by KBergReserve

Future Events

TALKS PLANNED FOR 2018: 19 MAY 2018 17h30 for 18h00 Pringle Bay Community Hall Dr David Gwynne-Evans: “Botanizing the Sky-Islands of Africa: Cape Verde, Kenya and Ethiopia"  Botanist, David Gwynne-Evans has been documenting the flora of some of the most spectacular peaks of Africa. The highest of these are known as sky-islands. Their flora is radically different to the surrounding landscape, being adapted to the extreme conditions posed by living at altitude. His quest to sample from the five highest mountains of Kenya include Mount Kenya where giant Lobelias and Senecios dominate the skyline. In the Simian Mountains…
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by KBergReserve

Botsoc Kogelberg Next Walk

19 May 2018 Do you know your Spatalla from your Paranomus? Or if you saw an Aulax cancellata, would you know it from a growth of Pinus pinaster? Happily these are not anatomical abnormalities. Apart from Pinus pinaster they are members of the family Proteaceae. Yes, Proteas. But they don’t look like it. Rod’s Trail is a familiar old friend, but it never fails to come up with something different and interesting. Easily accessible Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos, the jewel of the Cape Floristic Region, there is always something happening on the slopes of Voorberg. No…
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by KBergReserve

First NEMBA criminal case: Developer found guilty

State vs Granada Home Builders (Pinetown Case 601/02/2017) Laws take effect when they are enforced. See the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA) beginning to take effect. Read how collaboration between members of the public, the Department of Environment Affairs (DEA) and the Courts led to a successful prosecution under NEMBA and the eradication of a serious infestation of alien invasive species. Community conservation at work! Background The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) Biosecurity Compliance Monitoring unit in KwaZulu-Natal in 2016 received a complaint about a property infested with invasive species. On 12 May 2016,…
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by KBergReserve

Pringle Bay Hack Report No 134

On Earth Day, 22 April 2018, the Pringle Bay Hack Group convened at Drostersgat to celebrate our blessings in being able to do our bit for our beloved Earth. We tackled the monstrous Rooikrantz (it has been an eyesore for a number of years) at the Hangklip, Buffels and Stream roads intersection. That kept us very productive until teatime, whereafter we moved to the High-level and Flat roads intersection to tackle the ever-present Australian Myrtle. There was a lot of dragging to be done, because the branches were required for the reinforcement of the Pringle…
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by KBergReserve

Betty’s Bay Hack Report No 661

A good crowd attended the hack on an absolutely gorgeous day and, like last month, lots of Rooikrans and Spider gums bit the dust. Thank you all. Just a reminder to all, please cut low and poison every one of the enemy. Jim Russel and Bernard and Natalie van Wulven spent most of their day killing coppiced stumps. The tea was made by Merran Silberbauer, and the sandwiches by Christine Dreyer. Thank you ladies! The troops were: John and Andrea Benn, David Bossenger, Tom Dreyer, Jan and Betsey Joubert, Maarten and Hilary Mauve, Ulli Niemann,…
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by KBergReserve

Finding NEMBA: Adventure into Community Conservation

– By Tim Attwell  No, NEMBA isn’t an endearing little clown fish. That’s Nemo who wowed audiences around the world about the time that NEMBA first saw the light of day. Nemo’s eventful journey from the Great Barrier Reef to a dentist’s reception room in Sydney harbour and back, and his clown fish father Marlin, and regal blue tang fish friend, short-term-memory-challenged Dory’s desperate quest to rescue Nemo, is a great romp. It also carries an underlying message about people and the marine environment which environmental purists will no doubt find disturbingly anthropomorphic. No matter, it’s…
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by KBergReserve

The Wednesday Hack

Work continued on the slopes of the Klein Hangklip mountains between Pringle Bay and Rooi Els. During the month, 53 man-hack days were thrown at the enemy. We also did a follow up at Die  Stroompie. Hackers were: Tom Dreyer, Ed Silberbauer, Frik Potgieter, Jan Joubert, Ulli Niemann, Selwyn Botha, Louw Toerien, Chris Geldenhuys, Mike Begley, Jane Fearnhead, Mike Robinson, Willem Stiglingh, Chris Cadman, Nils Rottcher, Jack Wixley and Greg Mossner. Frik Potgieter – Convenor
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by KBergReserve

Walk Report – May 2018

– By Tim Attwell (21 April 2018) The great thing about the Hanneshoek Trail is its accessibility. It’s easy going, short and gets you into one of the most Protea rich areas around. Because you can take your time, that’s what we did. Situated on the lower mountain slopes above the Kleinmond Golf Course, this gem of a walk plunges you almost immediately into one of the most spectacular stands of Protea compacta, aka Bot River Protea, that you will find anywhere. It’s easy for us residents of the southern coastal part of the Kogelberg to…
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by KBergReserve

Talk Report – May 2018

Planting a seed: Life as an environmental educator – By Sheraine van Wyk, Whale Coast Conservation Manager (21 April 2018) After her talk and applause there was quiet as we digested all that Sheraine and her team do. Then followed  questions, and many of them. Sheraine leads a small team within the Whale Coast Conservation (WCC) NGO (see  http://whalecoastconservation.org.za/). Small in funding and numbers, it was an eye-opener to discover what this NGO does at schools and home schools with the help of adult volunteers.  Their motto, ‘Respect and Protect’, operates in four areas: Advocacy…
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