Background

Corinna (19) is from a town near Dusseldorf in Germany. She applied for and was accepted via an national scholarship to come to South Africa and work with Mark Arendse teaching environmental education, which is her interest.
She will be staying with her host family the Visagie's in Grassy Park until the end of May 2010. She has a brother who is 17 at home in Germany.
There are a couple of other students at other reseves in Cape Town. A national German TV documentary is being filmed of these students activities in South Africa while they are in South Africa.

Activities

We welcome her to the "family" and will follow her stay at the reserve with interest.

The new family: Mark, Corinna, Cassy, Marisa, Romeo, Eddie.

September 2009

• Mark has allocated her a school class Steenberg Primary (Grade 6 and 7), which Corinna prepares a lecture for once a week. Glenda their school teacher is in attendence as well. 
• So far she has presented a lecture on local snakes already and the results of a pitfall trap exercise which they did. 
• She has done a lecture on exotic vegetation removal as well. 
• Another project is to make fish traps in the Sand River to catch exotic fish species. She has been with Mark to local schools giving talks about the Nature Reserve and what the community can experience and learn here.
• Some of her other daily activities have been grass cutting, fence inspections, bird counts.

photographs by Corrina Keup

My first lesson with Steenberg Primary.  We are          I am improving and updating the broschures of Zandvlei playing a name game with an environmental                hoping more schools may visit.
theme.

Corinna participated in the Do-it-Day at the Nature Reserve which ZVT helped co-ordinated. Volunteers from schools, hospitals, local residents came to help the Reserve staff.

photographs by Declan Ross

Corinna tieing up a bag chatting to other volunteers    ......and pulling out vicia (exotic invassive plant).

 October 2009

photographs by Corrina Keup

Making dreamcatchers with the Steenberg Primary     Demonstrating an olive house snake to the Rustenberg
class, all made from natural materials.                      Primary Girls class during a reptile lesson.

photographs by Corrina Keup

Canoeing in the Marina canals with the Zerilda class.           Learning about the importance of bird ringing.

photograph by Corrina Keup

Zerilda Primary pupils doing a mini SASS. We collected
water from the Sand River canal and are searching for 
insects and aquatic Invertebrates to identify the water quality.

November 2009

                                                   photograph by Corrina Keup

Painting the EEC.                         Here I am taming the new little Corn Snake by handling
                                                   her in the morning while we are drinking tea. In few weeks
                                                   she is ready to be shown in front of school groups.

The beautiful Corn Snake.

Markings on the underside.

February 2010

World Wetlands Week 1st Feb - 5th Feb 2010.

Photos from 2nd February 2010.

photograph by David Muller

Waiting for the others to catch up. School children
from Lithu Primary in Gugulethu.

photograph by David Muller

Corinna explaining how wetlands work to filter and clean
the runoff water, before it enters the estuary.

Photos from 5th February 2010.

Children just arriving from the station. The excitment and expectation
is infectous.

Corinna introducing herself to the pupils / learners and explaining
what they are going to see at Zandvlei.

Explaining about Cormorants and Darters two bird species sitting
on a branch nearby.