NATURE fundi, butterfly enthusiast and avid recycler are a few choice words to describe uThekwane Conservancy’s free-spirited chairman, Mark Liptrot.
The Kloof resident said he considered himself beyond lucky as he resides on the doorstep of the Krantzkloof Nature Reserve.
“I have continuous access to a beautiful and natural area,” he said. His home garden is fully indigenous and boasts he has seen a few butterflies in his own personal sanctuary that he has yet to find in the reserve. His love for the brightly winged insects hatched when one of his close friends asked him to lead a walk back in 2013.
“I admit, I didn’t know much about them but it has been a roller-coaster ride of taking pictures of as many butterflies as possible since then,” said Mark.
Working part-time has also afforded him the opportunity to travel across South Africa to snap shots of butterflies.
His records show he has seen and photographed 400 species of moth and butterfly and has more than 100 000 pictures to boot.
“I don’t just do this for my personal pleasure,” he added.
“I upload the images to an Animal Demography Unit’s virtual museum, based in Cape Town. They map the records of butterflies, birds, rare plants and dragonflies to reptiles and amphibians.”
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For those interested in attracting or growing the butterfly population in their own garden, Mark recommends planting a plumbago, tecomaria and freylinia.
The 66-year-old said he has been the chairman of the non-profit organisation for 19 years but he fears for its future due to its dwindling membership.
“Everyone complains about the environment, the rubbish lying around and the lack of bio-diversity, but very few people are prepared to take any action. I think its up to every one of us to do something and this is where the uThekwane Conservancy comes in,” said Mark.
“Everyone has their own field of concern, from quality of water and the use of rat poisons to remove rat infestations to waste management.
It’s up to the community to motivate and have champions in their areas to host clean up days. If people clean up in the catchment areas, then we won’t have problems we face during the big rains,” said a determined Mark.
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