1st & 2nd Papegaaiberg iNaturalist BioBlitzes: Seeding the nexus between community interaction, good governance and conservation in Stellenbosch

In the heart of Stellenbosch and roughly six times the size of Jan Marais Park near Stellenbosch University, the PNR is one of the few remaining areas of Renosterveld, with regionally less than 5% left in the Western Cape. Some of the pressures facing the reserve are the lack of municipal management, urban sprawl, proliferation of alien plants and an absence of ecologically based fire management.

The initiative uses a BioBlitz format (seeing how many species can be photographed in a few hours) and the global biodiversity platform iNaturalist. Two events on 1 and 22 August 2026 were, and will be, held to get citizen scientists to document some of the biodiversity in the reserve.

Data will be presented on the number of participants, observations made and species photographed. A case for multiple sustainable uses for public benefit is also suggested. In this way, a positive narrative can be used to highlight what still needs to be done to make Papegaaiberg the pride of Stellenbosch.