overstrand_conservation_02

FEBRUARY 2013

NEWSLETTER 2:2 wcc@ocf.org.za

www.whalecoastconservation.org.za

028 316 2527

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Eco-Schools Award Ceremony (Green House opening postponed) Walker Bay Adventure Day Blue Flag Beach Summer Invasive Wasps ‘Botany Belle’ Barker Thank you to anonymous donor

ECO-SCHOOLS AWARDS CEREMONY Opening of the Green House postponed The official opening of the Green House and the talk by Scott Ramsay have had to be postponed to a later date due to some unavoidable delays with finalising requirements for access to the premises from the R43. We will set another date for the official opening as soon as this is in place.

However, we will still host the Eco-Schools Award ceremony, demonstrate our off-grid technology and introduce our exhibits for the 2013 ‘waste’ theme that forms part of the sustainability project funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund. All our schools, members and friends are invited to join us for the demonstrations on Tuesday 12 February from 14h00.

The Award Ceremony will start at 15h00 and you are invited to stay for refreshments and a chat afterwards. The Whale Coast Eco-Schools have once again achieved excellent results. Come and find out just how well they have done and join with us in congratulating them.

Fairy art from up-cycled waste

SUPPORT FOR RHINO PROJECT ENDS IN ADVENTURE

The Whale Coast Rhino project ended the year on a high note with a Rhino Adventure Day hosted for the two winning school groups in the Rhino Awareness Campaign. The winning teams were from Applewood Preparatory School in Grabouw and Hermanus Primary School. Applewood had focussed the whole year on learning about rhino conservation and the ugly dynamics of poaching. Each grade group created an artwork that was sold at an art auction evening where R40 000 was raised.

The money will be donated to reputable agencies that work towards rhino protection.

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The Hermanus Primary School group cleverly devised a colouring-in competition for the younger learners at their school and the older learners wrote messages and letters of support to security personnel. This will be sent to the unit as an encouragement to the men who are fighting rhino poaching in the area.

The adventure day started with sea kayaking in Walker Bay, courtesy of Walker Bay Adventures. The Overstrand Training Institute hosted team building exercises for the group in the Hemel & Aarde Valley.

Southern Right Charters then treated the group to a boat trip on the last operating day of the year, which was a huge treat. Two Southern Right Whale cows and their calves were spotted very close to the boat. This was definitely a highlight. We would like to acknowledge the generous sponsorship of these companies for the success of the day.

Walker Bay Adventure Day; Photo: Sheraine van Wyk

END OF ANOTHER SUMMER SEASON ON THE BLUE FLAG BEACHES With summer days becoming shorter and the new school year already in full swing, it might be interesting to look back at another summer season on our three Blue Flag Beaches. The Overstrand Municipality spends a lot of effort and money on achieving the desirable accreditation. Is it worth it?

According to Jan Schuurman, who was a franchise-holder on two of the beaches, and who canvassed the opinions of beach-goers on a daily basis, they were full of praise for the amenities they found – the cleanliness of the beaches, the spotless ablution facilities, the excellent lifesavers, the high quality informational material and the excellent security presence.

Those visitors who were aware of the quality assurances given by the Blue Flag status, confirmed that this was a factor in their choice of beach and that they found everything as expected and were Grotto beach and Klein River Estuary. Photo: Beach House impressed with the high standard of beach facilities. And so was the man from WESSA who came to do the quality assessments.

All the effort was certainly worth it.

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Grotto Beach now also offers a beach wheelchair for the disabled thanks to the efforts of the Hermanus Access for Citizens Committee. This is the only wheelchair of its kind along our coastal route stretching from Cape Town to George and can easily be pushed on sand.

As in past years, Whale Coast Conservation provided the environmental education component of the Blue Flag requirements. Each year WCC rolls out a programme of lessons and activities to school groups at several of the Overstrand beaches. The environmental education programme includes not only school outings, lessons and activities but also the creation of information boards which can be seen at the beaches. The annual International Coastal Cleanup week is also part of the Blue Flag environmental education programme. Many school and community groups pick up litter which is subsequently sorted and tallied and thus informs us about the types of litter found on our beaches. This information has led to projects that address the most obvious litter problems. For example, when it was observed that one of the most common litter items was the cigarette butt, receptacles for cigarette butts with appropriate signage, were erected at the Blue Flag beaches. WCC staff members also do presentations on Blue Flag topics to various special interest groups like beach managers, Working for the Coast staff and educators.

The milkwood forest adjacent to Grotto Beach, locally known as Piet-se-Bos, is another outdoor classroom much used by our educators for lessons on the importance of forests, biodiversity and coastal ecology. The sterling work of the Cliff Path Management Group in caring for this fantastic forest cannot be overemphasised.

Well done to all our educators for your contribution to another successful Blue Flag season.

INVASIVE WASPS – YOUR ASSISTANCE NEEDED There are 2 species of invasive European wasps that have been seen in the Western Cape in recent years. The University of Stellenbosch is asking for assistance in estimating the extent of their presence in our area. Both alien species are medium-sized with yellow legs and black and yellow markings on the abdomen.

Alongside is the European Paper Wasp. Note the YELLOW antennae.

The very similar German or “Yellow Jacket” wasp has BLACK antennae. This wasp is often found in vineyards feeding on damaged grapes. It is very aggressive and will attack farm workers.

If you spot either of these wasps, please record the date and location, take a photograph and email it to: karlahaupt@sun.ac.za (Yellow Jacket) or pcbenade@sun.ac.za (Paper Wasp)

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‘BOTANY BELLE’ BARKER Belle Barker is the undisputed doyenne of Fernkloof Nature Reserve. She still helps to meticulously document the floral bounty of the reserve for the Hermanus Botanical Society’s herbarium, a worldrenowned facility for students of fynbos. Now in her 87th year, she still regularly walks the fynbos-clad mountains, imparting her amazing knowledge about fynbos to eager students, both young and mature.

On a recent walk with her ‘botany group’ on Lemoenkop she was delighted to be shown the commemorative plaque that has been sited at the bench erected in her honour. With one of the best views in Hermanus, the bench honours the dedication shown by her and her close friend Priscilla Drewe to conserving, studying and documenting the flowers of Fernkloof.

Belle is an inspiration to all who have had the privilege to have her as a tutor and mentor.

The following week Belle led a group of enthusiastic ‘students’ to the farm ‘Granton’ between Hermanus and Stanford to see the fire lilies (Cyrtanthus carneus) already in flower just three weeks after the Christmas fire. What an amazing example of regeneration – arising truly phoenix-like from the ashes. Everywhere there were signs of re-sprouting life – asparagus fern, leucodendrons, watsonias and Lanaria lanata. The last burn was about 16 years ago, so the timing of this burn was, thankfully, just right for fynbos ecology.

THANK YOU! Our sincere thanks to the anonymous donor who deposited R15,000 into the WCC bank account in September last year. We love you!

Compiled and edited by Anina Lee and made possible by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund.

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