Who are the CREW and why join them?
CREW, the Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers, is a
programme that involves volunteers from the public in the
monitoring and conservation of South Africa’s threatened plants.
CREW aims to capacitate a network of volunteers from a range of
socio-economic backgrounds, linking them with their local
conservation agencies, particularly with local land stewardship
initiatives, to ensure the conservation of key sites for threatened plant
species.
Wow, this is such important work, bringing society together and looking after our unique and
precious flora. You don’t have to be a botany professor to get involved or have vast
experience with plants, come and join, learn, and make a meaningful contribution towards
conserving the natural heritage we all hope our children and generations to come will be able to
enjoy. CREW initiative groups are dotted across the country and you too can join the team.For
more information crew@sanbi.org.za
This year CREW celebrates an impressive 10th anniversary, congratulations! Without the
dedication of the network of volunteers who put in the sweat and hours, doing real hands-on
conservation, CREW would not be able to boast its successes today. Initially a three year pilot
Fynbos project supported by United States funding, CREW has blossomed into a nationally
implemented programme with financial and institutional commitment from SANBI and the
Botanical Society (BotSoc). To honour the commitment of hard
working volunteers and all those involved in the programme,
SANBI and BotSoc will be producing a coffee table publication
this year, highlighting the plight of 100 of South Africa’s most
threatened plants and telling the story of CREW members and
activities monitoring their status and contributing to their
conservation. The number 100 was selected as this year is the
Centenary year of the Botanical Society.
Why get involved? South Africa has a significant number of the world’s plant species and is the
only country that has its own plant kingdom as well as three of the world’s Biodiversity
Hotspots. Of the more than 20 000 plant species in South Africa, 13% are threatened with
extinction and a further 11% conservation concern because they are near threatened, data
deficient or rare endemics. This means that 1 in 4 of South Africa’s plants is a conservation
concern.
For most of these species there is no recent information about how the populations are doing in
the wild. There is an urgent need for us as a country to keep track of our plants in order to
preserve and conserve their biodiversity. CREW volunteers contribute significantly by
identifying a specific area and monitoring the plant species of conservation concern in that area.
CREW data is also used to inform Environmental Impact Assessments influencing
development decision-making; to aid fine scale conservation plans that assist municipalities in
determining which areas should be allocated to conservation in their integrated and spatial
development frameworks.
The data collected by CREW volunteers has been invaluable for updating the Red Data List.
During 2012, the conservation status of 797 plants was updated. At the end of 2012, the CREW
team received SANBI’s CEO Special Award acknowledging their significant contribution
towards achieving SANBI’s mandate to monitor the status of South Africa’s biodiversity.
Domitilla Raimondo on behalf of CREW thanks all volunteers for their hard work and
encourages them to continue in their efforts to make a difference. CREW challenges you to help
break all previous records and to demonstrate that this programme has the necessary momentum
to continue well into the future.
Since the inception of CREW in 2003, 24 new species have been discovered, 14 species
rediscovered and data collected for 1030 species of conservation concern.
Have you always wanted a way to get involved in conservation or are you interested in
learning more about our unique rare and endangered flora that need your help in order to be
conserved and protected for future generations. Joining CREW offers you opportunities of
meeting and interacting with new and different people, learning about biodiversity and
South Africa’s threatened flora and contributing to a significant initiative. Just think, getting
some exercise, education, socialising and contributing to something meaningful can all be
achieved in an afternoon or a few with CREW. Get in touch and join a CREW group near you.
You can also get involved by submitting photographs on iSpot southern Africa,
contributing data to the programme using the CREW site, target species or CREW
observation forms.
We will be sharing some experiences and updates from CREW on the news board shortly.
Email: info@botanicalsociety.org.za or BrowneC@botanicalsociety.org.za