During late January, Professors Mike and Brenda Wingfield visited the Baviaanskloof area as guests of Living Lands and the Baviaanskloof Hartland Bewarea , with support especially from Justin Gird, Emily Lazenby and Luyanda Luthuli. The visit was exploratory in nature and part of a project considering the fungi associated with wood boring beetles on native Cupressaceae including species of Widdringtonia . Previous studies on these beetles on the Clanwilliam cedar, Cupressus cedarbergensis have led to the discovery of a number of species of Cryptococcus related to Cryptococcus wingfieldii and close relatives of the important human pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans . In this regard, the Baviaanskloof is particularly interesting as this area is home to Widdringtonia schwarzii , one of only three species of the genus occurring in South Africa. Other than an interest in Cryptococcus species associated with Widdringtonia , these trees are threatened by microbial pathogens such as the root-infecting Phytophthora cinnamomi and canker pathogens in the genus Seiridium , all of interest to research projects in FABI.