Despite the slight but chilly wind that accompanied 25 parents and learners from Herschel Girls Preparatory School Eco Club during an outing to Princess Vlei on this year’s first Saturday in Spring, activities ensured all participants were warm.
     After an introduction from WESSA Western Cape Membership who had co-ordinated the event with Margot Roebert, Herschel teacher and Eco Club manager, there was a short explanation by Bridget Pitt and Denisha Anand  – representatives of Princess Vlei Forum and dedicated stewards of the Vlei. They spoke about:

• the history of the area–Khoe occupation, the legend of the princess whose tears created the Vlei, neglect by succeeding governments and the seven-year Save the Vlei campaign, which ensured that the shores would never be the site of a once proposed shopping mall
• the current restoration programme of the indigenous Cape Flats Fynbos–largely undertaken by school work-parties who also benefit from knowledge of bird life and bio-diversity as well as engage in art and drama projects at the Vlei, events run by Denisha and Bridget throughout the year. 

     Soon the group set to work collecting litter (wind in the area ensures litter arrives from elsewhere, as well as from visitors to the Vlei who enjoy the recreational facilities on offer. It is also washed down the canal that feeds the vlei), planting a hundred-and-twenty Pelargonium Capitatum, a hardy dune strandveld species.  The recent rains softened the soil, making this task  easy even for little hands.  After the planting, the team pulled out  several hundred square metres of blue lupins with great enthusiams. These invaders spread rapidly, displacing indigenous plants.
     This proved a  rewarding morning for all. And some families remained to picnic at the tables provided at the Princess Vlei braai area.   
      It was clear that learners and parents all had a good time. Several announced it was their first, but not their last, visit to the Vlei. Some even said they hadn’t known of the existence of the Vlei … and there it is set right on Prince George Drive, a few minutes from Muizenberg beaches in one direction and in the other a stone’s throw from Main Road Diep River, Kenilworth Centre and Cavendish Square, with the best views on the Peninsula of the Table Mountain range, most especially Constantiaberg. 

 'Today we have learnt that plants and animals’ connection is like a web, that’s why they call it the web of life, because the connections are like little relationships between the different things.’
     So said Skyler Bowman from Primrose Park Primary, speaking at the Princess Vlei Dream Weavers field trip.
     The field trip was the launching event for a two month project  called Dream Weavers.  The project aims to help children understand how plants and animals use their connections and relationships to survive; and how humans connect to nature positively and negatively. We will then invite them to use this understanding to think about how humans can connect with nature and each other more positively, and how we can together use our connections to weave a better world.

   Five primary schools participated in one of three field trips: Levana, Harmony, Primrose Park, Muhammadeyah and Hillwood Primary.
    The afternoon began with a game where the learners created a web by standing in a circle and  throwing a ball of string to each other, unravelling it as they went. This demonstrated how a web needs lots of connections to be strong.
    They then went out with worksheets and species ID charts to observe connections in nature. A highlight was spotting a large land crab. Learners were also fascinated by the weavers weaving their nests over the southern outlet of the vlei.
     A group from Harmony Primary deduced some interested connections from their observations:
   ‘We saw an ant colony where there were baby eggs like little worms. We learnt that ants are scavengers and they also help the environment. They take a seed for example they eat around, and then dig the leftovers underground, then the plant grows. We made a tiny diagram, to show how a bird takes the seed, then maybe drops the seed, then the ant takes the seed and eats around and buries it, then the seed grows into a maybe a sunflower, then we humans can get sunflower oil from the plant ,’ explained Yadah Mkwanda, speaking for the group. The group also found a shell and wondered whether perhaps the sea once covered this ground.
      It was wonderful to see how the learners used their observations to make their own deductions about how connections in nature might work - new scientists in the making!
    In the words of one of the Levana Primary learners, ‘Today we have learnt so many things are connected in nature such as insects and plants. We have also spotted  human objects such as chip packets, lighters etc which is very disappointing. We have learnt so many things. And it was wonderful to be out and exploring nature
      Fatima Nordien from Harmony Primary had a special message for the world.
‘We found that people were littering, and say you throw a paper now on the floor, then tomorrow it gets taken to the sea and a bird eats it and dies, so please stop littering and make the world a better place'.
     In the weeks to come, learners will create artworks to contribute to giant webs. There will be a celebration on 16 October. Learners will take part in a parade, carrying the webs they have created, and other artworks created over the years, through Sassmeer estate and onto Princess Vlei. There will be a short ceremony to install the artworks, followed by a performance of The River of Life by The Jungle Theatre company.

