by KBergReserve

Pringle Bay Hack Report No 141-143

PRINGLE BAY HACK REPORT N0 141 Our final hack for 2018 took place on 25 November when we continued work on the plot next to the entrance of Pringle Bay for the fourth time. The hackers have now established that it generates more success if they work as a team. (See the first photo below.) The Spider Gums were falling with a regular rhythm, making steady progress. The two Pines that were left from the previous hack (because they were too close to the telephone line) are gone as well and the telephone line is…
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by KBergReserve

Betty’s Bay Hack Report No 668-671

THE BATTLE OF BETTY’S BAY: REPORT ON HACK NO 668 Many Rooikrans trees were taken out by the troops on a near perfect day. The Agnew family who own the property on the corner of Goucom Road and Beach Boulevard gave permission for the huge forest around their house to be taken out. This has been an eyesore for many years as well as a generator of seed, so it was glad tidings indeed. The tea was made by Merran Silberbauer, and the sandwiches by Di Knott. Thank you, ladies! Penguin Place again donated the…
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by KBergReserve

New Life in Fynbos

A photo-essay on fynbos regeneration Fynbos is rich in beauty and diversity – but must be renewed by fire to keep it that way. Fynbos goes through stages of growth between fires, ranging from 4-year intervals (grassy fynbos) to 45-year intervals (arid fynbos), depending on the type of fynbos. In our area, 10 to 15-year intervals are optimal. This hillside in Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos is about one year old. Time to begin again in Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos. Fire lilies – Cyrtanthus ventricosus. In the immediate post fire phase geophytes, such as Amaryllidaceae, are quick to…
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by KBergReserve

Walk Report – Oct 2018

Yes, our Botsoc Kogelberg monthly walk was indeed scheduled for the third Saturday of October – the 20th to be precise. And yes, a small group of faithful walkers did arrive at the Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens at 09:00 on that day. Things were going swimmingly – except for the wind, blowing great guns. A short conference ensued and consensus reached almost immediately. ‘Rain we can manage’, noting that our walks haven’t been rained out for years, but this wind is not worth it. So we promised each other that we would get together…
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by KBergReserve

Talk Report – Oct 2018

The Annotated Old Four Legs – The updated Story of the Coelacanth Dr Kerry Sink, 20 October 2018 South Africa is a country with an incredible marine biodiversity. Seeing the latest ecosystem map we could but wonder at the deep troughs and ridges the map shows. As a country South Africa is strategically positioned with territory in three oceans, the Indian, Atlantic and Southern. We are the only country in the world that can contribute to the protection of life in all three oceans. Near the land mass, the mixing of warm, cold, and even…
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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. Rooikrans were also hacked near the Milkwood forest at the mouth of the Buffels river. During the month, 86 man-hack days were thrown at the enemy. Hackers were: Tom Dreyer, Frik Potgieter, Jan Joubert, Bernard and Natalie van Wulven, Jeannie Harning, Ulli Niemann, Tim Attwell, Carol Wilson, Claude Moine, Selwyn Botha, Mike Beglly, Louw Toerien, Chris Geldenhuys, Jane Fearnhead, Mike Robinson, Bernie Becker, Willem Stiglingh, Chris Cadman, Nils Rottcher, Giel Maree, Barbara Silcock and Gaenor Lees-Rolfe. Frik Potgieter, Convenor
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by KBergReserve

Celebrating Women in Conservation

Helene van der Westhuyzen by CapeNature Meet Helene van der Westhuyzen, Conservation Services Manager at CapeNature. We spoke to her as part of our women in conservation series for August (Women’s Month). Nature conservation officials are the heartbeat of an entity like CapeNature and they deal with a range of responsibilities, including resolving conflict between humans and wildlife, promoting environmental awareness, implementing stewardship strategies with landowners, and ensuring that regulations relating to fauna and flora are correctly enforced. Conservation officials need to be physically fit as well as target orientated with the ability to work independently.…
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by KBergReserve

Future Walks

17 November 2018 Meet at Harold Porter NBG at 09h00 to share transport Enquiries: Tim Attwell, cell phone 082 343 2501 This one is really relaxed, and the focus isn’t so much botanical as avian. We’ll visit the bird hide in the Rooisand Nature Reserve. Naturally there are items of botanical interest – Cape Lowland Freshwater Wetland is a distinctive vegetation type. But the idea here is to hunker down in the spacious bird hide with a pair of binoculars, a bird guidebook and a cuppa which you have brought along in a flask. The walk…
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by KBergReserve

Upcoming Talks

Diarise these dates 17 November 2018 17h30 for 18h00 Topic: Major Changes in Botanical Art Presenter: Vicki Thomas Venue: Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens Our talk this month will be on botanical art so it seems a good opportunity to at last present our Ethel May Dixie paintings to you, our members. We will also display some of Vicki’s paintings, and others. From the moment she painted her first flower in watercolour in 1980, Vicki Thomas knew this would be a lifelong passion. Unusually, Vicki immediately started working with botanists, teaching herself botanical illustration along the…
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