Princess Vlei is a good and safe place for toads to live.
      This was the finding of young toad explorers from Buck Road Primary, Harmony Primary and Levana Primary, who came to Princess Vlei on a field trip to investigate what toads need to live well, and to breed. The explorers looked out for insects that the toads might eat, and for plants that would attract insects and give the toads somewhere to hide. They explored the water creatures, including small fish, tadpoles and water beetles. They used nets to catch them and study them briefly before returning them to the water. They made note of threats to the toads, such as predatory birds, plastic pollution, and cars to migrating toads.
      A highlight of the field trip was the opportunity to explore Princess Vlei by water, thanks to Gravity Adventures who gave the learners a safe but exciting experience of canoeing.

A week later, the toad explorers met again at Harmony School Hall. They created their own toads and tadpoles out of clay, and painted habitats for them on paper plates, making sure to include everything the toads and tadpoles need such as water,  insects, reeds, and other plants.
'I painted the sky, the mountains, the reeds that’s in the water, birds, plants and insects for it to eat,’ Caitlin Castle of Buck Road Primary told us. Christopher Jackson, also form Buck Rd, introduced us to his toad called Michael Blackstone; Patience Majuni, from Harmony Primary, created a tadpole called Young Piggy.

Encouraging the learners to explore the vlei from the perspective of a toad, and to later sculpt and create a story around their toads, nurtures their curiosity and creativity. It enables them to look at the world with more than human eyes, and to understand that all living creatures need a safe place to live with food and shelter.
     Thanks to Gravity Adventures, the teachers and Harmony Primary School for hosting us, and Hans Hoheisen Charitable Trust managed by Nedbank Private Wealth for supporting our educational work.

'I hope you grow into a beautiful plant and have the best time of her life; Hope you guys grow;
Don’t be taken over by humans; Take over the world...'
These were some of the messages to their plants from twenty Steenberg High learners, who came to Princess Vlei in November to plant over 300 dune strandveld plants in our restoration area on the eastern shore. Species planted included Anthospermum aethiopicum, Plecostachys serphyllifolia, Hermannia multiflora, Leonotus leonurus and Imperata cylindrica. The planters gave creative names to their plants, including Keanu Reeves, Diego, and Jeffrey Dahmer, although hopefully his plant namesake is less murderous.
This was our first activity with Steenberg High learners - we look forward to many more.

Blog and pics by Alex Lansdowne

Utilising the citizen science application, iNaturalist, ongoing surveying of living organisms at Princess Vlei Conservation Area is bearing fruit.

The Princess Vlei Forum and the Botanical Society: Kirstenbosch Branch recently conducted a joint bioblitz for the 'Great Southern Bioblitz 2022'. The focus area was on the Eastern Shore of the Little Princess Vlei which is currently a 'biogap' and under-surveyed. During the bioblitz 172 new observations were recorded. Of these observations 54 new species were positively identified at the time of writing.

This means that currently, at the Greater Princess Vlei Conservation Area:
662 observations have been made.
250 species have been recorded.
41 individuals have recorded observations.
The most commonly observed species are: 1. Skilpadbessie (Muraltia spinosa), 2. Rondevlei Spiderhead (Serruria foeniculacea), 3. Blombos (Metalasia muricata), 4. Kankerbos (Lessertia frutescens), 5. Wildedagga (Leonotus leonurus).

Some of the bird sightings included a spotted eagle owl, grey and purple herons, malachite and pied kingfishers, reed cormorants, darter, coot, and yellow billed ducks.

You can visit the iNaturalist Princess Vlei Project here:https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/greater-princess-vlei-conservation-area?tab=species

Special thanks to Emma Oliver (PFV) and Simon Tamblyn (BotSoc: Kirstenbosch)

'This project helped the learners to learn to love, preserve, conserve, appreciate nature and the beautiful environment that we live in. To take care of princess vlei with its plants animals, it’s beauties and hidden treasures.’ - comment by Natalie Knipe, teacher at Buck Road Primary.

The quiet streets of Sasmeer Estate came to life on Saturday as the Princess Vlei Dance Weaver procession wound through the neighbourhood, proceeding from the Retreat Civic Centre to Princess Vlei. Heralded by twenty-five young drummers,  procession of over 200 nature enthusiasts included eighty  young 'dance-weavers', teachers, volunteers and performers, as well as colourful banners and ten giant bird puppets.

The day began at Retreat Civic, as the young participants arrived to get ready for the procession. They had their faces painted, and made colourful shakers out of card rolls and scrap papers. 

