JOIN THE FOL WORKSHOPS ON THE LIESBEEK
The Friends of the Liesbeek have recognised that a holistic plan to manage and rehabilitate the river needs to be drawn up, and all stakeholders need to be approached to develop the plan. To achieve this communication between all stakeholders needs to be frequent and open and that is why the FOL committee have organised a series of workshops to take place on the Liesbeek River.
We have divided the river into sectors and a workshop will be held in each sector. Workshops usually take place on a Thursday unless indicated otherwise, from 15h00 to 18h00 (depending on the event) and try to include an organised tour or event and a river walk in the first hour, and a structured discussion for the remainder of the time. If you want to participate in your sector or any other areas please RSVP to [email protected] or phone 0216715385 or 0846618264 for more information. Follow-up workshops will be held later on.
At our first workshop on the stretch along Kirstenbosch Drive to Paradise Road, a small group of residents braved the chilly weather to discuss what was happening along the river with Liesbeek Maintenance Project Manager, Jason Mingo, and Stellenbosch University Researcher and FOL Committee Member, Francine Becker. We were fortunate to have Councillor Elizabeth Brunette (Ward 62) also joining us for the workshop. A highlight of this area is the stretch of the Liesbeek River that is cared for by the Bishopscourt Village Residents. They are in need of financial support to carry on with the wonderful work they do and a request is made to support them.
The second workshop was held on another wet and chilly day, to look at the Paradise Road to Sans Souci Bridge sector. The input from residents and members of the Friends of Paradise Park, Bishopscourt Village Association, Newlands Residents Association and Councillor Ian Iversen (Ward 59), as well as FOL members, was very rewarding. The work done already by FoPP to restore Paradise Park to the lovely park that it was in the 80’s is another example of community involvement to maintain and rehabilitate open urban areas. The refreshments and walk guided by Vanessa Vermeulen, horticulturist, at the Vineyard Hotel certainly helped to make it a very pleasant and fruitful workshop. It is important that residents and other role-players to be informed regarding the environmental principles on managing and rehabilitating the river, and at the same time that we are informed of the needs and concerns of residents. From the first workshops we have also realised that a comprehensive planting list needs to be drawn up for each section of the river and a replanting program needs to be implemented as soon as possible. In addition it is vital that homeowners and developers along the river need to be informed regarding building regulations, especially regarding hardening of surfaces and dumping of building materials.
Please join us in this exciting new project on the Liesbeek. Workshops will take place as follows:
Sector 1: Kirstenbosch Drive to Paradise Road 31st May 2012
Sector 2: Paradise Road to Sans Souci Bridge 12th July and 2nd August 2012
Sector 3: Sans Souci Bridge to Albion Springs Wednesday 29th August 2012. This will include a Breweries tour and start at 14h00.
Sector 4: Albion Springs to Belmont Bridge 13th September 2012
Sector 5: Belmont Bridge to Rosebank Station 20th September 2012
Sector 6: Rosebank Station to Settler’s Drive 4th October 2012
Sector 7: Settler’s Drive to Two Rivers Urban Park 18th October 2012
INDABA Saturday 10th November 2012
The final workshop of the year will draw up a comprehensive general strategy for the Friends of the Liesbeek and clear, measurable objectives that specify what we want to achieve on the Liesbeek. These objectives will become the core of our Liesbeek Management Plan.
