April 26th, 2012
The Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a division of Bloomberg LP, helped the Friends of the Liesbeek plant 40 trees and weed out alien vegetation along the banks of the Liesbeek River. The trees were donated to the organisation by SANParks tree nursery, based in Newlands. The Friends of the Liesbeek wishes to thank all the volunteers from Bloomberg for their time in commemorating Earth Day (which was on the 22nd April), by helping us along the river. In total, 15 Wild Olive, 15 Cape Holly, 5 Assegai and 5 Cape Beech trees were planted along the river from Sans Souci Road to the cleared banks opposite the Wild Fig. We look forward to working with all of you again in the near future.
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Bloomberg volunteers getting stuck in, and who for some were planting their first tree.
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The volunteers did a great job planting trees along the river!
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Nobody said volunteering was glamorous, as this group from Bloomberg tackle weeds along the banks of the Liesbeek River.
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One of the two teams from Bloomberg which volunteered, with Jason and Ntobeko from the Liesbeek Maintenance Project.
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April 1st, 2012
We have just emailed out latest newsletter – its also available below for your convenience
Autumn 2012 Newsletter
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March 30th, 2012
A message from WESSA
Dear all
Opportunity to make comment on Land Use Planning Bill
The Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEAD&P) have advertised the new Land Use Planning Bill for public comment until Thursday 5 April. Incorporated are changes to the Provincial Spatial Development framework (PSDF).
As the implications of such new legislation are significant you may want to send in a comment to the Department. With this in mind WESSA will have a focused discussion session this coming Monday 2 of April from 3 – 5 pm at the WESSA Barn – 31 The Sanctuary, Kirstenhof, Cape Town.
We apologise for the lateness of this invitation but the closest Departmental public meeting took place just a few days ago in Stellenbosch.
In brief, the Department says:
• The existing structure plan is outdated
• Planning legislation needs to be more closely aligned with the constitution
• New trends and policies need to be taken into account
• The old plan was too prescriptive
• There have been difficulties aligning municipal SDFs with the PSDF
• The new LUPA (Land Use Planning Act) would be very different from the old (1985) LUPO (Land Use Planning Ordinance) which would be superceded
• The idea is to have a one-stop-shop for “streamlined” development applications
• Credible forward planning is a major driver
• The roles of province and municipality need to be clarified
• There has to be a planning system that works for municipalities of different capacity
• The act will have defined principles and objectives
• There will be an independent Land Use Planning Board that will try to arbitrate conflicts
More detail and implications will be provided at the discussion session along with possible response templates.
If you can’t make it to the meeting but would like notes, a copy of the bill, or other information please contact us.
Best wishes,
Patrick Dowling
Regional Head: Education, Training & Public Capacity Building
Tags: land use planning, LUPA, WESSA
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March 29th, 2012
Re-planting of the cleared section along the Liesbeek River in Observatory will commence on the 2nd of April, in accordance with the arrangement between Friends of the Liesbeek and Cape Nature’s Working for Wetlands program. A number of local indigenous plant species will be planted along this section, the majority of which will be various groundcovers and small shrubs. The reasoning behind using these types of plants along the bank, is to prevent a repeat of the past where dense stands of tall vegetation decreased the safety of the public and offered cover for unwanted, anti-social behaviour in a public open space. Another reason is that by using low growing vegetation, we allow for the continued existence of a visual connection between people using the path and the river, which had never existed when the alien vegetation was present. There is also the potential of creating a path right next to the river in the near future. While it is agreed that area is not looking at its finest, we again ask for your patience in this matter as the processes we are going through are a neccessary evil in order to achieve the long term goals of rehabilitation and restoration along the river.
Should have any comments, questions and/or suggestions please feel free to contact
info@fol.org.za
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March 19th, 2012
It came to the attention of the Friends of the Liesbeek that there was a growing concern from residents in Observatory of the increased growth of Indian shot (Canna indica) along the river bank next to the Liesbeek Parkway, opposite Valkenberg Hospital ground. This plant had completely invaded the whole river bank, allowing little else to grow amongst it and providing cover for people wanting to partake in certain anti-social behaviour. This added cover also provided shelter for a number of vagrants, many of whom were found to be hostile to people walking their dogs or simply enjoying the space next to the river.
To try and combat these issues, the Friends of the Liesbeek together with the department of City Parks, devised a plan whereby the Indian shot would be treated with a herbicide and then cleared away once it had died. The herbicide used was found to have great success on indian shot along the Lourens River, which is also undergoing rehabilitation.
The Friends of the Liesbeek is now actively involved in having the dead vegetation removed from this area and getting various agencies to play their part in re-planting the area with indigenous vegetation. However, during this time we ask you to please bear with us as the area will look brown and barren for the next couple of months.
Should you have any further queries or want any further information regarding the project, please contact info@fol.org.za
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March 15th, 2012
SAB Newlands will be organising and hosting a fun run or “dash” this Saturday the 17 March, to help raise funds for the work being carried out by the Friends of the Liesbeek. If you would like to find out more about the run please visit the following link http://www.topevents.co.za/index.php?sectionID=191
The South African Breweries has been instrumental in funding the start up operations of the Liesbeek Maintenance Project and their continued support has allowed the project to grow to the success it is today.
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January 19th, 2012
The health of a river is often determined by the quality of the water that flows along its course. Due to differences in geology and vegetation, rivers around the country vary with regards to what is termed “healthy”. For example rivers in the Western Cape tend to have a lower pH (more acidic) than rivers up country. To account for these differences in the chemical characteristics of rivers around the country, scientists have developed the South African Scoring System (SASS). Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: water quaility
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January 11th, 2012
For most of us the sight of lush green-leafed tress hanging over a gentle flowing river, invokes a sense of serenity and calm. However, it is true what they say, that “too much of a good thing is bad”, and this is exactly the case of the trees along the Liesbeek River. To be more specific we are talking about the alien trees along the Liesbeek, of which there are many. Alien trees by simple definition, are trees that do not originally occur within a specific geographical area and here in lies their success. They are able to out-compete our own native species because they might be better suited to the environment (e.g. fast growing) and they also have no competition or predation. Within the Western Cape, the majority of alien trees mostly originate from Europe and parts of Australia where water is readily available throughout the year. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: liesbeek, water quaility
Posted in Environment, On the Liesbeek | 7 Comments »
November 17th, 2011
We often receive calls from people regarding incidents on the river.
CONTACT PERSONS AND NUMBERS
Tags: contact numbers, displaced persons, emergency, incidents, newsletter, pollution
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