DOWN TO EARTH

Esther Matthew, Specialist Conservation Officer, EWT Drylands Conservation Programme

EstherM@ewt.org.za

The EWT’s Drylands Conservation Programme hosted a Google Earth Pro training course at the Loxton e-learning centre, for our AgriSETA learners and two Agricultural Advisors from the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development working in our area. The AgriSETA students are completing their National Certificates in Animal Production through AgriSETA and facilitated by the EWT, while the International Agricultural Academy for Africa is the training implementer. The students are all part of farming families in Loxton; as such they are important entry points for access to technological literacy for these families. We referred one of the farmers back to his daughter, on the same day, when he arrived to collect her and asked us to help map his agricultural plots – we are pleased to report the impact was immediate!

This initiative forms part of the EWT’s Karoo Forever, sustainable land management, project and is funded by the Global Environment Facility through the Department of Environmental Affairs and the United Nations Development Programme.