Journalism

I have been a journalist since 2006, first honing my skills as a reporter in South Africa's community press and later specialising in environmental matters. As a freelancer, my work has been published internationally and in South Africa. I focus on science journalism and most often write about freshwater issues, sustainable development, climate change, and conservation. 

Science and conservation

Mongabay / Mysterious African manatees inspire a growing chorus of champions

Mongabay / Tabby’s likely ancestor & Earth’s most widespread wildcat is an enigma

Nature Africa / New approaches to saving freshwater ecosystems

Mongabay / Toilet paper: Environmentally impactful, but alternatives are rolling out

Mongabay / Conservationists aim to save South America’s super tiny wild cat, the guina

Mongabay / Caracal, meet penguin: How humans pushed unlikely predator and prey together

Mongabay / Shining a spotlight on the wide-roaming sand cat ‘king of the desert’

Mongabay / Return of the lions: Large protected areas in Africa attract apex predator

Mongabay / ‘Anthill tiger’: Putting one of Africa’s rarest wildcats on the radar

Mongabay / Agulhas Current enigma: An oceanic gap in our climate understanding

Mongabay - Beyond boundaries: Earth’s water cycle is being bent to breaking point

Mongabay - Freshwater planetary boundary “considerably” transgressed: New research

Hakai Magazine - Africa's Sinking Coastal Heritage

Hakai Magazine - Scientists Surveyed the Sea off South Africa - 1980s style

Earth Island Journal - Antarctic Researchers to Hitch Ride with Film Crew to Keep Longterm Study Going Amid Pandemic

Earth Island Journal - White Shark’s Absence From South African Hotspot Spells Ecological and Economic Uncertainty

Mongabay - The world’s dams: Doing major harm but a manageable problem?

Mongabay - As populations grow, how will thirsty cities survive their drier futures?

Thomson Reuters Foundation - Tough livestock farmers touched by South Africa drought donations

Thomson Reuters Foundation - As South Africa eases lockdown, eco-tourism community fears for futue

Books

Exploring South African Irrigation History (2024) (chapter author) -  A detailed chronicle of how the irrigation sector developed in South Africa from initial private initiatives to the cooperative flood diversion schemes of the nineteenth century and the large, sophisticated public storage schemes. The book ends with a glimpse of the current and future challenges faced by both commercial and smallholder irrigation farmers in the country.

Legacy - Celebrating South Africa's Water Pioneers, Pathfinders and Mavericks (2021): This commemorative book features long-form profiles of celebrated researchers in the South African water sector. When big things in the history of our water development happened, they were there.

Water Resilient Cities (2019, part of the Water Research Commission of South Africa's Global Series): A look at how reinventing, and re-imagining, our cities and settlements can help address a water crisis.

WRC - 40 years of Excellence (2011, out of print): This book summarizing four decades of water research in South Africa, funded by the Water Research Commission.

Water science

Over a decade's writing to highlight freshwater research in South Africa (and sometimes further beyond), published in the WRC's bimonthly magazine, The Water Wheel. Writing about water has taken me in the directions of urban development, industrial development (mining), health, human rights, ecology, biodiversity, agriculture, the water-food-energy nexus, the management of cross-boundary water resources, and integrated water resources management.

2025

Water concerns underscored in enlightening first survey on South Africans' relationship with science: South Africa's first comprehensive survey of science knowledge, attitudes, and engagements highlights our concerns and commonalities and offers sage advice on improving our relationship with science.

2024

After a lifelong commitment to research, a crowning chapter ends at 80: A profile of Dr Meiring du Plessis, who fundamentally changed a question integral to irrigation for his PhD, completed it the year he turned eighty.

Alien species wreak havoc but select examples show promising solutions: Hartbeespoort Dam, or Harties, as it’s known locally, is a dam that’s become as famous for its triumphs as its troubles. The 2063-hectare reservoir bears the brunt of upstream pollution but, a solution to one of the most vexing consequences was recently highlighted as an example to others in The Third National Status of Biological Invasives and their Management in South Africa report, released this March.

2023

Researchers wave red flag: floods pushed some KZN coastal environments to tipping point: Scientists have raised the red flag that multiple KwaZulu-Natal coastal ecosystems are collapsing. According to the authors, recent extreme weather may have pushed many ecosystems to their tipping points and beyond to new, altered reference states, which may not provide the required goods and services anymore.

