Growing up in the Karoo, Jeannie has always had an intense love for the veld and nature. During her varsity studies (MSc Zoology) at the University of Stellenbosch, she spent a lot of time in the Tankwa Karoo, Sandveld and Cederberg doing reptile surveys and research, particularly on the peculiar tail-biting armadillo lizard, known locally as the “blinkogie”.

She briefly left scientific research for a stint in the television industry where she worked as programme researcher on the natural history show GROEN, compiled the text for the coffee table book “Shoreline – Discovering South Africa’s coast”, and worked as researcher and production manager on a documentary series about South Africa’s threatened wildlife.

Jeannie joined the CLT team in March 2010 as coordinator and researcher on the newly born Boland Project, along with colleague Anita Wilkinson. Together they established a very successful leopard research project, the outcomes of which have informed conservation and management strategies in the Boland area.

Jeannie is now the Communications and Media Manager for the CLT, and while she is still involved with research and conservation activities, her first priority is to ensure that the CLT’s  research and educational content as well as conservation message is disseminated to a wide public audience.