Melville Koppies and Johannesburg skyline

Melville Koppies Nature Reserve

Johannesburg, South Africa

Friends of Melville Koppies:              Phone: +27 11 482 4797                      Email: wendavid@mweb.co.za

Melville Koppies: Get Involved

In the Melville Koppies community too few people do too many things. We always need help. There are many ways you could get involved.

Make a donation

Any amount, however small, helps us fund the conservation work.

Our banking details are:
Nedbank
Campus Square Branch, code 158 105
Account holder: Melville Koppies Management Committee
Account number: 1581 017 421

Email us or use your email address as a reference so that we can acknowledge your donation.

We are a registered PBO so donors can get tax redemption for large donations. Notify wendavid@mweb.co.za for PBO letters.

Conservation

At the moment a core team of three people do all the conservation work on our 160 hectares. If you have free time in the week and would like to spend some hours outdoors you would be most welcome.

Guiding and walking

We have a small team of guides. If you would like to become a guide you could join us on open days and learn from the others. We have plenty of material to help you learn the basics (most of it is on this website) including a set of notes prepared by one of our guides, Don Gair. It is work in progress, available here.

If you are interested in FGASA accreditation you could become a Site Guide. If you are working towards Field Guide accreditation our Open Days provide a good opportunity to put in the required guiding hours.

On the other hand you may prefer just to walk - if so we are always keen to know people who would organise and lead group walks.

Public Relations

We depend on public awareness to keep the Reserve going. Newspapers, magazines, radio and TV are our lifeline. If you have a talent for public relations, or good contacts, your help would be much appreciated.

Log into www.tripadvisor.co.za and rate your hike/guided tour of Melville Koppies.

Fund raising

JUNKIE Charity Shop, Shop 18, 59 4th Avenue, Linden, has Melville Koppies as a beneficiary. The owner, Michelle de Villiers, is able to make a substantial contribution to the Koppies every month but she needs a continual supply of things to sell. Please drop off your unwanted items at JUNKIE and designate Melville Koppies as the beneficiary. love@JUNKIE.co.za and 082 923 4189.

Corporate donations are hard to come by, but again, if you have talents or good contacts we really need that kind of help. This is not easy because we only have a few capex projects which a business could put a "donated by..." sign on. The challenge is to find maintenance funds, and you can't put a "donated by..." sign on a pile of dead weeds.

One important reason for donations is to enable us to put our workers on contracts. At the moment their employment is a little precarious.

Friends of Melville Koppies' is a registered MySchoolMyVillageMyPlanet beneficiary. You can have up to three favourite causes. Pick up a card from any Woolworths branch, or register online at www.myschool.co.za/supporter/apply. It costs you nothing and a percentage of your payment will be donated to the Koppies.

To purchase a flashdisk @ R300, please call 079 532 0083

If you can help in any of these ways or have any other ideas please phone or email us:
+27 11 482 4797 or wendavid@mweb.co.za