• Thank you to the City of Cape Town for the Grant in Aid funding which has made this project possible.
  

One of the signature species we have been involved in restoring at ​Princess Vlei is Serruria foeniculacea, the Rondevlei Spiderhead.

Princess Vlei is a sister conservation area to the well-known Rondevlei Nature Reserve.
Botanial records show that historically Princess Vlei would have had a very similar plant
community to Rondevlei.
​
The story of Serruria foeniculacea is the story of successful species conservation on the Cape Flats. This narrowly endemic member of the Protea family was only ever found around the Grassy Park area and was last seen at Princess Vlei in 1910.

It was thought to be extinct, but in the 1970’s two plants were found on an open space near Rondevlei Nature Reserve. They were translocated into the conservation area by then manager Howard Langley. Back-up plants were created via cutting with Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, and these were used to bulk this population.

Through the perseverance of generations of conservationists such as Langley and Dalton Gibbs, a population of about 350 plants is well established at Rondevlei. Building on this work, the Princess Vlei Forum is working to reintroduce this species to Princess Vlei. 

In 2020 one hundred and ten plants were planted in a test planting at Princess Vlei. By April 2021 ninety seven plants had survived their first summer. A further hundred plants were restored to different test plantings around the main water body in winter 2021. 

Going forward, this priority species will be restored to multiple subpopulations around the Greater Princess Vlei Conservation Area, with the restoration goal of over 1000 individuals successfully restored. This would make Princess Vlei home to the largest global population of this threatened Protea.

During the months of May and June, the City hired contractors to improve the gateway precinct of Princess Vlei on the Eastern Shore.

The work done forms part of a multimillion rand project to create a 5 km circulatory track around Princess Vlei, including a boardwalk through the reeds. The walkway has long been on the community's wish list, and has been identified by several community groups as high on their list of priorities for the park. 

The work done so far marks the first phase of the development. Like many of the other improvements, it has been strongly championed by Cllr Kevin Southgate, who has also given generously from the ward funding allocations to improve the site. Projects enabled by ward funding include the children's play park.

Improvements now include grassing the picnic area adjacent to the M5 entrance, paving and marking an area to be used for a market in the future, paving pathways, landscaping and planting 25 indigenous trees. Plans for this improvement may be accessed here (note the lower walkway path has not yet been completed)

The following slide show depicts the enhanced area. 

On May 6, a City contractor caused extensive damage to the shoreline and restoration areas on the eastern shore of Princess Vlei (read our report here). On May 31 Councillor Zahid Badroodien, Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, issued the following press release.  Our response follows below:

"Several City of Cape Town departments are responsible for the management and maintenance of the vlei, but as the lead department, the City’s Recreation and Parks Department sincerely regrets the incident, where through the services being rendered by one of the City contractors, the eastern shoreline of the Princess Vlei was damaged.  

As lead department, Recreation and Parks will facilitate the process to address this issue.
The Department investigated the incident and based on the outcome, the following will be actioned:

•  A rehabilitation plan for the damaged site will be drafted in collaboration with Recreation and Parks Ecological management unit, Water and Sanitation as well as the Princess Vlei Forum
• Budget for the rehabilitation will be identified and the rehabilitation will be planned for a suitable time in the year when such activities can take place.
• In addition, a site assessment held on 14 May considered the possible rescuing of plants that were damaged, as well as identification of measures which must to be incorporated in the rehabilitation plan.  
• Immediate actions include the removal of the dumped biomass from the damaged restoration site. Concurrently, plants will be rescued from the site and work will be coordinated by the Princess Vlei site manager and a representative of the Princess Vlei Forum.