Water policy is hindering agricultural transformation, study shows: Lauded as one of the most progressive Constitutions in the world, South Africa's supreme law has not fully achieved its mandate to advance human rights and freedoms. The enormously unequal distribution of water for agriculture, almost 25 years since the onset of democracy, is one of the clearest examples of how the imbalances created by apartheid persist

New technology to transform water quality testing in South Africa: A new technology that will take the specialised task of water quality testing from over-burdened laboratories to field testing sites countrywide is being developed.

Reflecting on 25 years of the National Water Act of - what has been achieved? The renowned National Water Act of 1998 quietly celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. Long after the optimism of a new democratic South Africa faded, experts say realising its aspirations now lie in grinding, and persistently committed hard work.

How to fight food loss on South Africa’s farms: Study pinpoints various ways to decrease food loss on farms, and potentially putting it on the plates of thousands of South Africans instead.

App for hydrocensus and groundwater monitoring – A citizen science approach: researchers from the North-West University’s Centre for Water Sciences and Management have developed a mobile application (app) that will allow ordinary citizens to add borehole locations and other characteristics to the app databases. The simple technology will place the power of groundwater monitoring in the hands of all citizens, over and above professionals and groundwater experts.

2022

Exploring the large footprint of South Africa’s ‘smallest’ river: In semi-arid South Africa, even the smallest river has a role to play.

Savvy showers helping SA’s top nature reserve save water): A project to reduce the water consumption of the Kruger National Park’s tourists is paying dividends.

How research helped break the deadlock in updating SA's outdated raw water pricing strategy: Effective management of South Africa's water, and the ability to use the resource as a tool for pursuing social justice and sustainable development, are closely linked to who pays, and how much they pay for the water. Should a small-scale farmer, for example, pay the same price as a large commercial farming operation? While the details are legally debatable in South Africa, it is widely recognised that the current price tags for raw water do not achieve these goals.

How the Senegal River sets an example of transboundary basin water management: When countries share river basins, conflicting needs of upstream and downstream nations can easily lead to discord, with international ramifications. It’s a common concern, with so many borders that have been drawn across rivers. This is not the case in the Senegal River Basin, where member countries have been lauded for their transboundary water management.

Why 'forgotten' foods are a key ingredient to food security: Lablab, spider plant, and taro might feel like foreign words on South Africans' tongues today, but once, these crops were staples on local plates. Instead, we now prefer imported crops that have become indigenised over the years, like maize and wheat, but decades-long research has now proven beyond a doubt that our forgotten foods should be brought back for a sustainable and healthy future.

2021

Water allocation for irrigation under the microscope: The precarious state of South Africa’s water supply is now a well-known fact, and science-based information regarding how this precious resource must best be used is integral. A recent Water Research Commission-funded study investigated if the largest allocated share of the country’s water – to irrigated agriculture – is correct, by comparing crops’ water use with water quotas.

New mayfly species discovered in Kruger adding bricks to conservation foundation: Discovery of new mayfly species in the rivers of the Kruger National Parks illustrates how much South Africans still need to learn about their freshwater ecosystems.

2020

South Africans’ support help pull Northern Cape farmers through devastating drought: After headline grabbing droughts over the past years, near-, to above-normal rainfall fell over most of South Africa again this year. Yet, prolonged drought is still continuing in certain parts of the country.

The balancing act of Gauteng’s water security: To secure water for Gauteng in the long term, some important actions are required in the short term.

Connecting to water in a dry Johannesburg: how stories and art can keep the city of gold, and the people that live there, connected to water.

2019

Copenhagen – a city that banks on the blue gold below the surface (2019): What can South Africa learn from this world city that solely relies on groundwater?

Satellite imagery employed to help conserve irreplaceable agricultural lands: Online system that identifies salt accumulation and waterlogging in irrigation schemes developed in South Africa.

South Africa’s journey to development via science, technology and innovation: Newly released report indicates progress and challenges to realise the potential of science, technology and innovation to meet South Africa’s social and economic development goals.

Crossing borders – achieving successful transboundary river management in Central Asia (2019): how a project in Central Asia is using the power of personal relationships to achieve integrated management of transboundary river basins.

2018

Severe drought wrap-up delivers answers, and more questions for the future (2018): The recent drought inflicted large-scale damage to many areas in South Africa, but inside our most famous protected area, the Kruger National Park, it provided a long-awaited opportunity to test novel management strategies.

