DICT

World Wetlands Day 2023

Wetlands are land regions that are continuously or seasonally saturated with water, and they include ecosystems such as estuaries, marshes, swamps, bogs, and fens. World Wetlands Day is observed every year on February 2nd. It also marks the anniversary of the Convention on Wetlands, which was adopted as an international treaty in 1971.  The purpose of the day is to raise [...]

Another 13 young African Penguins, home for the New Year!

On Saturday 31 December, the African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary returned another 13 African penguins to their home on Dyer Island. A total of 215 chicks were removed since the beginning of November and hand-raised at the African Penguin & Seabird Sanctuary (APSS), a project of the Dyer Island Conservation Trust. The removal of compromised and orphaned chicks is one of [...]

Ragged-tooth Shark Stranding and Necropsy

Earlier this week, the Dyer Island Conservation Trust (DICT) responded to a report of a Ragged-tooth shark stranding in Franskraal at a well-known fishing hotspot. The shark was recovered by the team and transported to the DICT lodge. With the assistance of volunteers from the Marine Dynamics Academy, a necropsy was performed on the animal the following morning to determine the cause of death. The [...]

DEEP Experience in Camping

We arrived at our destination. The camp looked way amazing for the kid’s expectations. We were greeted by the friendly staff of Wortelgat Outreach Trust. At the end of each year, learners go on an educational camp. The learners from the second and third year attended an educational camp at Wortelgat in Stanford, where they spent the weekend learning about dedication, [...]

Marine Month Competition 2022

Chester Arends from Overstrand Municipality, Inan Mzinyelwa, first prize winner from Gansbaai Academia and Phunyuzwa Xhegwana from Cape Nature. MARINE-MONTH COMPETITION FOR OVERSTRAND LEARNERS – 2022. Grade 1’s up to Grade 11’s, were invited to enter our annual Marine Month Competition for learners in the Overstrand area. Dyer Island Conservation Trust, in partnership with the Overstrand Municipality and CapeNature, [...]

Baby Alert – We need your help!

Help us rescue, feed and rehabilitate our 2022 batch of African penguin chicks. On Saturday 5 November, the African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary - APSS, with the help of CapeNature retrieved 48 African penguin chicks from Dyer Island.  Another 16 penguin chicks were removed from the island on Tuesday 8 November.  The chicks are currently at the sanctuary where they will [...]

Lions, Bones & Bullets

What do canned trophy hunting, deadly infectious diseases and Traditional Chinese Medicine have in common? Lions. The new investigative documentary, Lions, Bones & Bullets uncovers an elaborate, international wildlife fraud with an annual turnover of nearly 100 million U.S. dollars. On Tuesday 1 November, Marine Dynamics and Dyer Island Conservation Trust, hosted our final Marine Evening for 2022, with the screening [...]

Pearly to Point Run – for Marine Conservation!

On 5 April, Dyer Island Conservation Trust received an email from Leon Kriel, who spends his weekends with his retired folks in Pearly Beach.  According to Leon, “Pearly Beach is where I find peace of mind; I was 5 months old when my parents took me camping for the first time. And it’s at this exact campsite, where my parents met [...]

Harnessing the Power of People to Fight Ocean Trash

International Coastal Clean-up Day on September 17 is a promise to bring cleanliness and purity to nature as a whole. The day was started as a way to raise awareness about the growing pollution on various beaches of the world. Population growth and capitalism are just two of the main factors that have led to severely high levels of pollution in [...]

The Oceans – Our responsibility,  our future pharmacies

Audience attending the Marine Evening On Tuesday 6 September, the Great White House and Marine Dynamics hosted the monthly Marine Evening again, the first time since lockdown in Kleinbaai. The venue was packed with visitors from all over the Overstrand, excited to listen to the guest speakers, scientists from the Tuberculosis Research Group at Stellenbosch University. Team leader Dr [...]