The Team

Mike is the director of the Rhodes Restoration Research Group, He is completing the final write up towards a PhD in the Department of Environmental Science. His thesis is seeking to tease out some of the complexities (tipping points, thresholds and barriers) in thicket restoration.

Email: m.powell@ru.ac.za

Margaret Wolff began working with Professor Tally Palmer at the Institute for Water Research in 2013 after spending six years as a project manager at the Grahamstown Foundation. Margaret’s interest in Tally’s work with Catchment Management Agencies and forums resulted in her registration as a part time Masters student in 2015. Her study site was the Tsitsa River catchment. Her research focused on enabling participation in water resource management through co- learning; encouraging a learning centred approach to the establishment of forums; and highlighted the need to understand the complex social-ecological systems in which research is undertaken. Margaret completed her Masters degree and went ‘back’ to project management by taking on the role of project co-ordinator for the Rhodes Restoration Research Group which includes the Tsitsa and Thicket Projects.

Email: m.wolff@ru.ac.za

Dr Rina (C.C.) Grant -Biggs qualified as a veterinarian in 1974. She was responsible for the diagnosis of plant poisonings and nutritional deficiencies at the veterinary laboratory in Windhoek

After moving to the Kruger National Park she worked as an independent researcher/consultant on how wildlife utilized the landscape (in terms of geology, soil type and vegetation), and the link to their nutritional status.

Her current research in thicket vegetation includes:

• plant-herbivore interactions thicket

• responses to herbivory

• importance of short grass patches to provide nutrients to herbivores

• the role of thicket in providing ecosystem services

Email: rinagrant@gmail.com

Harry qualified originally as a veterinarian in 1974 and worked in private practice, then in Namibia in the state as a veterinary researcher and epidemiologist. At that time he studied statistics, computer science and systems analysis, which stood him in good stead when he moved to the Kruger National Park in 1991 as what was called a 'quantitative ecologist' in the scientific field.

Later he changed course and worked with catchment rehabilitation initiatives in the Park and Lowveld generally, and did a great deal of facilitation in resource management, becoming a so-called program integrator, working in several large, longer than usual term, regional landscape programs. When he retired to Bathurst he continued for a while working part-time in the Lowveld for the NGO AWARD in the Olifants Basin, but gradually became more involved locally as a part-time adviser for Tsitsa and Thicket Programmes.

"I feel I have helped different people and groups to work together and develop and show progress in these programs, to the point where I can start stepping back slowly. This has been very satisfying."

Email: biggsharry@gmail.com

Nolusindiso obtained her Diploma in Financial Management at EastCape Midlands College in 2018, when she started working with RRRG as an admin intern. She decided she wanted to stay on in the research environment, and in 2019 she was appointed RRRG admin assistant. Her work includes asset management and financial reporting, and she is instrumental in keeping the team running smoothly.

Email: n.kepe@ru.ac.za

Ryana leads the communications team for the Thicket Project. She is an environmental management graduate with a particular interest in improving the connection between people to the environment they live in. She has enjoyed a multi-disciplinary career ranging from mountain guiding and emergency medicine, through participatory environmental art and adult education.

Email: ryanaj@newleafnetwork.co.za

Nic Armstrong grew up in Cape Town, and studied horticulture at Cape Peninsula University of Technology. He graduated with a Bachelor of Technology Degree in 2011. His dissertation investigated the cultivation and physiology of Spekboom as a carbon sequester. Nic moved to the Eastern Cape after graduation to build his career and life. He has worked on various project including indigenous reforestation,the farming of essential oils and the rehabilitation of degraded riverine habitats.

He is currently using his knowledge and experience to support research into the nature and restoration of Albany Thicket vegetation. He also manages a weather station at the R3G research farm in Bathurst, and implements various data collections.

Email: n.armstrong@ru.ac.za

When Luvuyo finished school, he studied IT. Due to financial constraints, he could not complete his studies, so he participated in a school gardening project assisting students with planting basics. He then got a job as a gardener. In 2018 he joined RRRG as a Fieldwork assistant, and since 2019 he has been working as a data technician managing the tunnels at the RRRG research facilities.

Email: l.ncula@ru.ac.za

Nicholaus holds a Master of Science Degree in Geography with a focus on fluvial geomorphology, a BSc Honours in Geography and a Bachelor of Science Degree (BSc) in Geography & Geology. Nicholaus has been working in integrated catchment systems and is an avid outdoorsman with project management skills, experience in field-based biophysical research and a comprehensive knowledge of Geographical Information Systems and their use as a tool in catchment management. His main roles include the creation of spatial datasets (vegetation types, extent, transformed areas etc.) and performing GIS analyses to assess degraded thicket and intact thicket in key catchments. The goal is to avoid further degradation of intact thicket using GIS analysis as the main platform for monitoring and intervention.

Email: nicky.huchzermeyer@gmail.com