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 The approach that has been developed in the Cape Flats Nature partnership and beyond has been described in our book “Growing together – Thinking and practice of urban nature conservators”.
Some of the approaches are described below.
Catalytic role
Cape Flats Nature has a catalytic role. It operates as an instrument, or tool, which helps others to get the job done. One way of fulfilling this role is to co-host all community activities in partnership with community-based organisations or others working at community level. And Cape Flats Nature does not manage the partnership sites, but supports site management, who will be there for a long time, to work with community partners and manage the site in a way that integrates biodiversity and social development priorities.
Learning from practice
Urban nature conservation is complex and there is no text book on how to do it. So Cape Flats Nature has used an approach of experimenting and learning from practice so that we grow our understanding of what it takes to do conservation in the context of urban poverty. The tools we have used to facilitate learning from practice are regular reviews, evaluations and case studies. These processes have involved creating “safe spaces” where we are able to be open about difficulties as well as successes. When we introduce case studies we remind each other to listen deeply, not to interrupt and not to judge.
Capacity building
 Cape Flats Nature supports an approach to urban conservation that benefits and involves local communities. This has meant building the capacity of conservation managers to engage with people, and building the capacity of community organisations to engage with conservation sites.
Most of the people who manage conservation sites are trained as nature conservators and may not have “people” skills. We have facilitated training for conservation managers in human dynamics, chairing meetings, case studies and developing management plans and annual plans that integrate biodiversity and social development priorities.
Many community based organisations do not engage with biodiversity or conservation. Cape Flats Nature has supported the development of partnerships between conservation managers at sites and local community organisations. Community champions come together at a quarterly Champions' Forum to share lessons, inspiration and to learn from each other. Training at Champions' Forum has included proposal writing, conflict resolution, presentation skills and the biodiversity network.
Cape Flats Nature has facilitated community exchanges between Cape Flats community partners and those in the Baviaanskloof and the Cedarberg. These exchanges have inspired participants and contributed to building a network of committed community conservationists in the region.
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