BotSoc Committee – Core of Active Plant People (CAPP)

Ellen has been a member of the Society since 2001. She served on CAPP for many years, taking a break when her position as principal of St Paul’s College required all her time. Now retired, Ellen leads the Society with a wealth of knowledge and experience. She is also a keen member of the Bird Club, Namibia Environment and Wildlife Society and the Namibian Scientific Society.

Barbara (Barb) came to Namibia in 1980 to work in the desert at Gobabeb. She has a degree in Botany and Zoology and her M.Sc thesis was on the Dune ant. Barb has been a teacher, the Curator of aquatic invertebrates at the National Museum, led the Tree Atlas Project and co-authored the Tree Atlas of Namibia and Trees and Shrubs of Namibia. Her career continued as a lecturer at the Namibia University of Science and Technology. She is now a freelance ecological consultant and writer of popular articles on Namibian biota, gives informative talks and lectures to students and the public and is a fun guide on the monthly walks.

Ellen has been a member of the Society since 2001. She served on CAPP for many years, taking a break when her position as principal of St Paul’s College required all her time. Now retired, Ellen leads the Society with a wealth of knowledge and experience. She is also a keen member of the Bird Club, Namibia Environment and Wildlife Society and the Namibian Scientific Society.

Leevi served on CAPP for several years then took a break to continue his studies and now has a Diploma in Natural Resources Management (Agriculture), a National Certificate in Tour Guiding and an Honours degree in Natural Resources Management (Nature Conservation). He is the Curator of the Botanic Garden, one of the guides for the Guided Walks, an accredited snake catcher and spends his spare time teaching children of the wonders of nature that abound on our doorsteps.

A laywer by profession, Koos’ early passion for nature fueled his interest in trees and birds. Having studied Latin, the scientific names for trees comes easily and he enjoys identifying all those that he comes across. Koos lives in Swakopmund, thus the Coastal Representative for CAPP.

Growing up in a family keen on indigenous gardening, Braam has had an early interest in indigenous plants and nature. He is an urban planner currently lecturing at the Namibia University of Science and Technology and enjoys his wild garden and practicing permaculture.

Diana grew up in Johannesburg and has happy memories of visits to the Botanic Gardens there, in Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town. As a florist she joined the Society in 1998, came onto CAPP in 2004 and served as Treasurer then Chair and now as a member. The preservation of the environment is of particular concern.

Frances has an Honours degree in Physical Geography and an MSc in Plant Diversity. Her passion for plants began whilst working as an assistant for the Tree Atlas Project of Namibia, and led to working as a botanist in the Drylands Africa team at the Herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where she specialised in curation, research and identification of flora from southern and east Africa. On her return to Namibia, Frances was appointed as the Curator of the National Herbarium of Namibia (WIND) and stationed at the NBRI for five years. She is currently the Director of Programmes at the Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF) a conservation and sustainable development NGO.

Jaco studied in Cape Town as a Horticulturist and first worked in a local nursery and then in a Landscaping company. He is currently employed by the City of Windhoek in their Parks Division, managing the trees in the streets and the Public Open Spaces. After joining CAPP he broadened his knowledge of indigenous plants and now is one of the regular guides on the Guided Walks.

Albertina came onto CAPP in 2022. She has a Master’s degree in Natural Resources Management and has worked as a volunteer in this sector and been exposed to the Work-Integrated Learning system. Further experience was gained at the NACSO/WWF Conservation Leadership Programme. Currently Albertina is a part-time lecturer at the International University of Management – Centre for Environmental Studies and is a consultant in the environmental sector. She is an avid wildlife photographer and is passionate about botany.

One of the newer members of CAPP, Jackson holds an M.Sc in Natural Resources Management. He has experience in Geographic Information Systems and also spent time working for the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, researching the suitability of the natural flora of the Iona National Park in Angola with a view to reintroducing giraffe into that park. He participates as one of the guides of the monthly Guided Walks in the Botanic Garden.

Luise was born in Namibia and comes from a family of foresters. To counteract ignorance and the haphazard destruction of trees along the roadside, she published a series of articles “Know your Trees” in three of the daily newspapers. She has translated two of Christine Marais’ books on Flora into German, worked on the Tree Atlas Project, was Chair of the Society for two years and is a frequent guide on the Guided Walks.

Sally joined the CAPP in March 2023.

Sonjia has a BSc. Architecture, Honours – and Masters in Landscape Architecture (ML(Prof)) from the University of Pretoria and an Honours degree in Fine Arts from the University of Stellenbosch, which has allowed her to research and live out her passions over a wide range of fields. Her work flows from her love for landscapes and the cultures, communities and species inherently connected to the landscape, working towards environmental stewardship and biodiversity conservation through research, art and design projects.