GNoR BIG Committee Members

The GNOR BIG Team - Committee Members

Here are the people who really make a difference with their enthusiasm & dedication to protect & promote bat awareness & conservation!

Name	Julio Balona	Erna van Schalkwyk
Portfolio	Chairman & Research Coordinator	Membership secretary, Communicator for website, Education & Publicity, and Projects Coordinator.
Involvement in GNor BIG	Originally joined in 1997, lapsed membership, rejoined 2006	± 2 years
Qualifications	BSc. Chemical Engineering	MSc. Chemical Engineering
Full-time profession	Chemical Engineer	Process design engineer
Involvement in other organisations	Member of Endangered Wildlife Trust	Volunteer at FreeMe wildlife rehabilitation centre
Why Bats?	"The natural environment is under serious threat. Bats in particular need help due to the ignorance and misinformation that plague them. Apart from that, their curious and nocturnal ways make them irresistibly captivating to the amateur naturalist that I am."	"I have always loved bats and this is one area where a person can make a big difference."
Contact Details	Tel No: 016 920-3016 / 082 359-1295 E-mail:	Tel No: 082 927 9532 / 011 236 1306 Fax No: 011 236 1125 E-mail:

Name	Sharron Reynolds	Rebecca Smith
Portfolio	Treasurer	Newsletter Editor
Involvement in GNor BIG	2 years	± 1.5 years
Qualifications	.	BTech in Veterinary Technology, Diploma in Information Technology, Certificate in Drawing House Plans
Full-time profession	Bookkeeper	Autocad operator / IT manager
Involvement in other organisations	SEC Caving Club ( Committee member), Soap Kidz, Essa & Mountain Club	FreeMe
Why Bats?	"Because of my love of caves & the need to keep up-to-date on effects cavers have on bats."	"Looked after bats over Christmas for FreeMe and fell in love, since then wanted to get more involved in their conservation."
Contact Details	011-447-7740 (W) E-mail:	Tel: 082-826-7746 E-mail:

Name	Wanda Markotter	.Nigel Fernsby
Portfolio	Research	Additional committee member, queries, advisory & talks
Involvement in GNor BIG	1 year	Served the committee and as chairman for the biggest part of ±11 years.
Qualifications	PhD (Microbiology)	Agricultural diploma (UK)
Full-time profession	Lecturer (University of Pretoria)	.Agriculturalist/conservationist Owner: 'Birds & Bats Environmental products'
Involvement in other organisations	Bats KZN	Dropped all other Bird Society memberships for bats. A keen bird watcher & nature lover.
Why Bats?	I’ve been involved in research on rabies in bat species in South Africa and I believe that scientists and bat conservation groups need to work together to gather information about possible diseases present in bats and also to ensure that this information is made available in a responsible manner. I also personally have a keen interest in bat species diversity.	"Commenced making Bat Houses for Ngwenya. Got involved in Transvaal Museum Bat Research Project. Love bats & would do anything to save them & promote their image."
Contact Details	E-mail:	Tel No: (012) 659-0087 E-mail:

Name	Trevor Morgan	..
Portfolio	Research	.
Involvement in GNor BIG	1.5 years	..
Qualifications	.	.
Full-time profession	..	..
Involvement in other organisations	FreeMe	.
Why Bats?	Interested in bats and their calls. Have built bat detectors, flight tunnels and small bat houses	.
Contact Details	E-mail:	.

Committee Members serve on a voluntary basis, and anyone wishing to join the Committee would need to have some spare time to handle this portfolio and be able to attend Committee Meetings once a month. Anyone interested in joining us, please contact Julio.

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