Above Picture: Jacha Potgieter poses with his sculpture of an Amsterdam Albatross that he made from waste plastic collected from beaches in Wales

Back in April, with the essential help of the Antarctic Legacy of South Africa (ALSA), the Mouse-Free Marion Project contacted a large number of overwintering team members and researchers who have spent time at Marion Island in the past, encouraging them to support the eradication of the island’s mice by donating to the project’s “Sponsor a Hectare” campaign.  This outreach is resulting in a steady flow of contributions, which are being listed on this website’s Sponsor page.  One of the donors, Jacha Potgieter, spent time on the island from 1988 to 1991 as part of the successful cat eradication programme.  But Jacha did not stop with his one-hectare sponsorship in his and his wife Gwyn’s names.  He contacted his old Marion friends and also local businesses to make their own sponsorships and succeeded in raising sufficient donations to sponsor a most impressive 45 hectares.

Jacha Potgieter (left) with Martin van Rooyen, cat hunters on Marion Island, 1988/89

The MFM Project contacted Jacha to hear his story and to find out what motivated him to undertake his fund-raising. He writes in reply:

“The Marion Island overwintering teams I was on were Marion 45 (1988-89) and Marion 47 (1990-91).  I am now based in Betws-y-Coed in north Wales.  My wife Gwyn and I own the Betws-y-Coed Railway Station, where we run a number of businesses including the Alpine Coffee Shop, Hangin’ Pizzeria, Platform Galeri and Alpine Apartments. All the businesses are palm oil free and raise awareness for ape conservation.

I work pretty much full time as an artist now and I use my artwork to raise awareness of various conservation issues.  A lot of my work is made from plastic rubbish that I collect from the local beaches; I’ve attached a photo [above] of myself with an Amsterdam Albatross sculpture that I created from beach plastic. This sculpture was part of a large exhibition I created called ‘Saving the Deep’ and was made up of 12 endangered or threatened marine species, all life sized and made from beach plastic. It was on display for four months in Chester Cathedral which has over 300 000 visitors a month.

“Growing up in South Africa’s Free State province and then ending up in a place like Marion Island was one of the best things to ever happen to me. To be a part of such a special place with special people was just magical.  It’s truly one of the last wildernesses left and when I read about the Mouse-Free Marion Project I thought I would make an effort to support the cause and spread the word to others.  I wrote my own blog post about the project and shared it with my friends, family, colleagues and suppliers and encouraged them to get on board as well, which is how I ended up with a large group of people sponsoring hectares.

“As an ex-cat hunter, I challenge all the other former Marion Islanders to get behind the project and get their own groups together to increase the hectare sponsorship.  If we all stand together, we can make a difference.”

All the 44 separate sponsorships Jacha put together are now listed on this website; Certificates of Appreciation have been generated for them all.  Several have been made in memory of friends who have passed away since their island days.  The MFM Project thanks them all, and especially Jacha, for furthering the conservation of an important island and its wildlife.

John Cooper, Member, Scientific and Technical Advisory Group, Mouse-Free Marion Project, 30 July 2021