Turning to nature to solve modern day problems: A Water Research Commission project has been piloting a nature-inspired sustainable and ecological wastewater treatment system in Langrug township in the Western Cape.

2015

Monitoring the ecological success of wetland rehabilitation: Millions of Rands have been spent on rehabilitatingSouth Africa’swetland and regaining some of its ecological services. But is it working?

Kruger getting house in order for severe drought: South Africa's most iconic park is no stranger to drought conditions. But when your animals have nowhere to migrate to when rivers and pools dry up, you need to come up with a mitigation plan.

2014

Spare a thought for our migrating fish: The annual sardine run on the South African South Coast is not the only fish migration taking place around South Africa. Many freshwater species also require free passage, particularly from breeding spots in estuaries to habitats inland.

New project lends from nature to power up villages: Villages in three provinces in South Africa are now benefiting from greener energy technologies thanks to strategic research by the Water Research Commission (WRC).

2013

A common language for describing inland aquatic ecosystems in South Africa: A common language for the description of wetlands and other inland aquatic systems in South Africa, which can be used for a number of different applications, has been published in the form of a User Manual.

2012

Conserving wetland biodiversity in a concrete jungle: The role of zoos has changed considerably over the years. The Johannesburg Zoo for example, covering 56 ha and founded in 1904, was initially donated to the public for recreational use by the firm of the late Hermann Ekstein. Today, part of its core business strategy is the preservation and management of biodiversity through direct conservation action, education, research and recreation.

The river guardians of Groot Marico: The Crocodile (West)-Marico is one of the most developed and economically active water management areas (WMA) in South Africa. Mostly located in the North West Province, parts of it fall in the northern regions of Gauteng and the south-western corner of the Limpopo province, and include the urban areas of northern Johannesburg, Midrand and Tshwane. This WMA is the single largest contributor to our national wealth (25% of the gross domestic product).

Study shows power of energy outages on water sector: A newly published study by the Water Research Commission (WRC) explores the effects of power outages on South Africa's water and wastewater services.

Squeezing water out of fog: A current study by researchers of the University of Pretoria is investigating if fog harvesting is a valid supply of potable water for small communities, and if so, for how long.

2011

Johannesburg - city on a watershed: Johannesburg’s location is both its gift and its curse – close to the gold, but far from water.

2010

Cape Town– Water for a thirsty city (part 1): From the time of its inception, Cape Town has always been a thirsty city. In this part one of a two-part series, I trace the early history of water supply in the Mother’s City.

The hunts afoot for Kruger's amphibians in new kiss-and-tell study: Once upon a time, a kiss and a frog were enough for a happy ending. In fact, the humble amphibian has fared well in the realm of fiction. However, show-stopper names like the Golden Leaf-Folding Frog, the Eastern Olive Toad and the Shovel Foot Squeeker have not seen them shine in the area of conservation. Now researchers are looking to save what is left of the Kruger National Park's frog population.

Liani and Maria are cycling for change: "What is needed along with fresh water is fresh thinking." When Nobel Peace Prize winner and 7th Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan uttered these word, he could have been speaking of two women right at the southern tip of Africa.

The missing archives

My first journalism job was as a junior reporter at The Lowvelder community newspaper in Nelspruit, South Africa in 2008, after which I accepted a position as a reporter at The People's Post in Cape Town. After a stab at rock and roll festival organising and a stint on a sheep farm in the Shetland Islands, some of which I wrote about (Farmer's Weekly and GoNomad) I launched my freelance journalism career in earnest. My paths crossed with the Water Research Commission, and so my career-spanning focus on freshwater research started. It has continued in different shapes since. From 2012 to 2016, I was editor of the SANParks Times, a quarterly newspaper about the 19 South African National Parks. For four years, I continuously traveled through our most iconic protected areas to interview rangers, managers, researchers, and anybody who knew anything about national parks to produce stories to help increase the understanding and love for these awe-inspiring areas. It's one of the best jobs I've ever had. During this time, I also wrote for my company (Caxton) magazines, including Bona, Country Life, again Farmer's Weekly, Food & Home, People Magazine, Vrouekeur, and Woman & Home. The magazines were closed during Covid (some titles were sold).

A lot has changed since then, and one of the results is that none of the above stories are available online anymore. But, if you are ever in Cape Town, I tell old stories of elephants, quiver trees, Bontebok, and a bit of rock and roll, for free.