The organization estimates that a contribution of R1,400 can provide one child with a fully facilitated two-night experience at Bokbaai.
Conservation Leadership Project
The Conservation Leadership Project is a seven-year youth-development pathway.
Children enter the program while still at school and receive repeated environmental exposure, training, mentorship and leadership opportunities over several years.
The program helps participants develop:
- Environmental knowledge.
- Leadership ability.
- Personal confidence.
- Conservation experience.
- Career awareness.
- Mentoring skills.
- Long-term relationships with nature.
Since 2013, 142 children have registered for the seven-year project.
Some former participants have returned to Nature Connect as environmental educators, mentors or conservation professionals.
Green Economy Pathways
Nature Connect creates employment pathways for young people by connecting environmental training with practical placements, mentorship and work experience.
Its green-economy initiatives respond to two connected challenges: high youth unemployment and limited staffing at conservation sites.
Programs may include:
- Accredited conservation qualifications.
- Learnerships.
- Graduate internships.
- Field placements.
- Technical skills development.
- Mentorship.
- Employment preparation.
- Conservation work experience.
- Environmental monitoring.
- Green-enterprise exposure.
Nature Connect reported filling 741 training places during a recent 12-month period.
Since its establishment, 738 young people have participated in extended skills-development programs.
River Wardens Programme
The River Wardens initiative prepares young people to support river and wetland conservation.
Participants develop practical experience in areas such as:
- Ecological monitoring.
- River health.
- Pollution awareness.
- Invasive-species control.
- Community engagement.
- Habitat restoration.
- Environmental reporting.
In 2025, 20 River Wardens graduated with a nature-conservation qualification.
Urban Conservation
Nature Connect supports practical conservation on urban and peri-urban land.
Its approach combines habitat protection with community involvement, employment, skills development and long-term partnerships.
During a recent 12-month period, the organization reported protecting and co-managing 155 hectares.
Urban conservation activities include:
- Habitat restoration.
- Wetland management.
- Alien-vegetation clearing.
- Indigenous planting.
- Species monitoring.
- Conservation-site management.
- Field-ranger services.
- Community education.
- Biodiversity research.
- Volunteer conservation activities.
People-Centred Conservation
Nature Connect recognizes that urban biodiversity survives when surrounding communities have a meaningful role in protecting it.
Its conservation model therefore seeks to:
- Build local ownership.
- Create training and employment opportunities.
- Strengthen conservation organizations.
- Support community-led initiatives.
- Use natural sites as outdoor classrooms.
- Combine scientific monitoring with public participation.
- Ensure conservation produces benefits for nearby communities.
Nature Care Fund
The Nature Care Fund supports practical environmental conservation and partnerships.
Nature Connect can hold conservation funding in trust and administer grants for grassroots environmental organizations.
The Fund’s approach combines:
- Financial support.
- Governance assistance.
- Technical guidance.
- Conservation planning.
- Youth placements.
- Learnerships.
- Environmental education.
- Volunteer participation.
- Partnership development.
Its projects may support rivers, wetlands, threatened habitats, vulnerable species and community-managed natural spaces.
Biodiversity Offsetting Funds
Nature Connect has managed funds associated with biodiversity offsets from developments in Cape Town.
These resources are intended to support conservation activities that compensate for unavoidable biodiversity impacts.
The organization works with relevant advisory and governance structures when allocating such funding to eligible conservation projects.
Examples of Conservation Work
Nature Connect’s documented work includes:
- Shoreline restoration using eco-logs at Park Island in Zandvlei Nature Reserve.
- Management and restoration of urban conservation sites.
- Environmental monitoring at protected areas.
- Support for African penguin monitoring.
- Research partnerships examining wildlife crossings and toad tunnels.
- Conservation education about snakes and human-wildlife conflict.
- Invasive alien vegetation control.
- Indigenous plant restoration.
- School food gardens.
- Wetland and river stewardship.
Partnerships
Nature Connect works with:
- Schools.
- Government bodies.
- Conservation authorities.
- Environmental trusts.
- Philanthropic foundations.
- Universities and research institutions.
- Community organizations.
- Corporate donors.
- Landowners.
- Training authorities.
- Local conservation groups.
- International environmental networks.
Its schools program joined UNESCO’s Greening Education Partnership in 2023, connecting its work with wider global efforts to integrate sustainability into education.
Volunteering and Community Participation
Nature Connect has recorded 507 volunteers contributing time to conservation action since 2007.
Volunteers may assist with:
- Habitat restoration.
- Environmental education.
- Field monitoring.
- Conservation events.
- Administrative support.
- Community outreach.
- Environmental communications.
- Biodiversity activities.
The organization also seeks partners willing to host trainees, provide work placements or offer young people their first green-economy jobs.
Impact
Nature Connect’s cumulative impact includes:
- 62,689 children attending overnight camps since 2001.
- 98,791 children participating in environmental excursions and school activities.
- More than 60,000 young people introduced to nature through immersive camp experiences.
- 738 young people completing extended skills-development programs.
- 507 volunteers contributing to conservation action since 2007.
- 142 children registering for the seven-year Conservation Leadership Project.
- 7,952 learners participating in outdoor experiences over a recent 12-month period.
- 741 training places filled during a recent 12-month period.
- 155 hectares protected or co-managed during a recent 12-month period.
- 20 River Wardens graduating with a nature-conservation qualification in 2025.
These figures reflect both long-term cumulative results and recent annual outputs. They should be interpreted according to the reporting period attached to each figure.
Why Nature Connect Matters
South Africa faces interconnected challenges involving biodiversity loss, habitat degradation, environmental inequality and high youth unemployment.
Many children in under-resourced communities have limited access to natural spaces. At the same time, conservation organizations need skilled staff, community support and sustainable funding.
Nature Connect addresses these challenges through a connected pathway:
- Children experience nature.
- Schools develop environmental stewardship.
- Young people gain accredited skills.
- Trainees access conservation work.
- Communities participate in habitat protection.
- Grassroots organizations receive financial and technical support.
This model connects environmental protection with education, livelihoods and social development.
Conclusion
Nature Connect is a South African nonprofit organization with 25 years of experience in environmental education, youth development and community-based conservation. Beginning as the Zeekoevlei Environmental Education Programme in 2001, it has developed into a national organization connecting schools, young people and communities with nature and green-economy opportunities.
Its major initiatives include the Sustainable Schools Programme, environmental camps, the Conservation Leadership Project, accredited green-skills training, River Wardens, urban conservation and the Nature Care Fund.
Nature Connect also administers small grants for eligible community-based conservation and green-economy initiatives. Its 2027 funding call offers up to R36,250 per project, with applications due by October 19, 2026.
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