Main conference program

Event	Date	Time	Venue or Pick & Drop Location
Welcome Cocktail	07-Sept	18:00 - 21:00	Stias, Stellenbosch
Conference presentations	8-10 Sept	See conference program below	Stias, Stellenbosch
Gala Dinner	10-Sept	18:30 - 23:00	Stias Stellenbosch (Middelvlei Farm, Stellenbosch)
Technical Visit	11-Sept	08:00 - 18:00	Stias, Stellenbosch (Swartland, Moorreesburg OR Lourensford, Somerset West)

 

Additional  / fun events

Event	Date	Time	Venue or Pick & Drop Location
Preconference Tour	5-7 Sept	07:00 - 18:00	Paul Sauer building, Dept of Forest and Wood Science, Stellenbosch
Morning mountain hikes	8 & 9 Sept	07h00-07h45	Maties Gymnasium, Coetzenburg Rd (see details below)
Wine tasting and dinner	9 Sept	17h15 - 20h00	Stias, Stellenbosch (Delheim Farm, see details below)

 

Program for conference presentations

Please click on the following link to download the draft program for oral and poster presentations: Conference presentations program

 

Welcome Cocktail (18h00, 7 Sept)

The welcome cocktails will be at the conference venue, STIAS Wallenberg Research Centre, 10 Marais Road, Stellenbosch.

 

Gala dinner (18h30, 10 September)

The Gala dinner will be on the Middelvlei Farm, situated on the north-western edge of the town. Participants will be collected with a shuttle at the Stias conference centre at 18h30 and dropped again at the end of the evening (before 23h00). Go to the Registration page to register and pay on or before 1 September 2026.

 

Technical visits (08h00, 11 September)

There will be two technical field trips on the same day. Participants can select their preferred trip on the first day of the conference, at the registration table.

One group, focusing on hardwood products participants, will visit the Swartland hardwood factories in Moorreesburg (see https://www.swartland.co.za/). It is a company that manufactures various wood products – but mainly doors and windows from both hardwoods and softwoods. They serve both the export market (USA and UK) as well as local markets. Raw materials include okoumi (Gabon), eucalyptus (Uruguay and South Africa) and pine (South Africa). On this trip a scenic route will be followed through the Drakenstein mountains, via the town Tulbagh, and back through the town Riebeek West where there will be lunch at the Kloovenburg wine estate.

The other group, focusing on the wood quality modelling participants, will visit the Impact Open Air laboratory in Somerset West (https://eucxylo.sun.ac.za/open-air-lab/) and the historic camphor trees at Vergelegen wine farm (https://vergelegen.co.za/nature).  The IMPACT OAL (Intensive Monitoring of Planted And Competing Trees Open-Air Laboratory) is a flagship research plantation. The idea is examining how Eucalyptus responds to the environment, as well as abiotic and biotic stress, at a large-scale through intensive, long-term monitoring. State-of-the-art measurement techniques including robotics, drones, underground camera systems, and several other techniques will be demonstrated. There will be a lunch at Millhouse Restaurant at Lourensford.

 

Morning mountain hikes (07h00-07h45 on 9&10 September)

Start your morning with a fresh 45-minute hike on the contour-path on Stellenbosch mountain with magnificent views of the town and mountains surrounding the town. Meet the walking group at 07h00 at the Maties Gymnasium entrance, on Coetzenburg Rd. If you would like to join on one or both of the mornings, please message Bruce Talbot (+27 67 796 1382) so that he can add you to the walking Whatsapp group.

 

Wine tasting and light dinner (9 Sept, 17h15-21h00)

Join us for a wine tasting and light dinner at Delheim farm (https://delheim.com/) close to Stellenbosch. The co-owner, Victor Sperling, will lead the tasting and tell a few stories about the wine, the farm, and the pine forests that were planted by his father almost 7 decades ago. A light dinner in the form of cheese and meat platters will be served.

There is limited space for the wine tasting and dinner (50 people). To make sure you get a space, please message Bruce Talbot (+27 67 796 1382) so that he can add you to the wine tasting Whatsapp group. The cost for the tasting and dinner is R300 – payable at the wine farm per credit card. Shuttles will collect people at Stias and drop them again, after the tasting, at Stias or their accommodation.

NB – You need to send a confirmation Whatsapp to Bruce before 13h00 on 8 September to join the wine tasting, as the farm need to prepare the food beforehand.