GroundTruth

27/05/2026

What commitments are you making to saving water?
Water is a vital, life-sustaining resource that is becoming increasingly scarce, posing significant challenges to ecosystems, industries, and human life🌍 Yet we still routinely use precious treated drinking water for purposes for which it is not required🚰
We need to recognize the value of water, especially treated drinking water, and act to protect and conserve it💧🌿

A great place to start is our own daily lives, where sustainable daily water use habits around toilets and kitchen activities can significantly lower water consumption without requiring major changes or investments. At GroundTruth, we are making small but significant changes.

1. We are switching from using potable municipal water supply to using rainwater for flushing toilets, achievable through installation of rainwater harvesting into tanks and some simple plumbing changes🌧️
2. We have installed outdoor “L'Uritonnoir” self-composting zero-water urinals♻️

So what are the impacts and benefits?
First, we’re saving precious treated water, which is critical in a severely water scarce country💧 But the advantages of water conservation go beyond immediate resource preservation. By reducing treated water wastage and harvesting local rainwater, we decrease the need for expensive and energetically demanding development and maintenance of water infrastructure like distribution networks, dams, and treatment plants⚡

Since implementation, we have noticed a big reduction in monthly costs and treated municipal water use. A quick calculation reveals the significance:

Assuming: the cost of treated, municipal water is R0.013 per litre; without urinals, there would be roughly 6 toilet flushes per person per day; and toilets use roughly 9 litres per flush. So:
▪️ Daily use: 26 people x 6 x 9 L per flush = 1,404 litres/day
▪️ Monthly use: 1,404 x 22 = 30,888 litres per month
▪️ Annual use: 30,888 x 12 = 370,656 litres per year
▪️ Monthly cost is 30,888 x 0.013 = R401.54
▪️ Annual cost saving is R401.54 x 12 = R4,818.53

Once scaled up to our other offices, we will take pressure off the grid and reduce our wastage of high quality, treating drinking water for simply flushing toilets by over 700,000 litres per year!🌊 A neat added bonus is the financial savings could increase to >R10,000 per year📈

Simple actions for sustainability can lead to meaningful positive change over time, saving money and water in the process🌱 By preserving water in small ways today, we can ensure its availability tomorrow.

25/05/2026

🌍 Celebrating the International Day for Biological Diversity! 🌱

Today we are reminded that the health of our planet, our economies, and our communities is inseparable from the diversity of life that sustains them. Biodiversity is the foundation of resilient ecosystems and the cornerstone of human wellbeing, supporting food systems, water security, climate regulation, and cultural values.

At GroundTruth, the International Day for Biological Diversity feels like every day, because we are always working to deliver science-based, practical, and context-responsive solutions that safeguard biodiversity while supporting people and livelihoods 🌿

Conserving biodiversity is an integrated process that must align ecological integrity with social and economic realities. Across our six interconnected areas of expertise, GroundTruth works to address complex environmental challenges and opportunities💡
These areas collectively enable us to:
🔬 Assess and monitor ecosystems with scientific rigour
🌱 Design and implement restoration and rehabilitation strategies
💧 Support sustainable land and water management practices
📊 Inform policy, planning, and governance processes
🤝 Facilitate meaningful stakeholder engagement
🚀 Translate knowledge into actionable, on-the-ground solutions

This integrated approach allows us to move beyond isolated interventions, towards systemic solutions that restore landscapes, strengthen ecosystem services, and enhance human wellbeing.

On this International Day for Biological Diversity, we celebrate the richness of life on Earth and our collective responsibility to protect and restore it 🌍✨ The challenges are significant, but so too are the opportunities to create pathways that are regenerative, inclusive, and future-focused.

We believe that meaningful change happens through partnership🤝 Join us in shaping a future where biodiversity thrives, ecosystems are restored, and people prosper.

19/05/2026

Nothing beats a day out in the field🌄 Our wetlanders' favourite is in-field wetland delineation, where we carefully assess an area to identify the boundaries of wetlands. From reading vegetation changes to observing soil and hydrology indicators, every step helps define and protect these important ecosystems🌿

Being outdoors, boots on the ground, and swinging that auger for a full day's workout. It's hard work, but it's fulfilling work that needs doing. And it doesn't stop there. GroundTruth turns robust data into sustainable impact. Whatever your assessment, restoration, management, analysis, or reporting needs, our professional team will be with you every step of the way ✅ ✅ ✅

Get in touch and let's work together to understand, manage, and conserve Earth's most vital ecosystems 🌍💚

12/05/2026

🌍 Empowering the next generation of water researchers through tailored geospatial training 💧

We recently concluded an intensive three-day Remote Sensing and Geospatial Analysis training course for the UKZN WASH R&D Centre postgraduate and post-doctoral research community.

