Above picture Ria Olivier and John Cooper, present and past Principal Investigators of Antarctic Legacy of South Africa, meet to discuss donating books over a birthday lunch at the Lanzerac Hotel; photograph by Anne Treasure
The Antarctic Legacy of South Africa (ALSA) works to preserve material of South Africa’s involvement in Antarctica, at the Prince Edward Islands, at Gough Island and at sea in the Southern Ocean. It does this by way of providing an online open-accessed digitised information source of stories, memories, photographs and other documents. Unusually for a university-based project, it also publishes books under its own imprimatur. ALSA has previously donated copies of the books it has published on the Prince Edward Islands to the Saving Maion Island’s Seabirds. Mouse-Free Marion Project for use in its Cape Town office.
Marion & Prince Edward. Africa’s Southern Islands
Mouse-Free Marion (MFM) Project’s News Correspondent is a past Principal Investigator of ALSA and suggested to Ria Olivie, the current Principal Investigator, that it also donate copies of its books for the MFM Project’s silent auction that was held during last month’s Flock to Marion AGAIN! 2025 voyage aboard the MSC Musica. The seven books donated by ALSA raised a total of R 5450 for the MFM Project from the auction. The “hot item” that received the most bids was a copy of the “coffee table” book on the Prince Edward Islands by Aleks Terauds, John Cooper, Steven Chown and Peter Ryan.
Silent auction items on display on the Flock 2025 voyage; photograph by John Cooper
John Cooper, News Correspondent, Mouse-Free Marion Project and Ria Olivier, Principal Investigator, Antarctic Legacy of South Africa, 11 March 2025
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White-chinned Petrel, watercolour by Flávia F. Barreto of Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) for the Mouse-Free Marion Project; after a photograph by Ben Dilley
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.
