Wildlife Rescue

Rescue advice for baby birds If you come across an abandoned nest or baby, the best thing to do is not to act at all for a while, unless it is an obvious situation like a young baby fallen out the nest. In such a case, pick the baby up gently and put it back using a cloth to keep the human smell off it. Otherwise, keep your distance and watch. Perhaps the parents are away catching food and will return. Perhaps the baby has just fledged and the parents may be sitting just out of…
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PRINGLE BAY HACK REPORT N0 129

Today 29 October 2017 the Pringle Bay Hack Group tackled the old Hospital site, plot 496 and cleared the greater part of the plot of mainly Rooikrantz. We were surprised to see the wide spectrum of natural Fynbos that does exist on the ridge of this plot. The Wild Olive is impressive! Thank you guys for a good achievement, but there is plenty more left to clear! We will tackle that at a later stage. Today the attendance was good and the following 24 members performed the hack; Louw Toerien, Andree Henning, Neil and Penny…
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Kogelberg Branch of the Botanical Society’s Survey of Members’ Interests

Everybody’s got one... One of the benefits of belonging to the Botanical Society is that you can make a difference – and it’s not what you think. You don’t have to be a botanical wonk or a natural science geek to make the Kogelberg Branch of the Botanical Society of South Africa even more successful. This ‘Survey of Members’ Interests’ will help us all get an idea of the many ways we can work together in the Kogelberg Branch of the Botanical Society. From combating alien invasive plants to helping our get togethers to be…
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TALK REPORT  

South Africa at the 2017 RHS Chelsea Flower Show David Davidson 16 September 2017 By Andrea Benn Despite protest marches, road blockages, forecasts of inclement weather and a possibility that we may have to cancel the talk, David’s presentation attracted a good crowd. His stories about Chelsea 2017 were informative, his photos were inspiring, and the humour he brings into his Chelsea experiences had us laughing on several occasions. He has the ability to make the two-week long Chelsea experience come alive. During the pre show setting up week a tiny aperture in the stretched…
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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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FINDING NEMBA: THE QUEST FOR COMMUNITY CONSERVATION

- Rea Borcherds  It was always going to be a challenge ¨C taking a topic as unappealing and dense as an unwieldy Act of Parliament (in this case NEMBA, the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act,) and trying to make it palatable and intelligible to your listeners.  Tim Attwell rose to the occasion splendidly on Saturday 15th July, as evidenced by the appreciative tributes he received from his audience, who had defied a bitterly chilly night to attend the talk on this daunting subject. Tim sugared the pill by deftly framing his topic into a quest,…
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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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