MEET THE TEAM
The Lady Birds team is passionate about nature, has vast knowledge about their environment, especially the Southern part of Africa. They spend most of their time outside, whether it is for work, or for pleasure. Hard work and dedication have built the business to where it is today.
Owner & Managing Director
Mariaan Claassen
Growing up on a farm deep in the isolated areas of the Northern Cape, Mariaan developed a deep love for nature from a young age. She is a very caring person, not only for nature, but for people as well. She has more than 8 years of experience in ornithology consulting, in which she has developed a vast knowledge not only with birds, but also plants, invertebrates and animals. Mariaan's goal in life is to lecture her employees and fellow citizens to be sustainable and caring of mother nature.
CEO & Managing Director
Jacob Claassen
The leader of the pack. With experience of more than fifteen years in conservation, ornithology and environmental consulting, Jacob is passionate and his knowledge of nature and working with people is vast. He is excellent with managing our rich African variety of cultures. Jacob has a straightforward approach in his working environment. He is a registered guide, and also has experience in the fight against poaching from being stationed as one of the Team Leaders for Advanced Anti-Poaching at SANParks.
Safety Officer
Brandon Ruiters
Starting off as a gardener and all-rounder after college, Brandon quickly ranked up as Jacob's PA and right-hand man. Learning the ins and outs of the business, he's a staunch teammate. Brandon also knows the LBJ's of the Karoo quite well, as he is trained to do live bird monitoring. Brandon showed that starting at the bottom, you can achieve greatness with all out hard work and punctuality.
Supervisor - De Aar 1 (Maanhaarberg)
Edwill Plaatjies
Edwill joined The Lady Birds in 2021 at De Aar 1 Maanhaarberg and have shown great skill ever since. This site's terrain is probably the most difficult terrain of all and require excellent planning skills to meet the targets every week.
Supervisor - De Aar 2 (North)
Colin Ramapulani
Colin runs the Biodiversity Monitoring team at De Aar 2 Wind Farm since 2018. Colin have been with The Lady Birds since the start and have grown with the company, showing phenomenal leadership with his team.
Supervisor - Perdekraal East
Luyanda Mdleleni
Luyanda have joined the The Lady Birds team in 2021 as a Biodiversity Monitor at Perdekraal Wind Farm. He worked his way up to site Supervisor at the end of 2023, after showing great skill. Luyanda is a hard working person and gives his absolute best every time.
Supervisor - Kangnas
Danzel Engelbrecht
Danzel joined The Lady Birds in 2021 and was promoted to site Supervisor in 2022 after showing great potential. Danzel also has a great interest in HSE and do the monthly HSE Audits on the other teams for The Lady Birds.
Supervisor - Loeriesfontein 2 & Khobab
Shantel Lewis
Shantel is running the Biodiversity Monitor Team on Loeriesfontein 2 and Khobab Wind Farms for the year 5 monitoring which started in 2024.