Nick Helme

Entrou: 11 de nov. de 2017 Última vez ativo: 21 de mar. de 2024 iNaturalist

Biologist living in Cape Town, working as a botanical consultant throughout the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR), exploring nooks and crannies of the GCFR, with a particular view to finding as many as possible of the 1800 or so threatened or very localised plant species in this region (have posted over 1650 of these SoCC). A surprising number of these are incredibly poorly known (<3 observations or collections, many of these from more than 60yrs ago), so all info gathered is valuable for conservation planning. Try to take at least a few weeks off every year and explore plant hotspots within the summer rainfall parts of southern Africa, and have a particular passion for exploring montane areas, anywhere. Over 9400 plant species posted on iNat, most of them from southern Africa (about a third of the region's total flora), more than 1650 being rare and/or threatened species (see https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/redlist-s-afr).

Have been lucky enough to have been able to explore good chunks of South America (esp Patagonia and tropical Bolivia and Argentina), Nepal, NE India, Malawi, Cameroon (Dja forest, Mt Oku, Rumsiki, NW), Gabon, Zambia, Sumatra (Gunung Leuser NP) and Madagascar (NE and SE), plus most of southern Africa. But only started taking digital pics in 2004, so most pics from those trips not on iNat. Top plant observer for Southern Africa (>8400spp) and Africa (>9000spp). Really, really want to get to West Papua and surrounds, plus parts of Oz. I generally don't post weedy things, unless it's an interesting locality. Quite a keen birder when I'm not in the GCFR. Gutted by the already catastrophic impacts of climate change on the Greater CFR, notably in Namaqualand, where the effects are far, far worse than even the worst case predictions from only ten years ago...

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