Although he wasn’t present at the award ceremony, the news came as a surprise to him.
Born on September 14, 1927 in Johannesburg, he moved to Dunnottar in 1949. “Living in Dunnottar has allowed me to have one foot in Nigel and the other in Springs,” he says.
“I first visited the Blesbokspruit and Marievale in 1948 when I rode my motorcycle across the ‘spruit’ and my fascination and passion for it was born there and then,” he says.
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He claims the Advertiser was responsible for putting his name forward as a nominee for the National Conservation Award he received in 1996.
This individual award was given to him to acknowledge his efforts to stop the Grootvlei Mine from pumping polluted water into the Blesbokspruit in 1995.
“It was a very special individual award and was presented to me by the then Minister of the Environment Peter Mokaba,” says Stan.
He was honoured in 2006 by BirdLife SA with the Eagle award and in 2008 by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa for his ongoing efforts and achievements.
Dee Johnson, secretary of the Springs/Nigel branch of Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA), says Stan’s passion for wildlife and his determination to preserve our natural areas is only surpassed by his willingness and love of teaching young and old about the wonders of nature.
Read: Blesbokspruit Conservation Trust receives financial boost
Stan still takes a very active role in the Springs/Nigel branch of WESSA where he monitors the Environmental Impact Assessments in the area.
“He is one of those amazing, rare, dedicated people who continue to strive for a better natural world for our future generations and a more fitting nominee for WESSA’s 90th celebration would be difficult to find.”
History
Stan’s association with the Blesbokspruit began in 1948 when he joined the staff of Marievale Consolidated Mines.
A wetland which attracted thousands of migrant and resident birds had been created in the area by the mine building roads and embankments across the Blesbokspruit.
In the ’70s 885ha was made available by the mine which today, is the internationally recognised Marievale Bird Sanctuary, now known as the Marievale Nature Reserve.
Stan is also an accepted ornithologist and has published a number of studies in various magazines, including notes on the breeding habits of the black-shouldered kite in the SA Ornithological Society’s journal Ostrich.
Stan continued to work for the Marievale Bird Sanctuary and on October 2, 1986 Ramsar status was bestowed on an area of almost 20km of prime wetland.
In 1972 he formed the Springs branch of the Wildlife Society.
