The Zandvlei Trust

The Zandvlei Trust needed a new website. But since our Executive Committee members are all volunteers and none of us is very technically wired, we decided we needed help and plenty of it!

When Mike Cormack passed away in 2010 he made a generous donation to the Trust and we were able to use part of his kind donation to fund the digital help we need.

Firstly, we went to Katerina Sonntagova, who designs our Newsletters, and this led us to Jon Pullen of Lucid Websites. Thank goodness for them! They’ve helped, cajoled and dragged us kicking and screaming into the modern digital arena in the form of www.zandvleitrust.org.za. However, the old site still exists and information on it can now be accessed through this new site.

Besides Katerina and Jon we also owe thanks to Chris and Monique Fallows, Craig Strachan, Evanne Rothwell, Gareth Hubbard, Gavin Lawson, Greg Morgan, Jeremy Byren, Marcel Witberg, Robin Burnett and Wilbert McIlmoyle. They have all contributed, either with pictures or other inputs to this website.

Thank you all very much!

 
Peter Kruger
Chair – Zandvlei Trust

A joint pilot project working together to restore urban river corridors in order to support biodiversity.

Catchment areas : our lands and water bodies (rivers – streams) are linked in a natural system – a catchment – which is literally the area of land that catches water and directs it to a stream, river, lake or ocean. Thus, a catchment is the land where water collects as it travels from Source to Sea. As this water travels through the catchment it interacts with a network of people and nature.

But what does it mean to be part of this intertwined network?
We use the land around urban rivers for agriculture, industry, recreation and living. Plants and animals also use the rivers and would not be able to survive without them. A change upstream impacts all of the human and natural communities downstream. Rivers connect us. They link communities, create opportunities to be outdoors with friends and families, shape a sense of place that tie people together and support and protect local plants and animals.

Urban rivers are fragile – every time we change the flow of water or add in a concrete channel, we lose critical habitat for the many different species that live in and near the river, and the flow of the river speeds up. This creates more risk to floods and erosion. Waste from pets, lawn fertilizers, litter, paint, soap – anything we let touch the ground in the catchment can be washed into the waterways. This pollution not only kills species that live in the water, but also reduces water quality and affects both plant, animals and humans – negatively affecting the biodiversity.

The Source to Sea pilot project, an initiative within the broader management of the entire Zandvlei Catchment, connects Table Mountain National Park, a nationally protected area, to Zandvlei, an important estuary and municipal protected area via two primary river courses along the Diep and Prinskasteel / Keyers Rivers. These corridors meander through high, middle and low income areas, connecting residents, businesses, schools, sports clubs and faith institutions and challenging a wide range of stakeholders to be part of this transformative vision to restore healthy ecosystems, create jobs, build climate resilience and offer substantial recreational and mobility benefits.

For more information and update see the linked pdf

 
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[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”no” min_height=”” hover_type=”none” link=””][fusion_text]One of ZVT’s active projects, Village Heights Community Centre (VHCC) in an informal area Lavender Hill, also works closely with another organisation, Projects Abroad which brings volunteers from around the world to share their skills and services with this impoverished community. They are currently building a computer and craft –making rooms.

ZVT members get to meet a variety of cultures and nationalities – as do the residents of Village Heights – always an enriching experience.

In August 2017, three new volunteers put their heads together to work out a way to help the community centre on a long term basis. They came up with the idea of creating a new website for VHCC which will be situated on the Projects Abroad website – but with this link https://katanakah.wixsite.com/villageheights it can be accessed right now.

The innovative and clever foreign volunteers are:

Anne from Luxemburg who writes:

“I am doing Community Township Project in VHCC for 17 weeks. While volunteering, I want to experience another culture and get to know the life stories of people living in a township. My goal is to help the people, especially the children in need and bring them closer together. I want them to take a break from their daily problems and have a good time with each other. Every time I make a child smile I know why I am here. I want to make a change in the way people see each other, with the goal that they understand that they should not turn against each other, but live together in peace. Most people think they are on their own, but in the Centre we try to change their way they see their lives and we support them in every action towards a better life. With the privilege of coming from a first world country, I want them to feel that they can achieve everything they want if they have the right motivation. They should know that we are there to help and support them. I am open to answer every question and I am willing to help. The world cannot be changed in one day, but little by little we can all work together towards a better tomorrow.

