Our Latest News
Zandvlei Trust with Orms and Pam Golding Properties 2024 Photo Competition
Do you love photography and capturing the beauty of the Zandvlei Area and its surrounds? If so, we have a competition for you: the Zandvlei Trust 2024 Calendar Competition is now open. First prize 1 x R2000 online printing voucher at ORMS Second prize
Natural Solutions to Water Quality Issues in Zandvlei
Assoc. Prof. Deena Pillay and MSc students Kelly Gilmour and Olivia Murgatroyd (30th Sept) Exploring nature-based solutions to human-induced problems affecting Zandvlei Estuary.
Fynbos and Fire
Dalton Gibbs Our natural landscape is a fire landscape - why does it burn, how do plants and animals cope, should we live in a fire prone landscape?
Entrepreneurial Shark Science
Justin Blake How a pandemic created opportunity in conservation.
Immersive Ocean Conservation Education
Connecting young minds to the ocean via community-level conservation and transformative experiences. Katherine Wallis and Kelly Gilmour
Science, poetry and nature
We owe it to our children, ourselves and the Earth to get the environmental message across. Let the voice of poets come to the rescue! - Dr Ian MacCallum
Zandvlei Talks – 26 Sept to 1 Oct 2022
We are excited about our upcoming Zandvlei Talks Programme. A whole week of fascinating talks and a great opportunity to learn more about the vlei. The series of talks takes place during school holidays so also a wonderful opportunity for high school students interested in
BoSSIES: People are Doing it for The Strandveld
The BoSSIES project was started in 2007 as a partnership between the Zandvlei Trust and the City of Cape Town. The idea was to plant indigenous species along local sidewalks with the aim of reconnecting people with – not just nature as it is, but
FynbosLIFE: Where There’s Fynbos, There’s Life
By Caitlin Von Witt Wintertime means planting season and so it’s been all systems go for us these past few months. In March FynbosLIFE was contracted by the internationally funded “SOS Rapid Response” active restoration project run by Friends of Tokai Park, for the project’s
The Quandary of the Pondweed
It is no secret that our beautiful vlei is facing serious challenges which appear to have increased rather drastically over the past few years. Sewage leaks (mainly) have caused an overload of nutrients into the system, resulting in murky water, a shift in aquatic plant
ZVT news pump: Pump Stations – Getting Pumped Up
In early August the rusting Clifton Road pump completely failed and Muizenberg Beach had be closed while Council fixed it and did its best to “honey suck” the fetid flow. You could smell the $#!% around there for days. Failing sewage pump stations have been
How the “litter monsters” were born
Previous chair of the Trust, David Muller, spearheaded the move to create art-installation litterbins at the litter hot spot of Thesen’s Bridge across The Narrows near the estuary mouth. They were supposed to be otters, but turned out the artist-welder Innocent Kasanhayi had no idea
Litterers Never Sleep
The metal litter grille upstream of Marina da Gama: unfortunately theft of the surrounding traps results in overspill of trash that has to be caught downstream. The planned bio-filter will be situated between here and our current nets. Although we have not been
Litter Matters: In the Net
As we go to press the CoCT is installing channel-wide nets in the Lotus River canal to catch the storm of litter that washes down that neck of the Cape Flats and into Zeekoevlei. If you thought our litter problems were bad you’ve not seen
Vrygrond Sunbird Garden
After months of procrastinating (mainly about how to secure a garden space in an informal settlement where anything of material value that is not bolted down grows legs), Vrygrond resident Neville Williams’s dream of creating an indigenous garden in his hood materialised on what was
Westlake Garden
After several years’ neglect we have focused efforts on cleaning up our Westlake garden. This indigenous garden was one of the first projects that brought the Trust together more than 30 years ago when the ground opposite the Lakeside shops was a rubbish dump and
Nature Notes And News: A New Species for the Vlei
With the long mouth opening and corresponding extremely low water levels in June, an exciting find was made in the mud flats adjacent to Night Heron Island (the small island due west of the Park Island bird hide). Reserve manager Kyran Wright came upon a
Photo competition: Zandvlei in Focus – Give It Your Best Shot
Do you love photography and capturing the beauty of the Zandvlei Area and its surrounds? If so, we have a competition for you. First prize 1 x R2000 online printing voucher at ORMS Second prize 1 x R1000 online printing voucher at ORMS Third prize
Help Care for the Vlei – Join the Trust
The Zandvlei Trust’s strives to enhance the benefits of the nature reserve for all and aid in its conservation. These objectives can only be achieved by means of your participation and involvement. We need your support and assistance to make things happen. Become a member,