When it comes to the sickle bush, local is not always lekker. While the trees are good for the soil and preventing erosion, they can also form impenetrable thickets which make it difficult for game to forage.

Alumnus Phenya Tshenkeng is turning his conservator’s eye to this problem for his PhD. Phenya says he wants to preserve the nation’s biodiversity to create a future where wildlife and people thrive.

 

Where his interest sprouted

 

His love of and interest in conservation started in high school when he was part of the Lengau Conservation Club at Kebalepile High School in Mahikeng.

 

“This interest increased at the NWU when I was a BSc student. We used to collect different grass and tree species for the ecology module. These specimens were pressed and we had to know them by their scientific names during the exam,” he recalls.

 

He studied for a BSc and BScHons and then went on to complete an MSc in conservation ecology at the University of the Witwatersrand.

 

Shining the spotlight on the sickle bush

 

Phenya has now registered for a PhD in botany with the NWU. His PhD study is on habitat change as a result of sickle bush (Dichrostachys cinerea) encroachment in the Madikwe Game Reserve and adjacent communal areas, and how restoration technologies can improve herbivore foraging.

 

Although the sickle bush is indigenous, has a positive effect on the soil and is able to colonise disturbed veld and curb erosion, the dense thickets it forms can make it a problem plant for veld managers.

 

Perfectly placed for his study

 

Phenya is well placed to undertake the study as he is currently a regional ecologist for the North West Parks and Tourism Board.His focus is on the development and maintenance of the board’s nature reserves database, monitoring the wildlife population, overseeing the annual game census and providing support to reserve management in dealing with problem animals.

 

Preserving the province’s natural spaces

 

“My responsibilities also include fire and climate monitoring, as well as updating maps of the reserves in the eastern region of the North West Parks Board,” says Phenya.

 

“As a regional ecologist, I provide support with the planning and development of ecological management programmes. I also help with the development of decision support systems for better decision-making within protected areas. Furthermore, it is important  to give continual feedback to reserve managers regarding burning plans, stocking rates and vegetation surveys.”

 

He says strategic planning, policy development and development of standard procedures are essential for the daily work in the reserve, and as an ecologist it is his responsibility to formulate those.

 

With his varied experience and passion for conservation, there is little doubt that Phenya will make an impact in preserving the province’s natural spaces.