Once the material is removed, the area will be graded and the damaged banks fixed. The rescued plants will be replanted as soon as the banks are restored.
The Recreation and Park Department undertakes to provide regular feedback to the Forum on progress made with regards the mentioned actions and the rehabilitation of the area in question. ENDS"

The Forum welcomes the City’s commitment to rehabilitate the damaged area, but would like to note the following:

• Any rehabilitation must be done in accordance with conservation science and best practice for restoration. This means no quick fixes, and ensuring, for example, that any plants replaced are restoration grade and suitably sourced.
• None of the plants were salvageable.
• While the City contractors worked conscientiously with us to restore the damaged shoreline, there remains a large layer of sludge from the vlei. This must be removed by hand before any planting can take place. It is the responsibility of City Parks to remove this - by mid August this had not been done
• This incident occurred due to weaknesses and breakdown in the operational management of Princess Vlei as a biodiversity site. We hope that City Parks will take this opportunity to reflect on these weaknesses.  We look forward to continuing to working collaboratively with the City in restoring and managing the biodiversity on site.

‘Today we are planting plants for the environment, and to bring animals closer. This plant is Skilpad Bessies, they are fynbos plants, so it makes a habitat for the tortoise.’

So said Mushfeeq Davids, a grade 8 learner at Lotus High. Mushfeeq was one of twenty Lotus High learners who came to help with the Forum’s restoration planting on the Northern shore..

After a few years of hard work the rehabilitation areas on the Eastern shore of Princess Vlei are establishing well, enabling the Forum to move to the northern shore of  Princess Vlei, which was historically home to the critically endangered Cape Flats Sand Fynbos.
​
On May 12, thirty volunteers from local schools, the Briana Drive community and Botanical Society Kirstenbosch Branch came together to do the first planting of the season. 712 plants of 11 species were planted. An additional 15 species were added through the scattering of 45 litres of seed. Further planting in July brings the total up to 1700 plants, an 8 extra species bringing the new species to 44

Cape Flats Sand Fynbos is a critically endangered vegetation type that is only found on the lowlands of Cape Town. These unique habitats have been decimated by the expansion of urban Cape Town, which has left only small islands of Cape Flats Sand Fynbos, most of which is degraded in some way. Restoring this endemic plant community is critical for ensuring the long term survival of many threatened species. The United Nations has declared the 2020’s the decade of restoration, in recognition of the critical role this plays in rolling back catastrophic environmental destruction due to climate change, pollution and habitat loss.In the first quarter of 2021 The Forum cleared the 1500square/meters restoration plotplot of invasive alien kikuyu and kweek grass. During this clearing a seasonal wetland pond was revealed within the grassy seep. Rubble was removed from this seasonal pond which will act as an important breeding area for amphibians such as the endangered Western Cape Leopard Toad.

Twenty school learners from Lotus High came to plant on May 12. Addressing the learners, the Princess Vlei Forum rehabilitation advisor, Alex Lansdowne,  said, ‘This area has been mowed every year. It should be rich in fynbos and wetland ecosystems, yet only a few grass species and weeds are growing here now.  We are bringing back about 50 fynbos species, which will not only recreate this unique plant community but also support the animals and humans by restoring ecological infrastructure.

‘We need healthy ecosystems for our survival, and to help to fight climate change. This plot that we are busy with will support many different life forms, butterflies, reptiles, birds, even bokkies. By increasing the plant species we increase the interactions between different life forms, and strengthen the ecosystem.'