Jordan’s story – from UK:

I decided to volunteer with Projects Abroad in Cape Town. I was motivated by a desire to use the skills I had acquired during my studies, to benefit, and hopefully assist people in desperate circumstances. During my placement in Village Heights Community Centre, I have had the privilege of working with a vast array of people, from all walks of life, who all have as a common goal the desire to help others. I have been involved in an array of projects, from running legal clinics for the people of Village Heights, to assisting with soup kitchens, and planning how the resources at the Community Centre can best be used. This has been an immensely rewarding experience. As I prepare to return to the UK, I believe my time spent here has a huge impact on me as and I will leave Cape Town determined to continue making a small difference in some of the world’s poorest communities, wherever they may be. For this reason, I will be undertaking a Masters Degree in Disaster and Crisis Management over the next year, following which I hope to secure a job with an international charity or NGO. It is my hope that this will lead to a career, which like Village Heights Community Centre, is focused upon helping others.

Hiroki – who is Japanese – and the main creator of the website writes:

I’m working as a volunteer of Projects Abroad in VHCC and I will stay here for 3 months. Before, I had been helping refugees who had been escaping from Libya by ship in Italy for 2 months. The reason for my decision is to see the situation about refugees, immigrants around the world and I’m thinking that I ‘d like to make refugee people’s dreams come true in the future. Therefore, I’m taking leave from my university for 1 year so that I can use of these activities in my major (Diplomacy) when I go back to Japan. My work is to make a new website of Village Heights and hold basic business class (Excel, Word, Power Point, Typing) and with some local people make a soccer team of kids and design interior of Village Heights. When I came here first time, I was surprised by the gap between poor and rich in this city. I didn’t know what to do but I have understood my role as I get used to it. I am gradually pleased to finish up little by little by doing what I can do. It was really good experience for me through these activities.

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The Muizenberg Festival is a two week celebration (1 – 15 October) of the greater Muizenberg area, showcasing its rich diversity of creative arts, natural environments, music and perfromances of all kinds.
 
This year, with the growing participation and interest in the festival we have programmes that represent 8 Festival tracks including jazz, comedy and film.
 
Amongst the festivities is the Zandvlei Environmental Week, organised by Zandvlei Trust and the Zandvlei Nature Reserve. This set of events focus on the wealth of natural beauty that we all share: the mountains, the sea and of course the estuary.
 
Mark Arendse, educational officer for the Zanvlei Nature Reserve, is heading up the educational activities; which will take place during the school holidays, between the 2nd and 6th of October. The Zandvlei marquee tent will be set up in the Muizenberg Park, opposite the police station. There will be activities, talks and presentations between 10h00 and 15h00 each day. For further information, please contact Mark Arendse on 021 7017542
 
The Environmental Week will also include a talk and discussion with Professor Kevin Winter on the future of water on 4 October, 18H30, at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences. Also of note is Hemporium’s Tony Budden sharing everything you need to know about hemp. The talk is at False Bay college on 3 October, 18H30.
 
This year the theme for Muizenberg Festival is “Celebrating Water.” We will honour water at events including:
• The annual Muizenberg Festival Parade: www.muizenbergfestival.co.za
• Science-Citizen Dialogues: Monday (9 Oct), 18H00 @ Masque Theatre
• Film Screening: A return to the sea, Voyage, Home, and Mighty Fist
 
For the full programme, see our new calendar, powered by Get Out Get South: http://www.getoutgetsouth.co.za/muizenberg-festival.html

Members of the Zandvlei Trust have donated generously to the project to clear the invasive plants which are threatening the natural vegetation on the western side of the Zandvlei Nature Reserve. We started working on this project on 13 September and should take about two or three weeks for the immediate problem plants to be cleared.

Some of the plants that occur naturally in that area are;

 
Disa bracteata – A ground Orchid endemic to Eastern and Western Cape
Holothrix villosa – A ground Orchid endemic to Eastern, Western and Northern Cape
Psoralea glaucina – Bloutee. Endemic to the Cape Flats. Critically endangered
Sparaxis bulbifera – Airleaf Satinflower. Endemic to the Western Cape. Threatened by ongoing habitat loss to urban expansion on the Cape Flats
Trachyandra flexifolia – Endemic to Western and Northern Cape
 

There are 3 populations of Psoralea glaucina in this section of the Reserve.

The plants that we are trying to control are;

Vicia or Vetch, Osteospermum monoliferum (Bietou) used to be Chrysanthemoides moniliferum and Morella cordifolium (Waxberry). Waxberry and Bietou are pioneer indigenous species that do become invasive if they have the right conditions.

At present have three people working on this project. They are working under the supervision of Noel Kuiler – the gardener at the Westlake Garden. These workers are from the informal settlement called Village Heights.