by KBergReserve

WALK REPORT

West Bank Roundabout - Tim Attwell The weather forecast promised a clear but chilly day. Well, it was clear, but certainly not chilly at Fairy Glen when we set off across the R44 and the bridge over the Palmiet River to pick up the path which took us southwards along the west bank of the Palmiet River towards the sea in the distance. The aim was to have tea at the mouth of the Palmiet Estuary and return via a path which took us away from the river through Overberg Dune Strandveld, Hangklip Sand Fynbos…
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by KBergReserve

TALK REPORT

Ants of Southern Africa - Andrea Benn Referring several times to his new book” Ants of Southern Africa – The Ant Book for all”, Peter Slingsby introduced his presentation by answering the question “Why ants?”! Peter, a naturalist at heart, with interests in plants, animals and even the tiny creatures, found that there was no book recently published on the subject. From early years he had kept his own Ant menagerie under the stairs at home. At 15 he was given a small book ‘The Study of Ants’ by Dr S H Skaife who had…
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by KBergReserve

PRINGLE BAY HACK REPORT N0 127

It felt like a hurricane wind was blowing, on 27 August, as we tackled the invasive vegetation on the verges of the gravel portion of Hangklip Road in a south-easterly direction.  At stages the wind reached speeds of 59 km/hour (During tea-time!). But nothing could stop these hackers today! Due to the sensitivity of the conservancy on the eastern side of the road, it was important to clear the verges, where the invaders were busy creeping up from the west. After 1,100m the hack group had cleared the whole area and it already look much…
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by KBergReserve

BETTY’S BAY HACK REPORT NO 653

On a lovely early Spring morning, we continued with the clearing of the Public open space on Vlei Road of Rooikrans and Myrtle. Some of the troops tackled the verge of Porter drive that we did not get to when we were working there. Some large Myrtle bit the dust! There are still some isolated enemies here and there on both sites but these will have to wait a bit. Betsey Joubert provided the sandwiches and Jane Fearnhead the tea, thank you ladies. The hackers were: John Benn, Martin Bench with sons Sean and Michael,Tom…
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by KBergReserve

PART ONE: THE LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY OF A PROPERTY USER/OWNER FOR PLANTS

In the last year that I have been participating in the hack and as a committee member of the branch, my knowledge of plants of the area has slowly been increasing.  With the help of experienced hackers and colleagues who are willing to share their knowledge openly I have started to feel more confident about identifying some of the more onerous aliens of the area.  Having said that, as a land owner, there is a lot of legislation and requirements to wade through regarding the responsiblities of iradicating alien vegetation. So here follows the first…
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by KBergReserve

FUTURE EVENTS

TALKS PLANNED FOR 2017 Saturday 16th September. David Davidson will again fascinate us with his account of the 2017 Chelsea Flower Show where the S.A. Stand again won gold and also the Royal Horticultural Society's award. In the Nivenia Hall at 18:00 Looking ahead: In November Dr Roger Parsons will talk on the water crisis facing Cape Town.  Roger, from Pringle Bay, is a hydrogeologist. WALKS PLANNED FOR 2017 Saturday 16th September: Meet in the car park of Harold Porter Gardens at 9am. For further details please contact Tim Attwell 082 343 2501 Barbara Jenman: …
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by KBergReserve

WALKS PLANNED FOR 2017

16th September 2017: Oudebos, Kogelberg Nature Reserve Spring has sprung! Time to explore. We will take the path to the Oudebos forest in the Kogelberg Nature Reserve – through splendid Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos, surrounded by towering mountain scenery and into the Oudebos Afrotemperate Forest where we will have tea beside the river in the forest, then return. The path is the first part of the famed Oudebos to Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens traverse. Here are a few important advisory notes: To get the best out of this trail we will have to maintain a fairly…
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by KBergReserve

SOUTH AFRICA AT THE 2017 RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW

  This month the branch has invited David Davidson to once again share his experiences at the 2017 RHS Chelsea Flower Show.  His talk will lead us through the behind the scenes action of the 2017 show, including the excitement around Kirstenbosch’s double win! David’s early years were spent growing up in the African bush of Zimbabwe and Zambia, which gave him an abiding love of nature.  His professional career started in psychology and clinical social work but a diploma in public relations was what finally enabled him to apply for the position at the…
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