In July, a planned mass planting by school learners was cancelled due to Covid restrictions. However, a small group of Forum volunteers added a further 1700 plants to the site.  These include Erica turgida, an extinct-in-the wild Erica. This plant only have occurred between Princess Vlei and Kenilworth Race Course, before it went extinct in the wild in the seventies. Lansdowne is overseeing the biggest reintroduction of this plant into the wild, in partnership with the Friends of the Rondebosch Common and the Princess Vlei Forum.

In the seasonal pond, we have successfully restored a miniature form of Waterblommetjie  (Aponogeton angustifolius) which was growing in a similar pond in Ottery that is now completely choked by Port Jackson. Restoring existing conservation areas and public open spaces helps consolidate biodiversity in an urban ecosystem where we are loosing more habitat than we are conserving and restoring.

Other threatened species reintroduced include: Protea scolymocephala, Leucadendron levisanus, Serruria foeniculacea, Steirodiscus tagetes and Podalyria sericea. In future we will add more sensitive species once there is more cover.

Tracy Daniels (Grade 8) said, ‘It is very nice planting because I like interacting with nature.’
Planting is benefits the environment, and is a healing and positive experience for the school learners, helping to connect them to nature and the earth. Like the other restoration sites on the Eastern Shore, this will provide a rich outdoor classroom to teach learners about biodiversity and fynbos ecology. We are excited to see these species once more thriving at Princess Vlei. 
​

‘I came here because I love the vlei… and when I heard what had happened, I was devastated, it was so sad…. I had been really excited that the vlei was being restored, especially when some plants that had been extinct were replanted, and when I heard of those being crushed it was just awful, so I felt I had to come back today to replant some of the things.

So said Colleen Saunders at the Princess Vlei Forum ‘Heal the Land’ event on 22 May. Colleen has been living near Princess Vlei for over 50 years. 

The event was held after a contractor hired by the City of Cape Town to clear water hyacinth caused major damage to the Princess Vlei shoreline and destroyed one of the Forum’s newly established restoration sites. Plants that were destroyed included the critically endangered serruria foeniculacea and Erica verticillate. Over 174 metres of shoreline grass, bulrushes and other vegetation was destroyed. 

The Forum is devastated by the damage done to the Princess Vlei eastern shoreline and restoration area.
On 6 May, concerned citizen Zoe Poulsen spotted an earth mover ripping up the shoreline vegetation and dumping the biomass on botanically sensitive areas - including a plot that was restored by the Forum last year as part of the community-led fynbos restoration project. 
    As Zoe had herself grown some of the plants for this restoration, she did not hesitate to stand in front of the machine until she could alert someone in authority to prevent further damage. Without her fortuitous presence and courage, the entire eastern shoreline and restoration area, including hundreds of plants put in by school learners, would have been destroyed. 
     However, the operator of the machine had already caused catastrophic ecological damage to the vlei (see area marked in red on the photograph below). 

This includes:

• Destroying a restored plant community of 38 species that has cost the Princess Vlei Forum around R110 000.  This includes 110 established critically endangered Serruria foeniculacea and 14 established extinct in the wild Erica verticillata,
• Probable local extinction of the last Psoralea aphylla on site
• Destabilising 175 metres of shoreline near the outlet of the vlei by ripping up the reedbed and shoreline grass. This is likely to result in serious erosion and silting of the water body in the coming rains. 
• Although the purpose of the operation was to clear water hyacinth, only 10% of the biomass removed was Hyacinth