Soon it was time to line up for the procession. The dancers from Harmony Primary, Buck Road Primary, Levana Primary and Hillwood Primary lined up in formation. Since September, they have been busy creating dances inspired by nature at Princess Vlei, with the help of movement practitioner and environmental educationalist  Xoli Fuyani. Vincent Meyburgh and Siyawandisa Badi from Jungle Theatre Company have helped the learners to develop drumming skills to accompany the dancers. The dancers wore t-shirts they had painted featuring creatures found at Princess Vlei, so it seemed as they moved that the Princess Vlei creatures were dancing with them.

Other children from Lotus High, Primrose Park Primary and Jungle Theatre clubs in Khaylitsha and Capricorn joined the procession, as well as actors from Jungle Theatre Company.

At Princess Vlei, the crowd was entertained by dances from the four dance groups. Lotus High learners Chandre November, Shannon Everson, Paige Eden, Ziah Booysen, Deidre  Louw performed a poem entitled 'Earth Healing Dance'. This was based on discussions with learners about what was needed to heal the earth, and written by Bridget Pitt.  Zeah Hartman and Jadine Grandeling from the Brave Rock Girls Manenberg group called the Daring Disas performed Strike for Global Climate Change by Michelle Kogan, and a poem entitled The earth says. The poetry was followed by a performance of Umlambo Wobomi/River of Life by Jungle Theatre Company. This animated production tells a story of rural villagers striving to save their precious river from pollution.

This project was inspired by the tradition of the spiritual healing dances that are such an important part of KhoeKhoe and other African traditional heritage. It serves the Princess Vlei Forum’s mission to raise awareness about the need to protect and restore biodiversity at Princess Vlei, and to uplift youth in the community by giving them opportunities to engage with visual and performing art and nature.

We hope that these dances will help to heal some of the troubles in our communities and in the world, while giving the learners a wonderful experience of using their bodies to express themselves, and the power of moving together in a team.

The Dance Weaver project is sponsored by the City of Cape Town Grant in Aid fund, and the Princess Vlei Forum’s educational and environmental restoration work is funded by the Hans Hoheisen Charitable Trust managed by Nedbank Private Wealth. Thanks to Sarah Oliver for taking the photographs and editing the video.

Earth Healing Dance
To be used and adapted freely wherever healing is needed

Let’s listen to the heart of our great mother earth
Our ways make her sick, and it keeps getting worse
But the people who lived in the long ago times
Listened to the earth and danced to her rhymes
So let’s listen too, with our earth healing dance
If we all dance together, we might stand a chance
Let’s dance
Let's dance

Coal fired power is making us choke
Filling our sky with its soot and its  smoke
Climate chaos grows week by week
Bringing droughts and floods and too much heat
Let’s dance down coal, and gas and oil
Let’s dance those fuels right back in the soil
Let’s dance
Let's dance

Some folks in the world got too much stuff
But too many people don’t have enough
There’s too much hatred, too much fear
Too much prejudice, not enough care
Let’s dance out hunger, dance out greed
Let's dance in sharing so nobody needs.
Let’s dance
Let's dance

Our great rain forests are the lungs of our world
But they’re chopping them down, and making them burn
All plants and beings on the land and the sea
They share our home, they’ve a right to be
Let’s dance out extinction, and dance in protect
Let’s dance
Let's dance

Our throw away lives fill the sea with plastic
For birds, fish and turtles, that’s been quite drastic
Our rivers and our vleis are clogged with junk
We gotta save our waters, or we’re all sunk!
Let's dance out disposables, and single use
Let's dance in recycle, reuse and reduce
Let’s dance
Let's dance

It aint so hard to change how we live
We just gotta stop taking more than we give
Let's dance for nature, lets dance for life
Le'ts dance for treating all bodies right
Let’s move now together, to give earth a chance
So please won’t you join our healing dance?
Let's dance!

Our Dance Weaver Procession on October 22 promises to be a colourful occasion, after last week,s workshops to decorate T-shirts for the event.
     Senior Guardians from Lotus High will be at the event, acting as volunteers to help marshal the younger learners, and running workshops for the younger learners to make colourful shakers. They had a tie-dying workshop to tie-dye T-shirts for themselves, with stunning results. These colourful t-shirts will identify them as the helpers on the day.

