Cape Chestnut

Calodendrum capense, umemezi omhlophe The Midlands forests are splashed with pink at the moment as the tall Cape Chestnut trees bloom in the canopy.  Often, it is hard to get up close to the actual flowers, but if you are fortunate enough to do so, they are delicately spectacular.   Swallowtail butterfly species breed on this…

Nkosi Nursery

The first tree name Alex March learned when studying horticulture was Erythrina lysistemon. The second was Citharexylum quadrangulare (a.k.a Fiddlewood). Fortunately, the indigenous coral tree had more appeal, and in a short time Alex became, by his own admission, an ‘indigenous nut’. Part of the course requirements was to learn the names of 2000 plants….

Trashion Trumps Fast Fashion

Did you have any idea that globally about 100 million tonnes of textile waste is generated each year?  Or that by 2050 scientists predict there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean?  Or that about 6% of the total landfill in South Africa is textile waste?  There is one ton of plastic for…

Hilton Rail Trail

“This thing is contagious,” quips Dave Ballance while pouring cappuccino for the enthusiastic locals meeting at Station Stop Coffee Shop. The topic of conversation is the Hilton Rail Trail – a concept that has captured the imagination of Hilton (and Midlands) residents.   Back in 2019, artist Jono Hornby got community energy on the rise with…

Mpho Chinowe

Growing up in Zimbabwe, Mpho Chinowe, her family and all her neighbours grew their own food.  “There were many different varieties and lots of fruit trees that we do not find here in South Africa. We had a big garden and would exchange crops with our neighbours if they had something interesting,” she recalls.  After…

Boston Dargle Impendle

The iconic Inhlosane ridge, visible from across the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, rises to 2026m from the surrounding settlements of Impendle, Boston and Dargle.   From the peak, the views of countryside and the Drakensberg are incredible. In this area, you are likely to spot the Cape Parrot flying between patches of indigenous forest, Wattled Crane foraging in…

The Old Mushroom Farm

For 15 years, Nick Crooks grew button and black mushrooms in the tunnels on the farm along the Karkloof Road.  To begin with, he didn’t have much idea about mushrooms, but with research and determination, he created a thriving business, which he sold to the staff (in the form of a management buyout) in 2006. …

Young Writers

Young Authors Book Initiative (YABI), created by dynamo duo Lungile and Makhubalo Ikaneng, encourages reading and teaches basic writing skills. “By putting the writing process in young people’s hands, we hope to demystify the written word and make it accessible to them. We want to show the learners that books are not difficult products written…

Slondile Mlhongo

Who remembers life before cell phones?  Slondile Mhlongo does. While employed as a teacher at a farm school in Kamberg, she applied for a post in Greytown.  The only way to contact her was by phoning the farmer, who passed the message to the school principal.  As it was the weekend, the principal could not…

Corona for Change

Is it really only a fortnight since the world changed completely? A couple of weeks before that schools closed, sports events were cancelled and poetry evenings abandoned, in an attempt to prevent people gathering and spreading the Corona Virus.  Here, just a few of the many and varied Midlands initiatives to cope with the challenges…