    Although this is the most damaging, it is not the first incident. In 2018, a Western Leopard Toad breeding site was destroyed by a contractor removing water hyacinth. In 2019, a contractor dumped biomass on one of the older restoration sites, causing major damage to the plants. After this, a map was drawn up delineating where the machine could safely move and dump material, and the City undertook to inform the Forum’s biodiversity project manager, Denisha Anand, whenever the contractor was on site. Unfortunately, these protocols were not followed, leading to this tragic result. 
     The GPVCA forms part of the City of Cape Town’s biodiversity network, and the City is obliged to manage it as a biodiversity sensitive site, by agreement with Cape Nature. The area has  also recently been declared a Provincial Heritage Site in recognition of its biodiversity and cultural value. 
      As a biodiversity sensitive site, it is vital that utmost care be taken with mechanical operations on site. This act demonstrates an extreme lack of care. While the ward councillor and some officials have supported the restoration and revitalisation of the area, this is not upheld by the overall management of the site. Princess Vlei has suffered from chronic neglect, going back several decades to the apartheid era. This neglect continues, as the level of care and attention given remains far short of that given to equivalent areas in wealthy, formerly white areas in Cape Town. 
This incident highlights: 

• The failure of the City to invest in and manage GPVCA as a biodiversity site.
• The failure to take the Forum seriously as a community partner, despite the millions of rands raised by the Forum, countless volunteer hours and pro bono professional advice, and goodwill generated by the internationally recognised community-led restoration project.

We call on the City to

• Ensure that this incident is properly investigated
• Institute watertight protocols to ensure that this can never happen again
• Invest resources to ensure that the damaged area is fully restored; 
• Commit to ensuing that the site is adequately managed as a biodiversity sensitive site.   

This simply cannot be allowed to happen again.

• Read a report by an independent aquatic specialist on the damage caused and how to fix it
• Read  Daily Maverick report 

Princess Vlei contributed over 400 observations to Cape Town’s City nature challenge on Friday 30 April.
       The City Nature Challenge is an annual four-day ‘bioblitz'  to motivate people around the world to find and document wildlife in their cities. Although there is a friendly competition to see which city can gather the most observations of nature, find the most species, and engage the most people in the event, the 2021 City Nature Challenge will focus on the healing power of nature, and on celebrating the thousands of nature enthusiasts around the world documenting local biodiversity.
        At the Princess Vlei bioblitz, 440 observations were made by 38 observers, with 170 species identified. These included plants, birds, toads, and insects. 

      The event was supported by learners from the Brave organisation, and the Leisure Education Trust. Brave targets girls in the Manenberg area, and is aimed at building strong leadership amongst women. The girls were accompanied by Lee Ann Jenkins, who is employed by the organisation after volunteering for ten years. 
        ‘One of our focus areas is conservation and travel which includes adventure, that is how this comes in. These activities are great to help them feel more relaxed, and to enable them to get out of the community and see something different … this is my first time at Princess Vlei … I loved the whole vlei itself, and all the small living organisms.’
        Kiana Samuels, a grade 9 learner from Brave, commented on how she enjoyed coming to the vlei to learn more about how important plants are to humans. Dominique Fortuin enjoyed scattering seeds, and Iqrah Anders liked learning about how plants are used medicinally and for other purposes. 
    The Leisure Education Trust sponsors talented students, and encourages them to engage in community activities. Four of these learners were so inspired they came to both the morning and afternoon session at Princess Vlei and also attended the session at Rondebosch Common on  Saturday
        One of these was Vanshika Patel, a Grade 11 learner from Rylands High. Vanshika said that she had not heard of iNaturalist before the event, but that she enjoyed taking pictures of different plants and learning more about them after uploading them on the app. 
         ‘I found all the flowers that I took pictures of really interesting because they were all so pretty and colourful. I would definitely encourage other young people to get involved because getting involved in conservation allows us to learn more interesting and new things about the nature.’
        The event offered us an opportunity to scatter seeds in our restoration areas, and to monitor the plants that were put in last year. A number of protea seedlings are thriving, and some are ready to flower - the first proteas to flower at Princess Vlei for over fifty years.

• Check out our project page on iNaturalist 

‘We as citizens need to take responsibility because the city can’t take care of everything. And if we are proud to live in our area, then we need to prove it.’
     So said Elfindale resident, Vicky Thomas, at the Alien Hackathon at  Princess Vlei on Saturday 17 April.
     The hackathon was organised jointly by the Kirstenbosch Botanical Society, and the Princess Vlei Forum. Over a hectare of Port Jackson trees and shrubs were removed from the area by more than 30 volunteers from different parts of Cape Town.