At GroundTruth, we believe the most impactful training happens through collaboration. This was far more than a standard workshop — it was a co-created learning experience where technical geospatial skills were directly linked to active research challenges and real-world applications.

Together, we explored critical themes including:

🔹 Water quality and supply monitoring to better understand and protect our most valuable resource
🔹 Infrastructure design using spatial data to support smarter engineering decisions
🔹 Water-based hazard assessment through custom geospatial tools for improved prediction and risk mitigation

By integrating Remote Sensing and GIS into research workflows, participants are now better equipped to transform complex spatial data into actionable insights for the water sector.

Some feedback from participants included:
💬 “The training was really informative, fruitful, a lot was learned 👌👏”
💬 “It was very informative, thorough, and a good starting point.”

We truly value our partnership with the UKZN WASH Centre and look forward to many more impactful collaborations ahead.

Is your university, institute, or research group looking to bridge the gap between geospatial technology and applied research?

We offer specialised, tailored training packages designed around your team’s unique research and operational needs. Let’s collaborate.

06/05/2026

🌊 Exciting news — we've just published a new report!
We're thrilled to share our latest technical report: "Model Framework for a Citizen Science Water Monitoring System in the Limpopo River Basin" 👉 https://cgspace.cgiar.org/items/78374186-5fb0-49a7-8c67-1bfcc1c632eb
Water scarcity, declining quality, and climate pressures are hitting the Limpopo River Basin hard — but critical data gaps are making it even harder to respond. This report presents a practical, real-world framework to help close those gaps by putting communities at the centre of water monitoring.

💡 So what's the big idea?
The framework uses a six-step, iterative approach that combines:
🤝 Partnerships
🎓 Capacity building
👥 Community-driven monitoring
📊 Open, FAIR data systems
🛰️ A basin Digital Twin for near real-time insights
One of the most exciting innovations? Linking incentivised citizen-generated data to digital decision-support tools — turning information into action, and making sure communities aren't just data collectors, but active participants in water governance.

🌍 This is bigger than monitoring. It's about fairness.
✅ Communities help shape the evidence base
✅ Data systems are open and actionable
✅ Decision-making becomes more equitable and responsive

Dive into the report to see how the framework operates in reality in the Limpopo River basin, where transboundary inclusive water monitoring and management operates through incentivisation for community-driven stewardship through UNICEF Yoma World, capacity building through The Environmental Learning Research Centre Rhodes University and Yoma World Green Learn-to-Earn Pathway, and digital innovation for informed evidence driven water governance through the CGIAR Limpopo Watercourse Commission (LIMCOM) Digital Twin.

📢 While rooted in the Limpopo, this framework is designed to scale globally, supporting water security, climate resilience, and the SDGs across river basins worldwide. 💧
We hope it helps pave the way for more inclusive, just transitions to a water-secure future — across Africa and beyond.
Huge thanks to our incredible partners: CGIAR Accelerator for Digital Transformation, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), The Association for Water and Rural Development (AWARD), and funder Enabel.

👉 Get in touch if you'd like to partner with GroundTruth to drive inclusive and resilient water systems!

IWMI

24/04/2026

The iNaturalist.org City Nature Challenge is underway!

Follow the steps below to become a local explorer - you never know what you mind find right in your own town. All the data helps in global conservation and restoration work, and you might just find some time outside does you good too! 💚

If you are in the Midlands, join the City Nature Challenge 2026: KZN Midlands project and help us get a better picture of our local urban biodiversity 🐒 🐭 🐦‍⬛ 🦋 🐞 🌸 🪻 🍄

It runs 24 - 27 April, what are you waiting for?

GroundTruth iNaturalist - southern Africa

23/04/2026

GroundTruth is proud to have received our official participant badge for the City Nature Challenge!🌿What does this mean?

We are actively participating in the global City Nature Challenge through iNaturalist, with a focus on contributing to the City Nature Challenge 2026: KZN Midlands project📍

This initiative brings together communities, organisations, and individuals to document local biodiversity, helping to build a valuable, shared dataset for conservation and research.

