| EVENTS |
| Thursday, 22
November 2012:
Friends of
Rietvlei
End-of-Year
Function. |
| All are
welcome to join
us at the
Rietvlei
Education Centre
at 19h30 for
20h00 for our
annual year-end
function. The
students from
both Rietvlei
and Blaauwberg
Nature Reserve
will be
presenting to us
their final
reports on the
projects they
have done this
year. This will
also be a “bring
and share”
evening so
please bring a
plate of snacks
to share with
everyone. Drinks
will be
available for a
small donation. |
| DON’T MISS
THIS SPECIAL
2012 GET
TOGETHER. |
| Please
contact Pauline
on 0832552537 or
Pat on
0837014318 if
you have
queries. |
 |
| FRIENDS OF
BLAAUWBERG
CONSERVATION
AREA (BCA)
SUNSET WALK,
SATURDAY 24
NOVEMBER 2012. |
|
Join us for a
beautiful walk
and be rewarded
with gorgeous
views to
celebrate a
successful
conservation
year. Meet at
the Morning Star
entrance to
Blouberg Hill at
17h30 on
Saturday, 24
November 2012.
Bookings are
essential. |
| Contact
Friends of BCA
Secretary Ena de
Villiers on
enadv@absamail.co.za
or 076 335 1225. |
|
|
|
|
| Dr Frank
Wygold PhD.
BSc.(Mech Eng)
BSc.(Elec Eng) |
|
Frank Wygold,
long-time
champion of the
Paarden Island
Wetlands, passed
away peacefully
at his home at
the West Coast
Field Studies
Centre in
Brooklyn on 1
October 2012. He
was 81. |
|
Frank, who had a
doctorate in
physics and
degrees in
mechanical and
electrical
engineering, had
a life interest
in natural
history,
extending back
to his childhood
in Britain. He
started and
headed the
organisation,
Bioprobe, which
later became
SERO (Scientific
Environmental
Research
Organisation) in
Britain during
the 1960's. This
organisation had
mobile field
research
laboratories,
staffed and run
as
self-contained
units. |
Frank Wygold
with his
favourite red
tie |
|
Frank became
interested in
the Paarden
Eiland Wetlands
in 1984, when he
first visited
and saw the
potential to set
up a field study
centre as the
site offers
diverse habitats
in a small area.
Working under
the auspices of
the Friends of
Paarden Eiland
Wetlands and
using the
Paarden Eiland
vlei as his open
air classroom,
Frank signed a
lease with the
provincial
authorities in
2001 to convert
an unused
section of the
Brooklyn Chest
Hospital to run
his projects –
provided he
repair the
building at his
own cost. He did
so – at a cost
of R82,000; and
he provisioned
the centre with
microscopes and
computers. He
lived in his
‘cabin’ at the
end of the lab. |
|
He had been
running
environmental
and science
training for
schoolchildren,
particularly for
pupils from the
Cape Flats, at
the West Coast
Field Studies
Centre since
2001. Since he
began, more than
90,000 children
have visited the
centre. He won a
Cape Times
environment
award in 2001
for his work and
a medal of
honour from the
City of Cape
Town in 2009 for
his contribution
to the community
through his
environment
education of
underprivileged
schoolchildren
and his
entrepreneurship
skills for
semi-literate
adults. |
|
Frank also
served on the
committee of
Friends of
Rietvlei for
several years.
He assisted with
co-ordinating
educational
activities at
both Rietvlei
and Zoarvlei. |
|
Frank’s passion
had always been
education and
job creation;
and he believed
that by teaching
underprivileged
children the
wonders of the
natural
environment,
they will be
instilled with a
value system
that will see
them through
life. |
|
Frank Wygold –
you have left a
lasting
impression in
our community,
we will not
forget your
valuable
contributions to
environmental
education in
particular, and
conservation in
general. |
|
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|
TABLE BAY NATURE
RESERVE (TBNR) |
|
You may have seen the new sign
boards installed in various
places throughout the nature
reserve – in his quarterly
report Area Manager Koos Retief
reports that they installed 86
signs. These are standardised
signs with “Table Bay Nature
Reserve” as the main heading;
the subheading is the name of
the specific section – e.g.