        Port Jackson poses a serious threat to the indigenous Dune Strandveld in that part of the vlei. It drains the water table, and alters the soil, making it harder for the indigenous plants to grow. The Port Jackson trees also make the area unsafe as they interfere with visibility.
    The group were introduced to the activity by Alex Lansdowne, a specialist in fynbos restoration who has been contracted by the Princess Vlei Forum to oversee a community led restoration programme.
   ‘Our conservation project has two prongs:’ Lansdowne explained.  ‘The Greater Princess Vlei Conservation Area has some really good areas of habitat with high ecosytem function and high plant diversity. We need to protect those areas and do “passive restoration” by doing alien removal, keeping out vehicles and preventing dumping and littering.
    ‘Then there are some parts of the conservation area with very low plant diversity, such as the grassy areas, which have a lot of alien grass and also  get mowed all the time. What we are doing in these areas is clearing the alien grasses, and planting out specially cultivated indigenous plants. We have added about 30% to the plant diversity so far in this way. We will be planting the critically endangered Cape Flats Sand Fynbos near Briana drive, as this is the vegetation that would have originally grown there.
    Lansdowne said that the Princess Vlei Conservation Area had to overcome decades of under-management and neglect.
    Chris Moir, from the Kirstenbosch Branch of the Botanical Society, said that one of the objectives of the society was to assist organisations in conserving indigenous flora and vegetation. She said that in line with the Kirstenbosch branch of Botsoc’s objectives, restoring Cape Flats Sand Fynbos was an area where degraded habitat could be addressed, and where the society could  offer help to secure under-conserved vegetation types and species. She said it was hoped that the society’s contribution would help to enthuse the local community about our botanical heritage, and encourage them to be custodians of the Princess Vlei surrounds.
      Tom Robbins, Committee member of the Kristenbosch branch of the Botanical Society said, 'The Forum is championing the ground-breaking restoration of Princess Vlei, including the eradication of Port Jackson trees (Acacia saligna) in the relatively intact Cape Flats Dune Strandveld vegetation type.  If left uncontrolled, the Port Jackson will likely become increasingly dominant, reducing biodiversity in plants, insects and birds alongside the water body.  Moreover, what makes the restoration a natural fit with the Botanical Society is the local community-driven aspect of the Forum’s work.  The restoration of this previously neglected wetland is being done for the benefit and use of the communities that live around the Vlei.’
    Restoring the indigenous vegetation at Princess Vlei can play a significant role in promoting biodiversity and saving our precious plant species from extinction. This is becoming increasingly urgent. The UN has declared the 2020's the decade of ecosystem restoration, stating that ‘there has never been a more urgent need to restore damaged ecosystems than now.’ Ecosystems support all life on Earth, and are critical for our health and well being.
    Jill Atwood Palm, a Windsor Park resident said, ‘I live straight across the road from the Vlei. iIt’s absolutely amazing to see the work being done, so as residents we are very happy and would love to get more support from the neighbours. I was fortunate to participate in the walk and it opened my eyes to the gem that we have right here on our doorstep. So get involved, come and see what it is right here under your noses…. it’s actually not that much work… learn a bit more and get fully involved.’
     The Princess Vlei Forum would like to thank the highly effective BotSoc hacking team, for their help and use of their specialised tools and equipment. BotSoc has also generously donated funds, expertise and time to our restoration projection.
    We would also like to thank the Hans Hoheisen Charitable Trust for enabling our ongoing conservation work through donor funds.
    And a big thanks to all community members who gave up their Saturday morning and worked hard sawing and cutting branches, poisoning stumps and dragging the cut material. The fynbos plants will thank you and reward your efforts!