Get involved!✨
• Download the iNaturalist app
• Join your regional City Nature Challenge project
• Spend time outdoors this weekend observing and recording local species

It's as easy as that! Your observations are automatically linked to your selected project, making it easy to contribute meaningfully.
There’s also a collaborative (and friendly competitive 👀) element between cities and regions globally, adding an extra layer of engagement to the challenge.

Whether you’re an individual, a family, or part of a team, this is a great opportunity to connect with nature, contribute to citizen science, and be part of a global movement🌍

If you’d like guidance on how to get started, feel free to reach out. We look forward to seeing your contributions!

22/04/2026

Today is Earth Day 🌍 🌎 🌏
Earth Day is a reminder of the extraordinary value of the natural systems that sustain life, economies, and communities, and of the responsibility we share to protect them.

At GroundTruth, we work at the intersection of ecology, climate, water, and engineering, helping organisations navigate complexity, manage risk, and drive impactful nature‑positive outcomes. This means grounding strategy in robust evidence and best practice, understanding how to work with people for inclusive interventions, and designing long-term solutions that are resilient in the face of change.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuA3flSoGnY

We know its tough out there. Solving the complex and worsening environmental problems globally is daunting. Meaningful environmental action requires determination and persistence, well beyond a single day on the calendar.
But it is work that needs to be done, and work worth doing. That's why this Earth Day, and every day, GroundTruth shows up. Let's collaborate, because the Earth needs us, and we need it🌍

1 like. "Earth Day 2026"

21/04/2026

🌍✨ World Creativity and Innovation Day ✨🌍
Today we are celebrating creativity and innovation as more than buzzwords, they are the pillars of practical solutions to real challenges.
In partnership with DUCT Rivers, Rhodes University The Environmental Learning Research Centre (ELRC), and UNICEF Yoma World, GroundTruth has worked to co‑create a set of Green Learn-to-Earn (GL2E) courses that reimagine how environmental skills are developed, recognised, and financed.

These courses are a creative and innovative response to a growing challenge: persistent green skills gaps and limited pathways from learning into livelihoods. By linking learning directly to earning, they contribute to more sustainable financing models for skills development, while enabling young people to build practical, future‑facing competencies 🌱

Creative ambition and innovation are embedded throughout the pathway: a empowering, self-guided pathway to learn, apply, earn, and demonstrate impact. This is about unlocking opportunity while strengthening the green economy 🍃

Now a call to you!🎓🌍
If you are young and passionate about the environment, climate action, improving your livelihood and career opportunities, and creating change in your community, these free courses are for you! Get recognised for your effort, build real skills in a digital CV, and take your first steps into the Green Economy💚

👉 Explore the opportunities here:
GREEN LEARN2EARN - RIVER MONITORS COURSE 💧🌍
🔗 https://yoma.world/opportunities/019946d2-575f-7f89-a600-47b4fd1f8d3a?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBEyYTJNUGVCNHRBcmo5SFF1enNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR5Afw8s3tf0F28W9pPomiLR6DnvPtSINbhtVXa8Che23mqvZXWksGVaMp4JDQ_aem_A0F-mYXl-f37XnHI8JFk8Q
GREEN LEARN2EARN - AGROECOLOGY COURSE 🌱🌍
🔗 https://yoma.world/opportunities/01977dd8-3c43-7b7c-96b2-5e7ffb7e94ab

Let’s use creativity to close skills gaps, innovation to open pathways, and collaboration to build a more just and sustainable future 🌍🚀

20/04/2026

🌍✨Ready to explore the wild side of your town or city?

Join GroundTruth for the iNaturalist City Nature Challenge from 24–27 April!🌿📸
Towns and cities across the globe will be going head-to-head to see who can record the most observations of living things, from plants to animals to fungi, right in their own neighbourhoods.

To join the fun:
📱 Download the iNaturalist app
🌍 Join the City Nature Challenge project in your area
📸 Snap photos or record calls of the wildlife you spot in your neighbourhood over the weekend

Your observations will automatically be included in the project: it’s that easy!

If you're in the KZN Midlands and want to learn more, join us tomorrow at 9am at the bottom of Beacon Hill in Howick. We’ll be hosting a hands-on workshop to get you ready for the challenge!

Let’s discover, document, and celebrate nature together! 🐦 🐢 🦎 🐍 🦋 🐛 🐝 🏵️ 🍄 🌱 💚