GroundTruth

05/06/2026

Across Africa, ecosystems have a deep and close connection to livelihoods, rich biodiversity, and the fate of communities in the face of change. Yet, they remain under increasing pressure.

Today is World Environment Day🌍🌱, a moment to reflect on both the urgency and the opportunity before us. Through applied research, monitoring, capacity building, systems design, and collaborative practice, GroundTruth works to understand complex environmental systems, restore landscapes, protect critical ecosystems, and support long-term conservation outcomes that benefit both people and nature.

From biodiverse catchments and wetlands to urban and agroecological landscapes, pristine forests to degraded rivers, our focus is always on building and using best-practice evidence that informs practical, scalable, and sustainable solutions to environment and engineering challenges.
🔑 But here's the key: we do our work with people and nature, for people and nature. We find solutions that maximise co-benefits, because the future of natural environments is inseparable from the future of humanity.

World Environment Day is a call to awareness and a call to action. Nature-positive environmental stewardship requires partnerships, shared knowledge, and a commitment to working across disciplines and sectors.
As we mark this day, we reaffirm our vision: For people and planet for generations to come.

Connect with GroundTruth as your partner for impact in Africa, and together, let's make every day a day for the Environment🤝🌿

03/06/2026

GroundTruth recently had the amazing opportunity to bring citizen science knowledge into the classroom at Broadacres Academy Senior Prep!🏫
When we heard that the Grade 5s were learning about rivers, our Gauteng Office jumped at the opportunity to spend time with them. We got to introduce them to a few citizen science tools, including miniSASS, clarity tubes, and velocity planks 🦀💧📏

Although it was a classroom session, the learners were fully immersed in the experience. Together, we imagined standing in a flowing river, where we could measure flow velocity, explore river health, and let curiosity run wild🌿Nothing beats the real thing, but for this group of city kids it was science coming to life ✨

This kind of session is exactly the type of engagement, capacity building, environmental education, and citizen science upskilling that is at the core of GroundTruth's Advisory Services (one of 6 core Practice Areas, check them all out at https://www.groundtruth.co.za/what-we-do/). It was also an exciting exploration of the kind of work we are currently doing with UNESCO on citizen science curriculum development for Public Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) schools in South Africa📘 There is a real gap in our schools when it comes to environmental and river science education, making it such an important space to strengthen within the Natural Sciences curriculum. We need to make sure that future generations learn about water resilience and water security! 🌊

We are beyond excited for what lies ahead for our young learners and junior citizen scientists. Watch this space🚀

02/06/2026

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!