       The Junior Guardians, who will be taking part in dances inspired by the nature at Princess  Vlei, painted t-shirts to wear. Their paintings were inspired by the creatures at Princess Vlei, particularly the fish, birds, insects, chameleons, crabs and  frogs. Learners were given drawings of the creatures to trace onto the t-shirts, then painted them inspired by photographs or by their own colour schemes. In the process, they learnt about composition and colour mixing. Learners were also asked to think of words  that can bring healing to the world, and to add these to their designs. The workshops were held with learners from Harmony Primary, Buck Road Primary, Levana Primary and Hillwood Primary.
       The Dance Weaver event draws on the tradition of the spiritual healing dances that were such an important part of Khoe culture, and of many other indigenous nations. Learners from four primary schools have developed dances inspired by nature at Princess Vlei, with the help of movement practitioner and environmental activist Xoli Fuyeni, and Vincent and Siya from Jungle Theatre Company. We hope that these dances will help to heal some of the troubles in our communities and in the world, while giving the learners a wonderful experience of using their bodies to express themselves, and the power of moving together in a team.

We feel relaxed,  feel a part of it, happy, feel like I belong in a nature reserve, relieved, excited, joyful, freedom, peace, kumnandi, gevaarlik (in a good way), awesome….

These were some of the thoughts expressed by learners on how their afternoon at Princess Vlei made them feel. The sixty seven learners were from Harmony Primary, Buck Road Primary, Levana Primary and Hillwood Primary. They came to Princess Vlei during September on field trips to observe how the animals at Princess Vlei move.
     Learners were invited to go out and observe different animals and insects, and notice how they move. They were asked to describe these choosing from a list that included words like hop, slither, scurry, swoop; to draw a path tracing the trajectory of each animals movement; to observe animal tracks in the sand. Finally, they were asked to embody the animals movement in their own body, and to create a movement sequence depicting the various species at Princess Vlei.

The group from Levana were fascinated by the appearance of a mole rat, who briefly stuck his head and enormous teeth out of a tunnel to see what was going on. Other learners found grasshoppers, dragonflies, butterflies and various birds. A grey heron provided wonderful inspiration with its elegant pacing and snake like neck.
     The field trip forms part of the Princess Vlei Forum’s junior guardians education project to experience nature at Princess Vlei in creative ways. Asking learners to embody the movements encourages them to feel a connection to the creatures. The project is sponsored by the Hans Hohesien Charitable Trust managed by Nedbank Private wealth.
      The learners began the trip with some co-ordinated movements led by Xoli Fuyani, while  Vincent and Siya from Jungle Theatre Company gave them a beat on a drum.  Xoli, Vincent and Siya will be developing these movements into dances, which will be performed during our Dance Weaver’s Procession on October 22.

The following is a guest post by Hoosain Narker of Ashihara Karate.

On Heritage Day, members of Ashihara Karate had an outdoor training session at Princess Vlei to celebrate Heritage Day. The Vlei has a special connection with Ashihara Karate as years ago, we trained there for several months to show our objection against a mall being built. Our small efforts and that of many others worked as the City gave in and today, the Vlei has received quite some improvement – but there is still much to be done. Next on the Agenda is to build a walkway around the Vlei for running/Walking.
     Our involvement with the Princess Vlei Forum  and getting our students and members to participate in its activities can only help the drive to further improve the amenities around the Vlei and to continue with the preservation of indigenous plant and animal life.
Several of our parents/students used the occasion to enjoy a BBQ and, whilst training was light, afterwards students could have fun in the park.

Ashihara Karate was established in Retreat on 2 September 1980 by Hoosain Narker, and has its International headquarters based at LOFOB in Klip Road, Grassy Park. We consider ourselves an educational institution  teaching a philosophical approach to life based on respect and mindfulness, and not just a sporting organisation. Students are taught by example.  Thanks to their enthusiasm, we were fortunate to celebrate our 42nd anniversary earlier this month.

The Princess Vlei Forum's 10th AGM provided a wonderful opportunity for old and new Princess Vlei champions to come together and plot out the future of the organisation.
     Thirty-four people attended the meeting at St Stephen's church in Bergvliet, after the water problems led to a last minute shift in venue. At the front of the hall was the hand-painted Save Princess Vlei banner - a good reminder of how this organisation began in 2012.
      The organisation only elects a management committee every two years. As this was not an election year, we could focus on engaging participants in discussing practical suggestions for some of the challenges facing us.
      After attending to the treasurer's report, Chairperson Gary Stewart invited members of the management committee to briefly reflect on gains and challenges over the past ten years. Denisha Anand spoke about the ups and downs of being the first site manager at Princess Vlei, and then the project manager. She reflected on the progress made by the restoration project, with nearly 4 hectares now under active restoration or rehabilitation, and said that one of the highlights of her work at Princess Vlei was discovering a resident family of otters.
    Bridget Pitt spoke about the schools work. She discussed photograph of a school child on a bare shore in 2013 - the learner said she was hoping to see gardens at Princess Vlei. Nine years later, that shoreline is a blaze of colour with flowering fynbos, showing the power of imagination and community effort. Gary Steward reflected on the gains made such as getting an MOA with the CIty, and the creation of a full-time supervisor's post at Princess Vlei, and gaining provincial heritage status for the GPVCA.

