Conservation Wilding and Greening Project
The desire to restore important eco-systems and to make a tangible contribution to the South African Wine Industry’s conservation efforts, we rehabilitated a tract of land and are returning it to its natural state.
Wildlife Sanctuary
A wildlife sanctuary was established in 2009. In conjunction with two neighbours, we set aside a total of 220ha of land to form the Villiera Wildlife Sanctuary. It includes 12 dams plus marsh areas which attract a huge variety of birdlife.
A number of mammals have been introduced to the Wildlife Sanctuary: Springbuck, Kudu, Giraffe, Waterbuck, Bontebok, Eland, Gemsbok, Black Wildebeest, Burchell’s Zebra, common Duiker, Steenbuck and Grysbok.
Indigenous Tree Project
Conservation efforts take place alongside a greening project to rehabilitate fallow land. This entailed planting thousands of indigenous trees on the farm which further mitigates our carbon footprint.
The indigenous trees were grown in recycled containers by our staff and bought from them when a year old and planted out. Thousands of indigenous trees have also been donated by the Cape Garden Centre.
Well over 100 000 trees have been planted to date.
Green Fencing
To add to our sustainable practices, since 2016 we have moved to greening our boundary fences. We have been planting double rows of Acacias spaced 1 metre apart along all our boundaries (2 000 trees per km). They become impenetrable and suck up carbon from the atmosphere, clean and cool the air, as well as provide a habitat for insects, birds, reptiles, and small mammals. Besides the positive impact these Acacia green fences have on the environment, they provide a beautiful aesthetic impact too.
All the trees are grown by our staff on the farm or in local townships which has also led to a flourishing business for these entrepreneurs. Initially, Villiera was their only client, but now other businesses are buying acacias to green and protect their properties.
