Client: Botanical Education Trust
My role: Marketing & Communications Consultant
Engagement: Consulting | Brand rebuild, website strategy, design & copy, communications templates
Location: South Africa

The opportunity

South Africa represents just 1% of the earth’s total land surface, yet it is home to the richest flora in the world. This extraordinary natural heritage is increasingly under threat, with indigenous plant species disappearing at an alarming rate due to human activity and environmental pressure.

Founded in 2009, the Botanical Education Trust (BET) plays a vital role in protecting this heritage by funding botanical research, conservation initiatives, and publications that advance public understanding of South Africa’s indigenous flora. As a registered Public Benefit Organisation, Botanical Education Trust is a respected and established funder in the environmental and research space.

However, while Botanical Education Trust’s impact was significant, its digital presence did not reflect the importance or credibility of its work. Botanical Education Trust’s core challenge was visibility.

As a funder of research, the Trust needed to:

• Be discoverable to researchers seeking grants
• Clearly communicate its mission, focus areas, and funding priorities
• Present itself as credible, contemporary, and accessible
• Provide a clear digital “shop front” for grant applicants and partners

At the time, Botanical Education Trust lacked a solid website and coherent digital identity. Its online presence made it difficult for potential applicants and stakeholders to quickly understand what the Trust funded, how to engage, or how to apply for support. While inviting donations via the website was a secondary objective, credibility and clarity were essential.

How the engagement worked

I was engaged as a marketing and communications consultant to help Botanical Education Trust modernise its brand and build a digital foundation aligned to its purpose.

The work focused on creating simple, sustainable, and future-proof assets, not flashy design, but clarity, relevance, and usability. Every decision was guided by Botanical Education Trust’s role as a research funder: credibility mattered more than noise.

In addition, differentiation was critical. Botanical Education Trust operates in a crowded conservation and research landscape, with several organisations carrying similar names and overlapping mandates. Part of the engagement therefore focused on sharpening Botanical Education Trust’s positioning, clarifying who they are, what they fund, and why they matter, so researchers, partners, and funders could immediately distinguish Botanical Education Trust from other players. Clear branding and precise messaging were essential to ensure Botanical Education Trust stood out for the right reasons.

What I delivered

I led a full brand and digital rebuild, ensuring Botanical Education Trust’s public presence matched the value of its work.

This included:

• Brand evolution and identity refresh, updating Botanical Education Trust’s existing logo and creating a more relevant, contemporary brand identity
• New Brand guidelines, enabling consistent use across communications
• Website strategy, design, and copywriting, translating complex environmental and research work into clear, accessible language (https://botanicaleducationtrust.org.za/)
• WordPress website build, designed to be lightweight, sustainable, and easy to maintain
• SEO-friendly structure, ensuring Botanical Education Trust could be discovered by researchers and partners searching for funding opportunities

I handled the design and copywriting end-to-end, working to ensure the site felt authoritative without being academic, and accessible without oversimplifying the work.

A digital platform built for purpose

The new website was designed first and foremost as a functional funding platform, a place where researchers could quickly understand:

• What Botanical Education Trust funds
• Why the work matters
• How to apply for support

Secondary to this, the site also created space to:

• Invite funding and support
• Share the Trust’s story and values
• Strengthen Botanical Education Trust’s visibility within the conservation and research ecosystem

Simplicity was a deliberate choice. The result was a platform that reflects Botanical Education Trust’s quiet authority and long-term commitment to conservation.

The impact

• Botanical Education Trust now has a credible, modern digital presence aligned to its role as a research funder
• Researchers can clearly understand funding priorities and pathways
• The Trust is more visible and discoverable within the conservation and academic ecosystem
• Communications are more consistent, streamlined, and easier to maintain
• Botanical Education Trust’s impact is now supported by a digital platform that works as hard as the organisation does

What this says about how I work

This engagement reflects my approach to organisations doing serious, long-term work behind the scenes. I specialise in helping impact-driven institutions modernise their brand and communications without compromising credibility, depth, or integrity.

I build platforms that are purposeful, restrained, and sustainable, especially where trust, clarity, and reputation matter more than volume or visibility for its own sake.