
Rupert Koopman - South Africa
Rupert is a botanist based in Cape Town, South Africa and wields a broad portfolio, utilising the flexibility of freelance to look at ways of (re)inserting fynbos into the lives of people around him.
Previous roles include Conservation Manager at the Botanical Society of South Africa, tasked with strategically implementing plant conservation work in priority regions across South Africa and he spent 12 years working primarily with threatened species and habitats of the fynbos biome (https://www.capetownbotanist.com/what-is-fynbos/) in the Western Cape at the provincial conservation agency, CapeNature.
Rupert's interests include seeing as many of SA's threatened plant species as possible, supporting citizen science, making plant conservation more relevant and accessible to a broader audience, participating in multidisciplinary projects appreciating indigenous plants and working with people from all over who love and appreciate the superb and diverse South African flora.
As a recently qualified tour guide, he gets to share all of the above with a variety of people, constantly aiming to tell a more interesting story of South African plants and people; weaving history, science and current affairs into a narrative which aims to arm the listener with a view from Rupert’s unique perspective.