The Chronicle 2022

NATURE RESERVE

M

uch of the 2022 year has brought great success in managing and controlling the alien invasive species which had been growing out of control in recent years. With consistent measures put into place we have been able to more closely monitor control of these species. There is great progress and the team continues to prioritise the removal of alien invasive species. Members of the Michaelhouse Community have enjoyed involvement in night time game counts. Encouraging involvement of our boys is the ultimate long term goal and the Conservation Society has made a great start to realising this ambition. Mr Mlibo Tyala has introduced a camera trap and members of the society have managed to retrieve information on species as diverse as striped mongoose, large spotted genet, porcupine, eland, bushbuck and reedbuck, many of which aren’t so easily spotted in the reserve. Serval have been sighted within the perimeter of the reserve. We have achieved great success with a combination of routine block burning, rotational grazing of the Nguni herd and grassland maintenance. We have also recreated a number of scenic trails and have produced maps to those trails which in turn has seen a steep increase in the number of visiting school groups enjoying fantastic educational trips to our reserve along with more casual visits to this beautiful asset. THE MCPT MISSION READS: The Michaelhouse outreach programme is operated by the Michaelhouse Community Partnership Trust, a registered public benefits organisation, focused on improving the functionality and optimizing the effectiveness of our 16 community schools as places of learning, with special attention on leadership development, teaching capacity and training, infrastructure maintenance and education technology. ichaelhouse is ranked in the top 100 schools globally and has been an acknowledged center of education excellence for 125 years. Within 20 kms of the school there are 16 under-resourced rural state schools situated in communities where unemployment and poverty are a daily reality. Consistent with the school’s core values of Integrity, Humility, Compassion, Courage and Service the Michaelhouse Community Partnership Trust (MCPT), a registered non-profit organisation (NPO: 015292) has been established as an outreach programme to add value to these 16 footprint schools with the singular focus being to improve their functionality as places of learning and add value to the broader Midlands Community. M

Schools that have visited during the course of the year include Shea O’Connor, Clifton Nottingham Road and towards the end of the year all of the schools that are sponsored and assisted by our Community Partnership Trust. Oribi have been sighted in the reserve again and continue to make appearances. Our blesbuck herd grew by three lambs and the zebra herd was expanded by a single foal during the course of 2022. Conservation Outcomes continue to give great commendation to the reserve team for the hard and sincere work we put into conservation. Inclement weather during the E block Camp enforced different arrangements being implemented in what is a wonderful opportunity to introduce new boys at Michaelhouse to the wonders, beauty, and inspiration of our reserve, right in our back yard. The reserve team continues to make excellent innovations as far as maintenance and appeal are concerned and in 2023, we plan to introduce even more outdoor education expeditions of boys and staff along with new and longer trails. Collaborative efforts with other NGOs and stakeholders within the conservation space in the Balgowan region are also gathering impetus for next year. ensure that improvements occur in respect of instructional, infrastructural and leadership functionality. A dedicated team of three full time staff supported by a committee of trustees and committed volunteers, oversee ten core projects to achieve this. Core to this outreach programme is partnering with communities where the schools are located, collaborating with school principals, heads of departments, teachers and the Department of Education Circuit Managers in the Lions River and Mpofana circuits. Where building, plumbing and electrical work is required we use local community suppliers as far as possible so the money stays in the community, this significantly enhances the notion of schools being at the centre of the community. An additional component is that each of the ten Houses at Michaelhouse will adopt a school to allow for boys’ community service where it will add value. In the past year we raised R4.5 million in donor funding, our target this year is R8m in donor funding. By way of background there are some 30 000 schools in South Africa, 5% are considered world class institutions, 15% functional as places of learning and 80% dysfunctional as places of learning. This does not necessarily mean they are failing, but it does mean that they are under-resourced. We have 16 such schools on our doorstep.

MICHAELHOUSE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

Annually each school is evaluated and benchmarked to

83