Meet Our Team

Albert Froneman is a SACNASP-registered Avifaunal and Environmental Specialist with more than 27 years of experience managing bird–infrastructure interactions across South Africa. He holds an MSc in Conservation Biology from the University of Cape Town and is registered as a Professional Natural Scientist.

Albert has led avifaunal impact assessments and monitoring for numerous wind and solar energy projects, delivering both pre- and post-construction specialist studies. He is also an airport wildlife hazard management expert, having developed innovative strategies to reduce bird strikes and strengthen aviation safety at airports across southern Africa.

With strong expertise in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and a commitment to biodiversity conservation, Albert provides practical, scientifically grounded solutions that balance infrastructure development with the protection of priority bird species and sensitive ecosystems.

Marietjie holds a PhD in Zoological Sciences from the University of Pretoria (2007). She assists with strategic planning, progress reporting, and the review and finalisation of reports, while also conducting research for publication.

She brings more than 25 years of experience in research, lecturing and postgraduate supervision associated with several South African universities. Her academic contributions include over 80 scientific publications, both peer-reviewed scientific and popular, and presentations at numerous national and international conferences.

Currently Marietjie also serves as an extraordinary lecturer at the University of Pretoria, where she coordinates and teaches an honours-level course and supervises postgraduate students. In addition, she is affiliated with UNISA and WITS, continuing her commitment to postgraduate mentorship. She is involved with capacity building within AfriAvian Environmental, by facilitating, coordinating and supervising students that are associated with the company. She is also professionally registered with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP).

Robin is an Environmental and Conservation Scientist with 13 years of experience in South Africa and Canada with a strong scientific publication record across landscape ecology, ornithology and renewable energy impact assessment.

Technical expertise includes ecological statistics, GIS and remote sensing, climate and spatial modelling, and machine learning, with advanced proficiency in R, Python, GIS platforms, and Java. His professional focus areas include survey methodology, population dynamics, wildlife movement ecology, habitat and risk modelling, and science-based mitigation planning.

He has led multidisciplinary analyses that translate complex ecological data into defensible outputs for policy, permitting, and project design. Robin has contributed to high-profile findings on threatened and endemic species occurrence and conservation, recognised by UNEP/AEWA and Audubon, with direct relevance to conservation policy, environmental impact assessment, and strategic planning. He brings a strong track record of integrating rigorous science with practical implementation to support biodiversity conservation and sustainable development outcomes.

Lizandé is a SACNASP-registered Botanist, Terrestrial Ecologist and Environmental Scientist with more than 18 years' experience compiling and managing EIAs, SEAs, Basic Assessments, EMPrs, screening/fatal flaw assessments, biodiversity risk- and resource assessments, conservation action plans and biodiversity management plans for numerous projects in the agricultural, construction, conservation, foundry, mining and renewable energy sectors across South Africa.

She has also done several licensing applications for numerous projects relating to agriculture, aquaculture, atmospheric emissions, water use, waste management, geo-prospecting, bioprospecting and biodiversity permitting.

Lizandé holds an MSc in Botany from the University of Pretoria and has published several articles, both peer-reviewed scientific and popular, and presented at several national and international conferences. She has also lectured on biodiversity, ecology and environmental impact assessment at various South African universities. Lizandé is a member of the International Association for Impact Assessment South Africa (IAIAsa).

Megan is an avifaunal and biodiversity specialist with more than 12 years of experience in research, mapping and environmental consulting. She holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Cape Town’s Animal Demography Unit and combines scientific rigour with extensive field-based expertise.

Her experience includes seabird population research with the African Penguin EarthWatch Team, sustainable agriculture studies, biodiversity surveys and long-term ecological monitoring. She has held key coordination and communication roles in major citizen-science programmes (OdonataMAP, LepiMAP, BirdMAP) and served on the ADU Virtual Museum expert panel. A committed contributor to SABAP2, Megan has led and assessed atlassing workshops across Africa and Europe and has facilitated ecology courses and developed training materials.

Since 2020, Megan has worked in environmental and avifaunal impact assessment—conducting fieldwork, and compiling specialist assessment reports. Her capabilities are supported by additional qualifications including FGASA Level 1, First Aid Level 1, snake and scorpion handling, humane animal trapping, Global Environmental Management and NQF Level 5 assessment.

Megan now serves as an Avifaunal Specialist at AfriAvian Environmental, bringing scientific depth, practical field skills and experience in compiling high-quality specialist reports to the team. She is registered both with SACNASP and the Environmental Assessment Practitioners Association of South Africa (EAPASA).

Tasha holds a PhD in Zoology from the University of the Witwatersrand (2024) and brings five years of data-analysis experience to AfriAvian Environmental. Her academic background, extensive fieldwork and behavioural-experimental expertise form a strong foundation for her analytical and research-driven role.

She has contributed to projects assessing how artificial infrastructure influences avifauna, manages data sourcing and analysis, and regularly coordinates field teams across multiple study sites. Her research portfolio includes peer-reviewed publications on animal behaviour, circadian biology and the ecological impacts of artificial light at night, and she has presented her work at national and international conferences. She also serves as an Honorary Researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand.

In addition to her scientific work, Tasha has recently expanded her responsibilities at AfriAvian Environmental to include key administrative and financial functions that support essential company operations.

Caitlin holds an MSc in Zoology from the University of Pretoria, with a background in marine mammal ecology, specialising in the use of GIS and behavioural data to understand species distributions and habitat use in the Southern Ocean.

She has extensive field experience, including 1.5 years as a seabird ranger on Bird Island in the Eastern Cape, and a stint conducting ecological research on Marion Island in the sub-Antarctic.

Her experience in data collection and management, analysing complex ecological datasets, and applying spatial modelling techniques translates directly to her current work in avian ecology, where she supports spatial assessments and environmental planning for renewable energy developments. Caitlin brings a strong foundation in spatial analysis, ecological interpretation, and data-driven decision-making across marine and terrestrial systems.

Joshua holds an MSc in Zoology from the University of Pretoria and is currently pursuing his PhD with an AfriAvian bursary. He joined the AfriAvian team in 2023, where he focuses on spatial data capture and data analysis, and is responsible for GIS and the mapping of avifaunal sensitivities across projects.

With his PhD research, Joshua investigates spatiotemporal factors that shape collision risk for Black Harriers, one of Africa’s rarest raptors. By disentangling the climatic and ecological drivers of movement across the landscape, his work provides critical insight into how these birds interact with wind energy developments. The resulting data will underpin predictive algorithms designed to guide turbine placement and operations, helping wind farms reduce collision risk while supporting responsible renewable energy expansion.

Clarissa is a biodiversity specialist with nine years' experience in the conservation and renewable-energy sectors. She holds a qualification in Nature Conservation and Management from Centurion Academy, grounding her expertise in ecology, biodiversity and environmental management.

Her career is built on hands-on conservation work focused on species protection, habitat management and practical in-field mitigation. As a Senior Biodiversity Team Lead, she supervised biodiversity programmes for two South African wind-energy generation projects and became the first professional to implement a Shutdown on Demand (SDOD) protocol to safeguard endangered bird species.

Clarissa recently joined the AfriAvian team where she applies her knowledge and experience to training, mentorship and capacity building of field teams conducting post-construction fatality monitoring and observer-led SDOD protocols at operational wind farms across South Africa. She is passionate about empowering people through environmental education and believes meaningful conservation is driven by informed action and long-term stewardship.