by KBergReserve

FUTURE EVENTS

TALKS PLANNED FOR 2017 Saturday 19th August. Peter Slingsby, once the publisher of our newsletter and author of several books, will speak on Ants, the subject of his most recent publication. In the Nivenia Hall, HPBG at 18:00 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…
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by KBergReserve

JOIN US AT THE RETREAT AT GROENFONTEIN

- Merrilee Berrisford I was in  the Klein Karoo last week, and stayed at The Retreat at Groenfontein in the foothills of the Swartberg. Last spring I was there, mostly on hands and knees looking at flowers, I felt it would be a good place for a Kogelberg Branch stay. There are two possible plant people who could guide us. As John Rourke says, it is not a really botanically rich spot but it is Klein Karoo, different. There are special places on the way where we may meet to botanise. Rates are very reasonable with deductions…
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by KBergReserve

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE KOGELBERG BRANCH OF THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA JULY 2017

- Merrilee Berrisford, Chairman. People are at the core, the heart of any organisation. Today we honour the memory of one of the very foundation bricks of Kogelberg Branch, Jill Attwell. Jill, in her nineties, died peacefully earlier this month. We knew her as a writer, hacker, fynbos gardener and visionary. She was our first Honorary Life Member of BotSoc. Jill and her husband, conservationist the late Bo (Roelf) Attwell together made a huge contribution to promoting the natural environment. It just happens that we are about to publish as an e-book, Jill’s history of…
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by KBergReserve

THE WEDNESDAY HACK

More work was done at the R44 site just outside Betty’s Bay. It is now very clear that the group is winning that one. Several people commented on the progress, so it is obvious to all that we are making an impact on the environment. Work also commenced on the pine infestation on the slopes between Pringle Bay and Rooiels. Please join our Facebook group, ‘Hackers of the Kogelberg’ to view more photos and keep up with Hack events
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by KBergReserve

JOIN US AT THE RETREAT AT GROENFONTEIN

- Merrilee Berrisford  I was in  the Klein Karoo last week, and stayed at The Retreat at Groenfontein in the foothills of the Swartberg. Last spring I was there, mostly on hands and knees looking at flowers, I felt it would be a good place for a Kogelberg Branch stay. There are two possible plant people who could guide us. As John Rourke says, it is not a really botanically rich spot but it is Klein Karoo, different. There are special places on the way where we may meet to botanise. Rates are very reasonable with deductions…
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by KBergReserve

WALKS PLANNED FOR 2017

Saturday 15 July 2017: Botanical Ramble above Fairy Glen No, we won’t be scaling the heights of the plateau and the shale band on the slopes of the Three Sisters peaks. We’ll stay a little lower, check out the waterfalls and streams and the fynbos that is coming into late winter bloom. Beautiful views, discoveries and a good place to stop for refreshments. Maximum benefit for minimum strain. Meet at Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens at 09h00. We’ll be back by 12h00. Enquiries: Tim Attwell 082 343 2501 Barbara Jenman 082 338 4109
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by KBergReserve

TALKS PLANNED FOR 2017

Saturday 15 July (AGM): At our 2017 AGM meeting, Tim Attwell will speak on “Finding NEMBA: Adventure into Community Conservation”. At 18h00 – Nivenia Hall, HPBG. The talk will introduce people to aspects of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA) of 2004, the NEMBA Regulations of 2014 and current efforts by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) to encourage and enable partnerships between organs of State, civil society organisations, business and private citizens in giving effect to the provisions of NEMBA and the NEMBA regulations. Items discussed will include: Reducing fire risk Saving water…
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by KBergReserve

ANNUAL FUNDRAISER 29 JULY 2017 A SLICE OF ICE – ADVENTURES IN ANTARCTICA

Betty’s Bay’s Judy New is a great traveller. She is also a great presenter of those travels. Over the years we have enjoyed her journeys to Papua New Guinea, the Richtersveld, Central Kalahari, Peru - and now the destination is Antarctica! Judy and cousin, Sue Goodman, a photographer, went on a voyage to the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands; together they will convey to us the excitement of icebergs, penguins, elephant seals, high snowy peaks, and intrepid explorers. Date:      Saturday, 29 July 2017 Time:     18:00 Venue:   Nivenia Hall, Harold Porter Gardens Tickets:…
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by KBergReserve

WALK REPORT

Beach GeoHike with Dr John Rogers - Merrilee Berrisford Icy wind blew along Silversands Beach, chilling to the bone assorted naturalists, amateur geologists and just beach people following John the geologist. Anyone know how to recognise a yardang? It’s a coppice dune eroded (deflated in geology speak), and there they were! Barbara Jenman and I thought we’d never noticed them before. Were they the work of the storm? And a coppice dune is a small dune on its own, with grass growing on the top. Then there was the elaborate wind-etching on the side of…
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