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

SO MANY THANK YOU’S

- Merrilee Berrisford Saturday 29th July, an evening of exciting Antarctic exploration, a wonderfully happy and convivial Betty’s Bay occasion but also an evening which resulted in two ring-fenced additions to the Kogelberg Branch’s account, R7100 for environmental education and R4000 for the Hack. It all started with Judy New’s travels to Papua New Guinea years ago which prompted her to give a fundraising travel talk. ‘Slice of Ice’ is Judy’s fifth fundraiser for Kogelberg Branch. We can only say a huge thank you to her for entertaining us and also enabling us to support…
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by KBergReserve

MANAGING FIRE RISK WITHOUT LOSING THE PLOT

- Tim Attwell The chainsaws had been at it all morning. The ‘plot clearing’ contractor’s crew was taking no prisoners. So I went to see what was going on. Reducing the fuel load and fire risk on a vacant plot makes sense. The Overstrand Fire Department is justly praised for their heroism when wildfire breaks out and for their vigilance before it does. Part of that vigilance involves notifying property owners when their plots constitute a fire hazard. And there are a lot of them. Some sport masses of alien invasive species waiting to burn, especially…
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by KBergReserve

PART 2: Green Gold: Looking back for a healthier and sustainable future: An overview of South Africa’s medicinal plant resources

- Dr Gary I Stafford Part two of Dr Stafford’s article on medicinal plant resources in south Africa asks, ‘What is African Traditional Medicine?’ The Draft National Policy on African Traditional Medicine in South Africa (DRAFT NATIONAL POLICY on ATMSA, 2008) defines African traditional medicine as follows: 'African Traditional Medicine is a body of knowledge that has been developed and accumulated by Africans over tens of thousands of years, which is associated with the examination, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, prevention of, or promotion and rehabilitation of the physical, mental, spiritual or social wellbeing of humans and…
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by KBergReserve

GREEN GOLD: LOOKING BACK FOR A HEALTHIER AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURE – AN OVERVIEW OF SOUTH AFRICA’S MEDICINAL PLANT RESOURCES (PART 1)

-Dr Gary Stafford This article is the first of a two-part series by Dr Gary Stafford on South Africa’s medicinal plant resources. “The extraordinary floristic diversity in southern Africa is not only one of the region’s greatest natural assets, but also one of the botanical wonders of the world.” Regions of floristic endemism in southern Africa: a review with emphasis on succulents (Van Wyk and Smith, 2001). Dr Gary Stafford was born in Harare, Zimbabwe and studied botany and ethnobotany (the scientific study of the traditional knowledge and customs of a people concerning plants and…
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by KBergReserve

BOOKS FOR HANTAM NBG

- Merrilee Berrisford Judy New’s last Botsoc fundraiser was dedicated to buying a collection of books on the environment for Harold Porter NBG and also for the Hantam NBG. Betty’s Bay resident and branch member, Karin Fry, was on a flower trip with friend Caro Attwell (both regulars at our talks); they visited Nieuwoudtville and there in the Park, Karin was able to hand over the collection to Curator Eugene Marinus. We understand the Garden’s library is the old sitting room of Neil and Neva McGregor’s house, a good place for our books.
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by KBergReserve

AGULHAS IN THE SPRING

- Rea Borcherds The Betty’s Bay Branch of the Botanical Society organised a three-day visit to the limestone and lowland fynbos and renosterveld of the Agulhas Plain. A group of 17 local botanical society members set out on 21 August, visiting the Cape Floral Kingdom Expo at Bredasdorp en route. Arriving at the Agulhas National Park in drenching rain, we gathered around a roaring fire in our Lagoon House accommodation for supper and a comprehensive presentation by Dr Allan Heydorn on why the Agulhas Plain is so interesting: geographically, ecologically, historically, and archaeologically. This is…
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by KBergReserve

WHO REALLY BENEFITS FROM FEEDING GARDEN BIRDS?

Charles and Julia Botha Charles and Julia Botha are the authors of Bring Nature Back to your Garden and Bring Butterflies Back to your Garden. Both their books have won book prizes from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. With their kind permission, we reproduce an article written and adapted by them for Environment from one by the same authors entitled Food for thought; who benefits from feeding birds? Africa Birds & Birding, 2009, 14 (3) 36-41. The article has appeared in our Newsletter in three parts. Here is the third and final part. For many years…
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by KBergReserve

A POSTER COMPILED BY MY FATHER, THE LATE PROF. ALLAN F P J HEYDORN, FOR AN EXHIBITION BY THE BETTY’S BAY WILDFLOWER SOCIETY IN ± 1970

Alan Heydorn (This text was prepared by Allan Heydorn at the suggestion of the Kogelberg Branch of the Botanical Society of SA, February 2016) The comments below are written from memory and the date ± 1970 might not be absolutely accurate. What is correct is that my father, who was an electrical engineer by profession, was a great nature lover with a very special interest in plants and their distribution in relation to habitat type. Where did this interest originate? In the early years of his professional life, my father worked for the electrical engineering…
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