The late Stevie Smit was known as a wine producer and co-founder of the Stellenbosch Wine Route, but the Bottelary Hills Renosterveld Conservancy embodies his enduring love for nature.
When “Oom Stevie”, as he was fondly known, proclaimed a portion of his farm Koopmanskloof as a private nature reserve in 1980, it laid the foundation for further conservation efforts in the Stellenbosch region. Stevie would be instrumental to the establishment of the Bottelary Hills Renosterveld Conservancy (BHRC) in 1992, where he served as chairman of the founding committee. Their mandate is to care for and expand the remaining 1 500 ha of critically endangered renosterveld fynbos on the slopes of the Bottelary Hills.
In 1995, current BHRC chairman Tielman Roos added 70 ha of the Mooiplaas Wine Estate, and the Mooiplaas Private Nature Reserve became the Bottelary ward’s first WWF Conservation Champion. In 2019, Christel Liebenberg was appointed full-time BHRC manager to oversee its growth and conservation efforts. “Less than 4% of the original renosterveld in the Western Cape remains and it only grows in rich, fertile soils that are often replaced with commercial crops,” she says.
Research
Under Christel’s watch, the BHRC’s membership has grown from 18 to 55 private landowners. Many of the farms now have waste management procedures in place and participate in a recycling system. Since 2018, the BHRC has added three more WWF Conservation Champions – De Morgenzon, Neethlingshof and Hartenberg – and Koopmanskloof and Steeneveld private nature reserves. “The Conservation Champions participate in research on illegal harvesting of renosterveld and human-wildlife conflict,” Christel says. “They also launched a baseline habitat condition assessment and species atlas survey for the area.”
Plant conservationist Alex Lansdowne was contracted in 2022 to survey 111 ha across three WWF Conservation Champion farms. He reported more than 200 endemic species of which 5% are endangered.
Such research is crucial as the BHRC forms a buffer zone that protects and maintains the area’s biodiversity, including the critically endangered Swartland Shale and Swartland Granite Renosterveld, and the endangered Boland Granite Fynbos. These biomes are home to caracal, grysbok, grey duiker, porcupine, bat-eared foxes, cape foxes and otters. The endangered diamondback tortoise and more than 110 bird species have also been identified in the area.
Bikes in the bush
The BHRC’s close proximity to urban areas can be a challenge, but also holds opportunities. It has become a haven for outdoor and adventure enthusiasts. A trail run series in collaboration with TrailFun, offering well-maintained hiking and bike trails, helps raise awareness for its conservation efforts.
The BHRC mountain bike trail network, launched in 2011, spans 130 km across privately owned land and conservation areas. “The mountain biking trails are our only income driver,” Christel says. “This contributes to ongoing efforts to clear the area of alien vegetation while allowing visitors to enjoy the natural environment. Combined with funding from the department of agriculture’s LandCare programme, more than 1 000 ha have been cleared of alien species since 2019.”
The BHRC joined the Wine Lands Trails regional network in 2023. It offers annual and day permits for access to an array of routes and free access to the Polkadraai Bike Park. “The Polkadraai Bike Park is an ideal training destination and provides a great setting for children’s birthday parties,” Christel says. “Weekly coaching sessions by professional cyclist and South African National Road Race Championships 2016 winner Jaco Venter enable learners to hone their cycling skills.”
Eco-tourism creates touchpoints with wine tourism through guided hikes with wine tastings, mountain bike events, vineyard walks and guided rides. Two hiking trails through Mooiplaas and Koopmanskloof private nature reserves spoil visitors with stunning views, while the Fort Simon and Zevenwacht wine estates offer scenic vineyard walks. “Our latest member, Devonbosch Lifestyle Development, is home to the GOAT – a world-class bike and trail network that will be launched soon,” Christel says.
Partnerships and recognition
At the 2022 Conservation at Work Cape Fox Awards the BHRC received the Conservation Driver Trophy for progressive conservation achievements, while Villiera Wines received the runner-up Best Individual Landowner or Managed Property award for its contribution to conservation through environmentally friendly and regenerative farming methods, sustainable energy use, water conservation, recycling and greening initiatives.
“There has been a clear pendulum shift to biodiverse and regenerative farming on member farms over the past five years,” Christel says. “Critically important rewilding projects are currently in progress on several sites in collaboration with Discover Renosterveld to increase and restore the biodiversity in the conservancy to reach our 2030 targets. Discover Renosterveld is actively rewilding, restoring and rehabilitating renosterveld to link isolated pockets into sustainable corridors. Keep an eye out for the Discover Renosterveld product range, of which 10% of sales go towards our rewilding projects.”
Think bigger
These partnerships extend beyond the wine industry. For instance, African Data Technologies (ADTech), in collaboration with Santam, developed the Ikhala pilot project to digitalise fire break management and maintenance by providing a monitoring, verification and reporting service.
The Cape Leopard Environmental Education Programme partnered with BHRC to get kids from local schools involved in a citizen science data collection project. “Camera traps were erected on Koopmanskloof and Neethlingshof, and learners collected data and learnt more about conservation and their role,” Christel says. “Snaring remains another big challenge. The Cape Leopard Trust conducts regular patrols and 60 snares were removed during two recent patrols.”
With many generational family-owned wine farms that are steeped in history and off the beaten track, Bottelary Hills is a hidden gem. The BHRC ensures every aspect of this natural treasure remains pristine to conserve it for future generations.
“Less than 4% of the original renosterveld in the Western Cape remains.”
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