Project team members of the Iimbovane: Exploring South African Biodiversity and Change Outreach Project are celebrating a generous grant from Rand Merchant Bank that will allow them to bring Iimbovane to more schools in the Western Cape.

The successful implementation of the project during the initial phase was made possible through a financial partnership with the British-based Programme, the Darwin Initiative. As funding came to an end early in 2009, project proposals were further developed and submitted to secure funding for the next phase. Long discussions and late nights of proposal writing paid off with a grant of 500 000 ZAR from a leader in financial investment, Rand Merchant Bank. The funding from Rand Merchant Bank are welcomed not only by the project team, but also by the Western Cape Department of Education (WCED), who wish to see Iimbovane being rolled out to 360 schools in the Western Cape.

With funding from Rand Merchant Bank, more Grade 10 learners will be able to join Iimbovane

To date the project has reached approximately 3400 learners and empowered 193 educators, and with funding from Rand Merchant Bank the Iimbovane project team would continue to support the already participating schools and also target an additional five schools. The project team also set out to develop a subscription system whereby more schools can join the project. By subscribing to the project they would receive the necessary educational materials to put Iimbovane into practice at their schools.