I am a senior researcher in the Water Science unit with the Agricultural Research Council, Natural Resources and Engineering. I concurrently hold a research fellow position in the Conservation Ecology and Entomology Department at Stellenbosch University. 

I studied Zoology and Ecology at the University of Cape Town and went on to do my Masters research at Stellenbosch University on the hydrological benefits of restoration. In 2011 I was privileged to receive a prestigious Green Talent Award by the German Ministry of Education and Research. 

In 2014 I received an Erasmus Mundus scholarship to do my PhD abroad, and I chose to do my doctorate at Antwerp University in Belgium on South African palmiet wetlands and their ecosystem services. In November 2017 I graduated with a joint PhD degree from Stellenbosch University and the University of Antwerp. 

Subsequently I took up a two year postdoctoral position at Stellenbosch University working on the Socio-Economic Benefits of Ecological Infrastructure (SEBEI) project from 2018-2020. From 2020-2021 I took on a second postdoctoral position focusing on Nature-Based Solutions for Water Management in the Peri-Urban: Linking Ecological, Social and Economic Dimensions (NATWiP) project. 

I am currently involved in multiple research projects, including on mapping woody invasive alien plants in key catchments in South Africa (both a project funded by the WRC and by NASA), a hydrological modelling intercomparison study, and a study on South African peatlands. 

My major research theme is on understanding the benefits of nature-based solutions, such as wetland restoration and clearing of biological invasions, using applied remote sensing and hydrological modelling approaches. 

This website showcases:

• Some of my interesting research projects, past and present, which I either lead, or am a team member on, like MapWAPS, BioSCape, MURRA and SEBEI (see ecohydrology),

• Some of my research interests: like peatlands, ecohydrology, plant water-use

• I also introduce my great students, current and graduated, 

• and list some of my key publications.

South African Hydrological Society (SAHS) Conference 2024

Chair of the Scientific Committee

The theme of the conference is The Future of Hydrology and Water Security.

Check out the event website here. 

Friends of Tokai Park

Secretary of the Committee

Short film produced: Extinction Rebellion - The story of Tokai Park's plant diversity

Projects run:

• Nature Week, funded by CTEET

• Save our Species, funded by the IUCN SOS Grant