Rietvlei Section, Diep River
Section, Coastal Section. Decals
on the sign indicate the
activities allowed and/or
prohibited in that section. |
|
Good news…. is that the new
Rietvlei office at last has
electricity. The staff have been
working in the offices for
several months, but without
electricity so they had no
telephone or network
connections. The new telephone
numbers will be available as
soon as the installations are
complete. |
|
BEST NEWS is that TBNR was
awarded the 2012 annual “BEST
NATURE RESERVE” status by the
City’s Biodiversity Management
Branch. Congratulations to Koos
and his team. WELL DONE!! |
|
|
|
A WET WINTER |
|
This winter the rainfall was
higher than the average winter
rainfall for the previous 12
years. This resulted in higher
flow rates and water levels in
the Diep River, causing quite a
lot of water hyacinth to be
washed down the river to the
estuary and out to sea. The
strong flows also brought down a
lot of litter, most ending up in
the lagoon and adjoining
beaches. This will unfortunately
remain a problem as long as
there is a culture that
littering is acceptable, a
culture that regrettably
prevails in some of our
communities. |
|
|
|
SPRING ARRIVED AT LAST, AND WITH
A SHOW OF COLOUR |
|
After it seemed as if winter
would never end, we finally had
a show of spring flowers –
bright colours all over the
place, and this is still
continuing! There was a spring
walk at the Milnerton Racecourse
Section of the Table Bay Nature
Reserve on 13 October. About 30
people enjoyed a lovely Saturday
morning viewing the area that
was burnt in March and seeing
the unique flora that have
appeared as a result of the
fire. The group also walked in
the southern section where one
area was burnt 2 years ago and
another 4 years ago. |
|
A few weeks earlier the botanist
who had originally surveyed the
Milnerton Racecourse area, Dr
Clive McDowell, again visited it
after an absence of 8 years. He
was impressed with the way this
section was managed, and also
discovered some plant species
which he thinks may be
unrecorded for the area, and
possibly quite rare species. We
are awaiting Dr McDowell’s
report with interest |
|
|
|
NEW INFORMATION SIGNAGE FOR
RIETVLEI |
|
Thanks to a generous donation
from Chevron, the Friends have
had new information signs for
Rietvlei designed. The signs
will provide information on
plants, animals, wetland system,
values and recreation. These are
now in the final stages of
preparation, the English
versions are complete and we are
just waiting for the final
Afrikaans and Xhosa versions to
be checked. As soon as they are
all ready, we will be able to
print and install the signs in
the information kiosks at
Rietvlei. These new signs will
be an updated replacement of
signs that went up around
Rietvlei in 1996. The old signs
were also sponsored by Chevron
(known as Caltex then) and
Friends of Rietvlei. |
|
|
|
RENOVATIONS AT RIETVLEI EE
CENTRE |
|
Chevron has also provided us
with funds to do some necessary
renovation of our Environmental
Education Centre. The roof
sheets needs replacing, and we
will also be replacing the steps
with a ramp which will enable
easier access for the physically
disabled (and the elderly!) to
the centre. At the same time the
information kiosks will also be
given some much needed repairs
and varnishing. |
|
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|
OUR INDIGENOUS GARDEN |
Our indigenous garden at the
bottom end of Grey Avenue is
improving gradually under Gail
McDonald’s keen attention. She
needs assistance and is still
looking for donations of
suitable plants or snips, as
well as any pair of hands keen
to help her in the garden. She
would also welcome watchful eyes
keeping the area free of damage
from dog-walkers and plant
thieves!! Have you visited the
labyrinth in the garden?
Contact Gail on 082 937 8759. |
|
|
RIETVLEI CONTACT NUMBERS:
Environmental Education Centre – 021 521 9900
Emergencies and standby number - 071 268 9637 |