   Robin Oaks from the Community Think Tank spoke about the market at Princess Vlei. The organisation is running the market, which provides an opportunity to generate revenue to use on improvements at Princess Vlei. Robin said his organisation was dedicated to promoting local crafts, Cultural heritage, and community spirit. About 250 vendors are registered with the market, which has been successfully trading every Saturday providing livelihoods and a range of offerings for local visitors. Clarina De freitas spoke about the contributions made by the De Freitas family and the Jacobs family to the fish market and fruit and veg market held at PV historically, and all agreed that they would discuss ways to be part of the market going forward.

Participants then divided into interest groups to discuss the environmetn & infrastructure at Princess Vlei; Fundraising; and Community engagement; The groups were encouraged to focus on coming up with concrete proposals. These were then presented, and put up on the wall. Members were invited to put a dot next to proposals they strongly supported.
      Some of the well supported proposals include:  Creating a covered space  on eastern shore for eco activities;  lobbying to have the GPVCA relocated under management of the Biodiversity Branch; Revive the Princess Vlei Forum heritage committee and exploring how to reflect heritage elements including Khoe history; Raising fees from resourced schools, a Forum stall at the market, and using digital marketing aids such as snapscan & crowdfunding. There were also suggestions to stage the ballet of the Legend of Princess Vlei, which was first performed in the 1952.

    An important resolution taken at the AGM was the decision to charge membership fees. This is partly to raise much needed funds, as well as to avoid having inactive members on the books. The fee of R100 per member and R200 per organisation was proposed, with the management committee to resolve how this should be implemented.
    The 2022 AGM was testimony once again to the power of community engagement in bringing fresh perspectives to ongoing issues. The Forum would like to thank all of those who made the effort to come and share their ideas.

The presentations were really excellent. I took out valuable insights from all three addresses. I really appreciated meeting other people working in the field…I have new fundraising ideas…
This was some of the feedback from the twenty six people from twelve community conservation organisations who attended the Princess Vlei Forum’s Growing Community Conservation Workshop held at Zandvlei on 27 August. The workshop was organised in partnership with Friends of the Liesbeek.

, and Zandvlei Trust for the The workshop began with an address from Dr Kevin Winter urban waterway specialist and lecturer in Environmental and Geographical Sciences at UCT, who spoke on  building partnerships and working with the City.
      Dr Winter reflected that working with the City on the Liesbeek River had often been fraught, but the water crisis in 2016 had brought about a significant shift in attitude. The City had realised that Day Zero could only be averted by the City working in partnership with the community, leading to their slogan changing from This City works for you to Making progress together.
      He spoke about the importance of having a theory of change in formulating the strategy for an organisation. He said that for change to come about you needed a partnership of four critical elements: Local government, Civil society, Academia and industry. He praised the recently  established Mayoral Advisory committee on water ways and wetlands as a significant ship in facilitating this partnership.
      Dr Winter also reflected on the changes in Cape Town over the past 50 years, with the population quadrupling in size. The provision of housing had been driven by a 40X40X40’ model - 40m2 in size; build 40 km from places of work and amenities, and costing the residents R40 in transport fees.  This short-sighted approach to ow income housing has largely expanded into the Cape Flats - it has reinforced poverty, and damaged biodiversity and water ways - it has come at a considerable environmental cost as well as a heavy social cost. Poverty is a major threat to the environment.
     Nick Fordyce, Chairperson of Friends of the Liesbeek, introduced Denisha Anand as an ethnobotanist who turns into a giant plant when the moon is full. Anand spoke about the history of the struggle to save Princess Vlei from the shopping mall, and the work done since to restore and revitalise the site. She described the overwhelming issues facing her when the Forum employed her to manage the GPVCA in 2016. ‘I just cleaned, for a year. There was so much littering, pollution and mess on site.’ She described how, after consultation with City officials in the biodiversity branch,  she realised that the site needed a proper restoration plan, and encouraged the Forum to raise funds to contract Alex Lansdowne to create a five year plan, which the Forum is rolling out.
     Lansdowne described five essential ingredients for a good restoration plan: A technical appreciation and knowledge of the process, drawing on the expertise of academics and professionals as necessary;  Healthy conflict and debate to facilitate creative problem solving; Money and good fundraising strategies; Networking to get recognition of the project, which would help bring in funds; People - involve the community in every aspect of the project, and have fun doing it.
     After a delicious spread of fynbos tea and edibles provided by Zayaan Khan, participants split into focus groups to discuss partnerships with the City; community engagement; fundraising; and restoration.
     In the plenary session, it became clear that poverty is indeed a major challenge to all the groups present, most of whom were grappling with how to deal with informal dwellers moving into conservation areas. It became very clear from the discussion that conservation cannot happen in a bubble, and that the struggle for ecological and social justice are inextricably intertwined. Fundraising is an ongoing problem, and negotiating relationships with City officials.
     Most participants felt that it had been a valuable experience, and that they would welcome further workshops, perhaps focussing more narrowly on this and other issues that were identified.  The Forum looks forward to hosting such engagements in the future.
     We would like to thank Dr Kevin Winter, Denisha Anand and Alex Lansdowne for their inputs, Nick Fordyce for chairing the workshop, Zayaan Khan for the catering, and  Zandvlei Trust for the venue. A big thanks as always to Hans Hoheisen Charitable Trust managed by Nedbank Private Wealth for funding this work.

