We welcome Matthew Kingma to the GCF as our GCF Biomonitoring assistant.

Matthew has earned his Advanced diploma in Nature Conservation through Nelson Mandela University. He has a particular interest in fire ecology and has a higher certificate in Veld Fire Management. He has previously worked as a field research assistant at Wildlife Ecology Lab assisting in data collection, recording, processing, and research. Here he grew his interests in entomology and pollination through assisting Dr Rudi Swart with his post-doctoral studies.

When asked what he enjoys the most about his work Mathew responds as follows…

“I tend to enjoy the complexity associated with working in an environmental field, especially Nature Conservation. An important part and core to conservation is trying to understand all the intricate pieces that allow for the multitude of life that inhabits this living planet, Earth. I believe it is impossible to conserve, protect or manage a reserve such as Gondwana without understanding of how all the pieces fit and interact with each other. This is where I get to play a small role here on Gondwana, in the GCF as a Biodiversity Monitor. 

“A normal workday for me is spent by hiking through the reserve collecting and recording the species found here. I also get to help collect the data needed to monitor and understand the changes that the reserves ecosystem is going through via vegetation surveys or wetland surveys for example. However, this is never fixed as other days require me to help with fencing or to assist veterinary groups on the reserve. But to keep a long story short, as you have read, how would you not enjoy a job like this.”

When not at work you can find Matthew rock climbing, mountaineering, or climbing trees in the forest.  We are thrilled to have Mathew on the team and look forward to his valuable contributions to the conservation team and our research.

What you enjoy most about your job:

I tend to enjoy the complexity associated with working in an environmental field, especially Nature Conservation. An important part and core to conservation is trying to understand all the intricate pieces that allow for the multitude of life that inhabits this living planet, Earth. I believe it is impossible to conserve, protect or manage a reserve such as Gondwana without understanding how all the pieces fit and interact with each other. This is where I get to play a small role on Gondwana, in the GCF as a Biodiversity Monitor.