Flower Valley Conservation Trust, a non-profit organisation established in 1999, has had a credit card-sized Z-CARD produced specifically for landowners and fynbos harvesters, to introduce them to its Sustainable Harvesting Programme and to provide a greater understanding of the advantages of caring for a fynbos landscape – not only for the fynbos itself, but also for those whose livelihoods depend on fynbos harvesting.
The Trust, based on Flower Valley Farm just outside Gansbaai in the Western Cape, received renewed support for its Sustainable Harvesting Programme from the European Union and the WWF Nedbank Green Trust in 2013. The donors provided support for the creation of information and training materials and the Z-CARD forms a key part of this.
“We selected a Z-CARD because we felt it was the perfect tool to introduce the Sustainable Harvesting Programme to a land-user audience as it’s small, easy to handle, and easy to read,” says Heather D’Alton, communications manager of the Flower Valley Conservation Trust.
The Z-CARD is being used as a support medium to other traditional media platforms. If a landowner or user needs to know more after reading the Z-CARD they can access other printed information, in which some of the more science-based information has been included.
“We are also using the card in conjunction with our digital platforms. In fact, we so liked the look and feel of the Z-CARD that we’re now reworking our website to match it. This is a work in progress. The card will also be included on all of our other digital platforms,” says D’Alton.