On August 9 th , Women’s Day, women and men, young and old and from diverse backgrounds
gathered to plant 1000 seedlings or ‘plugs’ in the seep on the west side of the Vlei. The eastern
shore of the Princess Vlei is often said to resemble a young woman’s profile, although to me the
shape of the viei more closely resembles a pregnant emu. The long-term vision of the Princess Vlei
Forum is to restore the rich biodiversity of the two unique plant kingdoms that once thrived there
around the whole of the ‘emu’. The vision is also to engage willing hands from the surrounding
communities to get involved with this work.

   Alex Lansdowne, the consultant botanist to the Forum, explained to the group that Princess Vlei has two vegetation types: Cape Flats Sand Fynbos and Cape Flats Dune Strandveld. Both are endemic to Cape Town, and both contain species under threat due to loss of areas where they can thrive. Much of the vegetation around the Vlei is degraded due to urban creep, dumping, litter, neglect, and uncontrolled invasives taking over.   ‘Our restoration project is in the process of undoing this degradation, and restoring a self-sustaining thriving eco-system.  Today we will be planting 6 species - pelargonium capitatum, athanasia crithmifolia, anthospernum aethiopicum, Elegia nuda ,penisteum mucronatum, and leonotus leonurus. They are all species which do well as start up plants in a recovering area.'
    The area is also benefitting from the removal of alien plants by volunteers from the Princess Vlei Forum and Kirstenbosch Branch of the Botanical Society last year. This enabled indigenous vegetation in the area to re-emerge, and flourish. One of the recovered species that was spotted there is Coriander Storksbill (Pelargonium myrrhifolium var. coriandrifolium).
    The group got to work, and, with focus and care, planted out the 1000 newly rooting seedlings. The group included Botanical Society members from Noordhoek and Strandfontein; student conservationists from Khayelitsha; Mothers, fathers, daughters, and friends; stalwarts and new faces, each making their contribution.  Amongst our regulars were three high school students, volunteering  to fill their ‘community service hours’. These girls have volunteered with us over the last few years, and we hope the experience is giving them a lasting sense of connection to the place.
   Mary Jansen, one of the volunteers and organisers of the local Khoe group is keen for us to reach a stage in the restoration work when we will again see the diversity of plants present that she remembers from her childhood. Those were the days when plants with medicinal properties were more plentiful and could be collected and used for healing common ailments in the home. The knowledge of it all is still carried in her generation.
    Lucille Luckhoff, together with Cllr Kevin Southgate had a quiz for people to answer. What were we all celebrating and remembering on Women’s Day? How many women marched and to where? Why did they march? Correct answers were rewarded with a warm red shweshwe cloth heart to pin on the sleeve.
   The weather was kind. Our hearts felt good and there was a sense that those long since passed, ancestors of Princess Vlei, were smiling on our efforts. We were united in our quiet shared hope that the mornings’ activity would help the planet, in its own tiny but powerful way.