Above picture: Jacha Potgieter works on his painting of a Wandering Albatross that he will donate to the Mouse-Free Marion Project

Jacha Potgieter spent time on Marion Island with the M45 (1988/89) and M47 (1990/91) overwintering teams as part of the successful feral cat eradication programme.  He now lives with his wife Gwyn in Betws-y-Coed in north Wales where they own a railway station. From here, they operate the Alpine Coffee Shop, Hangin Pizzeria, Platform Galeri and Alpine Apartments, which are all devoted to raising money for global conservation efforts.  Back in 2021 Jacha arranged sponsorships totalling 45 hectares for the Mouse-Free Marion (MFM) Project by encouraging his old Marion friends and local businesses to make their own sponsorships.  To this total they added their own hectare (click here).

Jacha and Gwyn have now personally sponsored a further 45 ha.  Their most generous donations, totalling 46 ha and falling into the Grey Petrel category on the MFM Honour Roll, mean that Jacha is now the Marion overwinterer who has sponsored the most hectares of the island.  The next in line is Otto Whitehead who has sponsored 32 ha.

Jacha writes to MFM News: “I have been busy in the studio this week working on an albatross painting to donate to the Mouse-Free Marion Project.  Gwyn and I have recently sponsored 45 hectares of Marion Island, where I used to work, to help support the MFM Project in their conservation efforts.  I am so glad to now be able to donate my painting to help them even further!”  Jacha’s artwork will form part of the project’s fund-raising auction to be held aboard the Flock to Marion Island AGAIN! 2025 voyage to Marion Island in January 2025.

In his younger days. Jacha Potgieter (left) with Martin van Rooyen, cat hunters on Marion Island in 1988/89

The MFM Project expresses its heartfelt thanks to Jacha and Gwyn for their continued support and hopes it will encourage more past Marion Island overwinterers to sponsor a hectare – or more.

John Cooper, News Correspondent, Mouse-Free Marion Project, 29 October 2024

***************************************************************************************************

Marion Island can be beautiful in its starkness. The late afternoon sun casts a long shadow below a band of mist after a day-long hike with Mariette Wheeler (M61), Marienne de Villiers and Prideel Majiet (M62) to the Swartkop Point field hut in April 2005; photograph by John Cooper

The Mouse-Free Marion Project is a registered non-profit company (No. 2020/922433/08) in South Africa, established to eradicate the invasive albatross-killing mice on Marion Island in the Southern Ocean.  The project was initiated by BirdLife South Africa and the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.  Upon successful completion, the project will restore the critical breeding habitat of over two million seabirds, many globally threatened, and improve the island’s resilience to a warming climate.  For more information or to support the project please visit mousefreemarion.org.