About Us
WHO WE ARE
Eden Resilience is a registered Non-profit Company (NPC) set up by concerned Knysna residents in the aftermath of the devastating Knysna fires in 2017.
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Our Story
Eden Resilience was set up by concerned Knysna residents in the aftermath of the devastating Knysna fires in 2017. These fires – the most damaging wildfires in the history of South Africa- claimed the lives of seven people and devastated 18,000 hectares of plantation, fynbos and urban areas and caused billions of rand in damage to infrastructure and property.
Since its humble beginnings in 2017 with an entirely volunteer-led team dedicated to raising funds and engaging landowners, Eden Resilience is now poised for growth. With the recruitment of highly skilled board members and new staff members, Eden Resilience is set to expand its reach and impact.
Our Mission
Our mission is to empower the Greater Knysna community to restore native ecosystems for fire risk reduction, climate resilience, and local employment
We do this by clearing invasive alien plants on private and publicly owned land in Greater Knysna, hence helping to reduce fire risk. By contracting previously unemployed individuals from Knysna’s townships and training them to clear aliens, we also provide local employment opportunities in land restoration.
Our Vision
Our vision is for a vibrant, engaged community thriving within Greater Knysna’s resilient, healthy ecosystem.
Our Context
Climate change has emerged as the defining challenge of our time, requiring unprecedented global cooperation and local action. There is also growing recognition that healthy ecosystems and biodiversity conservation are fundamental to climate resilience, one example being the UN naming this decade the Decade for Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030). This represents a crucial opportunity for community-based organisations working at the interface of ecosystem restoration and social development.
Our Strategy
In our Three-Year Strategic Plan 2025-2028 we have set ourselves some ambitious goals. By 2028 we aim to….
Drastically reduce fire risk
By clearing alien vegetation in key fire corridors along Knysna River, Brenton and Knysna Central.
Education
Establish and train an additional 4 teams in best practices in alien vegetation removal, ensuring training and employment for 24 previously unemployed individuals.
community engagement
Increase community engagement and awareness to encourage proactive land stewardship.
monitoring and research
Conduct monitoring and research to establish best practices in alien clearing and ecosystem restoration.
Theory of Change Tree
Branches (Impact)
- Resilient native ecosystems
- Restored biodiversity and water sources
- Improved livelihoods for previously unemployed
- Engaged citizens
- Regenerative long term ecosystem management
Trunk (Outcomes)
- Reduced fire risk, sustainable local employment, and an actively engaged community participating in landscape restoration.
Root Section (Core Pillars of our work)
- Training and employment of unemployed individuals in alien vegetation clearing
- Strategic clearing of alien vegetation in priority fire corridors
- Community engagement and awareness raising
- Evidence-based research and monitoring to ensure best practice
Our Team
Our team has a unique blend of local knowledge, scientific expertise, experience of building up small organizations and a huge amount of passion. We combine eight years of practical experience of clearing aliens around Knysna with extensive experience in conservation, protection of threatened plant species and regenerative community development.
Eden Resilience Team
Adam Labuschagne
Project Officer
Adam is an ecologist with a passion for habitat restoration and conservation with an MSc in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Adam provides administrative support and offers his ecological expertise to Eden Resilience, evaluating work on sites and handling relationships with landowners. Alongside his work for Eden Resilience Adam also works as an ecological consultant providing specialist input on environmental impact assessments in the Western Cape.
Edwards Lindanie
Team Coordinator
After witnessing the devastation of the 2017 fires Edwards started working voluntarily for Eden Resilience in 2018, helping to mobilise the team and supporting with transportation of the teams to sites to clear. As Eden Resilience grew Edwards took on more responsibility and became the team manager. A natural leader and with seven years of on the ground experience he is now responsible for training and managing the Eden Resilience team. Edwards has a passion for nature and for helping his community.
Elin L Duby
Consultant/ Advisor
Elin L Duby has over twenty years experience in international development. Her expertise is in regenerative approaches to development focused on food security, natural resource management and social change. Elin has worked extensively in East Africa promoting permaculture for food security and sustainable livelihoods and is also the co-creator of the Resilience Design Approach – a permaculture based approach now used internationally by large development programmes in their food security and climate resilience programmes. Elin is passionate about restoring humanity’s relationship with nature, believing that rediscovering our nature connection is essential for creating balanced, thriving communities in harmony with their ecosystems.
Eden Resilience Board
Domitilla Raimondo
Board Member
Domitilla C Raimondo has twenty five years of experience working as an ecologist on South Africa’s threatened species and ecosystems for the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Domitilla is the lead author of the “Red List of South African Plants” and has coordinated the Red List assessments for many animal groups. She is dedicated to ensuring that species information feeds into land use decision making. Domitilla also works internationally for the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. As a Knysna resident she is passionate about ecological restoration and is the driving force behind the clearing that is taking place along the Knysna River Corridor.
Anna Haw
Board Member
Anna has a diverse background spanning research, wildlife veterinary, conservation and strategy. She is currently the consulting manager at Maliasili, an organization dedicated to accelerating community-led conservation. Anna is passionate about leveraging her expertise to support and foster cross-disciplinary collaboration for meaningful, scalable change toward a healthier planet for people and nature.
Makkie Scheepers
Board Member
Makkie arrived in Knysna shortly after the 2017 fires. Fueled by her lifelong passion for nature Makkie decided to start a ‘give back initiative’. Her initiative quickly materialised into the establishment of the Alien Busters team in February 2018. Initially Makkie used personal funds to mobilize a team to begin work on alien clearing around Brenton on Sea. Soon the Alien Busters were being asked to assist landowners around Knysna. Eventually Alien Busters merged with Eden Resilience and Makkie became one of the Directors of the NPC. Makkies tireless efforts to prevent future fires and preserve rare fynbos earned her the recognition of the ‘Green Goliath’ award in 2018. Makkie continues to support Eden Resilience as a Board Member.
Judy Harrison
Board Member
Following the devastating 2017 Knysna Fires and the subsequent alien vegetation regrowth on the Western Heads, Judy Harrison emerged as a driving force behind the birth of the Eden Resilience Initiative and the Alien Busters Team. Together with a dedicated group of women she set up Eden Resilience as an NPO focused on alien vegetation clearing. With over 18 years of experience serving on community committees, Judy brings valuable leadership and local knowledge to our team. Her deep passion for environmental conservation and protecting the unique flora of the Western Heads continues to inspire our work and mission.
Annual Reports
Though Eden Resilience has been operating since 2017 we have only recently started to document our work in Annual Reports. For the first years we operated on a volunteer capacity, entirely focused on clearing aliens and ensuring work for our amazing Alien Busters.