Grootbos Nature Reserve, Gansbaai, Overberg

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PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
4C Management by Objectives

We've had a long drawn out winter here in SA, but at least all the rain has been great for the Future Trees! Happily it seems as if the summer sun is here to stay at last.

A very proud July and his new bakkie

We're happy to announce that the Green Futures Class of 2008 graduated in November with a 100% pass rate! Well done guys! It was a long year for the students, and I'm sure that it was with a great feeling of achievement that the graduates received their certificates. The end-of-year ceremony was a jovial affair held at De Uijlenes, which is a huge rustic house overlooking a beautiful dam near Grootbos. After heartfelt speeches from both Foundation Director Sean Privett, and Green Futures’ Susan Lochner, each student was awarded his or her AGRISETA accredited Green Futures Certificate. A huge lunch was enjoyed by all, including celebratory cakes for dessert. All in all a fantastic day to say farewell to the lively group of 2008!

Only a few days later, the interviews for the 2009 intake were held at the public library in Gansbaai. We received around 85 applications, which we unfortunately had to narrow down to the top 40 to interview. 20 of these were then selected for a two week orientation at Green Futures, and finally the 12 students for 2009 were chosen! It seems to be a happy, enthusiastic group, so I'm sure it will be a great year.

Other exciting news is that one of our Green Futures graduates, July Dingani, has decided to start his own business specialising in alien clearing and wood cutting. The foundation assisted July in securing a loan from the bank, with which he has bought a vehicle and the equipment needed to initialise the company. Its hugely rewarding to see one of our graduates use the business ethics and life skills he was empowered with at Green Futures not only to support himself, but to actually create 2-4 more jobs by employing a team of guys! Well done July, and good luck.

The Spaces for Sports project has been in full swing lately due to the school holidays having begun. Project co-ordinater Lean Terblanche has organised the most fantastic program for the 80-100 kids that spend their days at the sports centre. Activities centre on the soccer, but Lean makes sure that there are plenty of lectures ranging from HIV awareness to conservation to keep the young minds ticking.

We were thrilled to have two ladies from the Eden Project in Cornwall, England join us for a few days in October. Juliet and George helped us formulate plans for interpretation and signage regarding our projects, and it was great to get their valuable input as the interpretation at Eden is absolutely brilliant. It’s also fantastic to have a good link with everyone at Eden, who very kindly receive three of our students every year for 3 weeks of experiential training.

To end off, it's been a great year, and we would like to thank all who have supported us so kindly. We've got some great dreams for 2009 so watch this space! Have a safe and happy Christmas.