WESSA - 90 Years of People Caring for the Earth

whale coast CONSERVATION

a trip down memory LANE

establishing RESERVES

Whale Coast Conservation is one of the environmental organisations officially affiliated to WESSA. They have an extensive network and rally to get the Overberg community involved in their conservation initiatives.

The WESSA Knysna Branch is very proud of their involvement in establishing two reserves in Knysna: The Pledge Nature Reserve, and the Brenton Blue Butterfly Special Nature Reserve. They are also associated with the Steenbok Nature Reserve on Leisure Isle. The Knysna Branch campaigned for the protection of the elephants in the Knysna forest and published the book by Margo Mackay on The Knysna Elephants and their Forest Home which raised more than R350 000. These proceeds were used for environmental education in the Garden Route. Copies of this book are still available. WESSA is also a founder member of the Knysna Basin Project, aimed at protecting the Knysna Estuary from degradation and pollution and preserving the unique nature of all its features. ••• Pledge Nature Reserve This beautiful reserve in the heart of Knysna is a tranquil gem showcasing the indigenous vegetation of the area. Visitors are most welcome during daylight hours at a small fee. Miss Daisy Eberhard took over the Brownies in 1927 and needed space formeetings. In 1929 the Knysna Council fenced off a portion of ground for her use in Bok se Kloof just behind the Main Street and she said it was a beautiful area with a clear stream flowing through it (also known as Brickmaker’s Kloof). This had been the only brickfield in Knysna until the 1920’s. When the Brownies left for a new home, the kloof was unused until 1988 when a group started clearing the area as a community project, led by Kito Erasmus, a forester and town councillor and Margo Mackay from WESSA. In 1989 the transformation, with the intention to clear this for a reserve, began under Margaret Addinall and her team. All the rubble, dumped items, thorn bushes and unwanted alien vegetation were removed. Three huts abandoned by the Voortrekkers were converted into a curator’s house and office and store room. Margaret Addinall became the first curator of the reserve. Sponsors were sought and S C Johnson & Sons in Johannesburg agreed to donate money. The reserve was named after their furniture treatment product ‘Pledge’. Knysna Council was the other sponsor along with WESSA who formed a management committee and later also formed a trust to ensure the future of the reserve. The Local Authority Reserve was gazetted in 1991 and covers an area of 10 hectares. A WESSA Knysna member – Pat Nurse - serves on both the trust and the management committee with Mervyn Crous as the manager. The aims of the Pledge Nature Reserve are to encourage biodiversity, to protect the indigenous vegetation and animals, showcase treasures in the reserve and protect the environment. ••• The Brenton Blue Butterfly Special Nature Reserve The Brenton Blue Butterfly Reserve was proclaimed as a Special Nature Reserve (BBSNR) by the national government in July 2005, and falls under the control of Cape Nature. The Brenton Blue Trust (BBT) Established by private individuals and NGO’s in 1994, after years of petitioning the authorities, with the principal aim of conserving the endangered Brenton Blue butterfly, the BBT achieved its primary objective of having the habitat at Brenton on-Sea declared as a nature reserve. Its funds are

The Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve provides the backdrop for this photograph that was taken by Keith Cooper (now Director of Conservation for the Society) at a planning meeting at Umgeni Valley in 1974. The people in this photograph later played significant roles in the shaping of South African society.

Flashback

applied to management of the BBSNR and research into the butterfly. The BBT’s longer-term goals are to expand the area of the reserve from 1.5 hectares to 15 hectares with the cooperation of the Knysna Council. Organisations on the trust include The Lepidopterists’ Society of South Africa, WESSA, the Endangered Wildlife Trust and Cape Nature. A WESSA member – Lorna Watt – serves on both the trust and the management committee. Recently the trust expanded its mandate and sees to the protection of 15 threatened Lepidoptera species throughout South Africa. The management techniques applied have been most successful and butterfly numbers have increased satisfactorily. Their aim is to maintain this good record. The reserve is not open to the public as it is utilised for research purposes only, but those with a particular interest can contact the trust for a guided walk when the butterflies emerge each season. ••• Steenbok Nature Reserve on Leisure Isle This delightful reserve was established on the edge of the Knysna lagoon, on the site of an early town golf club. It is open to the public at all times at no cost. The reserve covers a precious area of 17 hectares and forms part of the greater Knysna Protected Environmental Area regulated by SANParks in terms of the National Environmental Protection Management. It boasts beautiful areas of saltmarsh, coastal dune and coastal thicket vegetation, tree copses featuring Knysna forest trees and small ‘cultivated’ garden sections. It is managed by Roger Voysey who is assisted by the Friends of Steenbok Park Trust for funding, a Management Committee and a Planning Committee on which WESSA’s Lorna Watt serves. Why save butterflies? Butterflies are an integral part of the natural ecology and many other species depend on them for survival. Butterflies help to pollinate flowering plants and are prey for a wide variety of predators, such as spiders, birds and lizards. A number of butterfly species have complex relationships with other insects, such as ants, which protect and feed their larvae, in return for a sweet honeydew-like substance, which the butterfly larva secretes. A wide variety of human art forms, such as painting, poetry and literature, draw their inspiration from nature, with butterflies being one of the most eye catching, charismatic animals. Even music, literature and theatre have incorporated the iconic beauty of butterflies, for example, Puccini’s famous “Madame Butterfly” and Vladimir Nabokov’s novels, such as “Lolita”. The uplifting effects of the beauty of butterflies on the human psyche are well-documented. It would be the greatest tragedy for future generations if butterflies were to become merely mythical figures mentioned in historic literature and art. Source: www.brentonblue.org.za

Walking for Water, March 2016

BACK ROW: Sibusiso Nyembezi, Bongani Bophela, Nolly Zaloumis, David Hatton, Liz Hatton, M. Nyembezi, Garth Owen-Smith, Douglas Y. Zimu, Otty Nxumalo. FRONT ROW: Sibusiso Bhengu, Irene Hatton, Mlindeli Gcumisa and Don Richards. Prof Nyembezi (became Professor: African languages at Fort Hare University), Nolly Zaloumis (became a president of the Society), David Hatton (now President of the Society: 1997), Garth Owen-Smith (First ACE coordinator, now running community conservation projects in Namibia), Douglas Zimu (became the Secretary: KwaZulu Education Department), Otty Nxumalo (now Director General: KwaZulu-Natal). Sibusiso Bhengu (now National Minister of Education), IreneHatton (nowworking in theNatal ParksBoardplanning division), Mlindeli Gcumisa (previous ACE coordinator who became a senior publisher in African languages) and Don Richards (became senior field officer at the Umgeni Valley Project and well known environmental education figure, now working in Kenya). Thephotographsymbolises theearlypersonal commitment that contributed to the Society’s environmental education projects. This was significant at a time when environmental education was not fashionable. The photo reveals a different perspective on the developing Society’s work and is an example of an ‘intangible human shaping process’ which makes projects like this special.

Learning about mushrooms, May 2016

Fairies in the Milkwood Forest, November 2015

40 | 90 years of people caring for the earth

41 | 90 years of people caring for the earth