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Evening Talk and End-of-Year
function. |
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Our final evening talk for the year will be on
Thursday 26 November 2009 at the Rietvlei Education
Centre at 7.30 for 8.00pm |
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The students will be reporting back briefly on their
projects, and Bongani Mnisi, Area Manager of the
City of Cape Town’s Biodiversity Branch, will give
an illustrated talk on how Rietvlei fits into
biodiversity picture for the northern part of the
city : “Rietvlei – a Piece in the Puzzle of the
Northern Area of the City”. |
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This is also our last function for 2009, so our
tradition is to have a festive “bring and share”
evening. Please could you bring a plate of eats, and
drinks will be available. All members and their
friends are welcome. For queries please phone
Pauline on 083 255 2537. |
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DIEP RIVER ESTUARY MANAGEMENT PLAN |
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At a meeting of the Rietvlei Management Working
Group on 8 September, Lynn Jackson joined the
committee to discuss the implementation of the
Estuary Management Plan. The main discussion was
exactly what the next steps are and how the process
is to be taken further. So please take note of the
following: |
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PUBLIC MEETING |
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Implementation of the Estuary
Management Plan (EMP) for the Diep
Estuary, Milnerton, Cape Town |
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The final draft of the EMP for the
Diep Estuary was submitted to the
authorities in December, 2008. The
focus has therefore now shifted
towards implementation of the
priority activities in the Action
Plan which comprises part of the
EMP. The priority activities
include: |
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• |
The legal status of the Nature
Reserve. |
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• |
Development of a new by-law. |
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• |
An assessment of the sources of
pollution in the stormwater drains
along the East Bank of the estuary. |
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• |
An assessment of heavy metal
pollution in the estuary. |
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• |
Development of an invasive species
management plan |
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• |
Studies related to the management of
water flows in the system |
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Funding. |
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Date: 3rd December, 2009 |
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Time: 18:00 – 20:30 |
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Venue: Blaauwberg Subcouncil Chamber
in Bridle Road, Milnerton (opp The
Paddocks Shopping Mall). |
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DIEP RIVER PROJECT |
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We are happy to announce that Henk Louw has
been appointed to the position of Site Conservation
Officer for the Diep River. Henk was working on
Gough Island and returned to South Africa in mid
October and he started in the job in late October.
Henk graduated from Cape Peninsula University of
Technology with a National Diploma in Nature
Conservation in 2006, he did his practical year at
Zandvlei in the southern Peninsula. In 2007-2008 he
worked on Marion Island for the Department of
Environment Affairs for 13 months as a field
assistant and environmental control officer. After
that stint the Royal Society for the Protection of
Birds appointed Henk as senior research assistant on
Gough Island where he has been involved in various
research projects. Some of you may remember Henk as
he assisted with the clean-up at Rietvlei after the
December 2006 fish die-off. |
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We welcome Henk and wish him well in his new job –
we are sure that he will make a positive
contribution to the conservation of the important
Diep River Corridor. And we hope that he will share
his experiences on Marion and Gough Islands with
some evening talks! |
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Potsdam Bus Depot for Integrated Rapid Transit
System. |
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An integral part of the Integrated Rapid Transit
System now being built along the R27, is a bus depot
at the northern end of Potsdam Road. This will be
one of two large bus depots in Phase 1A, the other
is at Culembourg, where buses will be housed,
serviced and cleaned. |
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This depot will be situated in “The Stables”
industrial area west of Potsdam Rd just north of
Doornbach and Du Noon. The facility will provide
valuable employment opportunities to the people of
Doornbach and Du Noon, which can only be welcomed,
but it is also next to the Diep River and the
effects of this development on the river needs to be
closely monitored. |
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The first EIA for developments at the depot is for
the installation of a 480 000 litre underground
diesel storage facility on the site. The Friends of
Rietvlei has registered as an Interested and
Affected Party and will be closely involved in the
EIA process. |
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Expansion and Upgrading of Wastewater Treatment
Infrastructure in the Blaauwberg Area. |
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This important matter which we reported on in our
previous newsletter has now also been discussed by
the Blaauwberg Subcouncil, with a further report at
the November meeting. At this stage we do not have
any additional news, except to assure all our
members that we are keeping our ears to the ground
and will respond and act when necessary. |
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Alien Vegetation Hacked on Saturday 17 October |
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We tackled some aliens in the Rietvlei Wetland
Reserve on Saturday 17 October. A small but
effective group gathered at Paddocks parking lot and
proceeded to the area for clearing in the vicinity
of the southern side of Otto du Plessis bridge. We
started early so that the rest of the Saturday was
free. Muscle-power, tree poppers and soft ground
after the rains enabled the team to clear a 600sqm
area in two hours. Whilst the area is a bit obscured
by long grass, there are still many more Port
Jackson’s sprouting up and it would be a good idea
to get another hack together to continue the good
work. |
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In and Around our Rietvlei Education Centre…… |
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• |
We have decided to sponsor the cost of having a baby
dolphin mounted. The dolphin was picked up at Big
Bay some time ago shortly after it died and was
washed up on the beach. Unfortunately the mounting
procedure takes some time. A second otter has also
been in the taxidermy process and should appear in
the centre soon. |
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• |
Some beetle has attacked our woodwork so that will
be attended to by beetle exterminators soon. |
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We have appointed a consultant to prepare the
artwork for our information boards. This is to
replace the boards that were on display for many
years in the wooden “huts”. These stands will also
be renovated. |
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The recycling project that intern, Conette Koorts,
has established is working well with the contractor
removing the recyclables weekly. Please remember
to bring your glass, plastic, metal, paper and
cardboard with you when you visit Rietvlei. |
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Energy Efficiency or Energy
Reduction |
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Energy efficiency has been
described as a renewable energy
resource that is perfectly
cheap, abundant and immediately
available. It can reduce carbon
emissions and reduce our
dependence on imported energy
resources. It does not pollute,
and it does not depend on the
weather like solar and wind
power.There are several ways of
improving energy efficiency in
your home – here is another tip: |
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Your hot
water geyser
uses over a
third of
your monthly
electricity
consumption;
micro-managing
your geyser
can reduce
the load
considerably.
Here’s some
tips to
reduce your
geyser’s
energy
consumption: |
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• |
Switch the
geyser off
between
06h00 and
21h00, and
when you go
away on
holiday. |
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• |
Turn the
thermostat
down to
60ºC. |
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• |
Insulate
your geyser
and pipes. |
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• |
Shower
instead of
bathing. |
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In our next newsletter we will
have another energy efficiency
tip for you. |
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| Thanks go to Chevron Refinery for
sponsoring envelopes for the posted newsletter. |
