Princess Vlei Forum
  • Home
    • Recent events
  • About the Forum
    • What you can do
    • Join the Forum
    • Constitution
    • Supporting organisations
  • About Princess Vlei
    • Natural Heritage >
      • Bringing the Vlei back to life
      • Powered by Nature
      • Birds at Princess Vlei
    • Identity: The Soul of Princess Vlei >
      • First nations
      • Cicilia
      • History
      • Baptisms
    • The struggle for Princess Vlei >
      • Dressing the Princess
      • Red Flag Vlei
      • Pray for the Vlei
      • Bring a stone for the Princess
      • Youth Speak 4 the Princess
  • Our Vision
    • A Community Vision
    • Stakeholder list
  • Events & Projects
  • Donate
  • Young Guardians
    • Flight of Dreams
  • Contact
  • Articles

Growing a future for our youth, one plant at a time

9/7/2022

0 Comments

 
“The biggest threat facing our youth is the destruction of our planet. By coming here today, you are making an investment in the earth, and building a future for our young people”
    Bridget Pitt, Deputy Chair of the Princess Vlei Forum, greeted the forty people who came to plant fynbos at Princess Vlei on June 16 2022 with these words.
     Pitt went on to explain that the plot where they would be planting had a complicated history, like Princess Vlei itself. In July 2020, Forum volunteers and community members, together with the Kirstenbosch branch of the Botanical Society, came out of lock down to plant over 5 000 plant units onto the site, bringing it from a biodiversity of 4 species to over 40.
      This was the culmination of several months work by the Forum restoration and botanical team. After extensive research into what vegetation had once naturally grown at Princess Vlei, the team created a five-year restoration plan, and sourced and cultivated plants for the site from seed or cuttings.
     By May 2021, these plants were flourishing and most had survived.  Then disaster struck: an operator contracted by the City to clear water hyacinth destroyed two hundred metres of shoreline, and eradicated two-thirds of the restoration site, burying it under piles of sludge and hyacinth extracted from the vlei.
     Since then, the City has been working with the Forum to repair the damage. On June 16, the City provided 670 plants of 10 different species to plant in the area. While this could not return the site to the condition it was in before it was destroyed, Pitt said it was an important gesture from the City that was appreciated by the Forum, and was part of building a relationship of trust and collaboration that was essential to enable the community to participate meaningfully in the restoration and governance of fragile ecosystems in the city.

The Forum also aknowledged the City officials and counsellors who came to assist with the planting. Among these were Teboho Maliehe, Luyanda Mjuleni, Sihle Jonas, Ashton Mouton and Asanda Mdladlamba, and Cllr Kevin Southgate. Cllr Southgate has long been a champion of the the Princess Vlei, even before he was a councillor. On behalf of the Forum, Emma Oliver thanked them for coming, and for their contribution to the refreshments.
Another significant person at the planting was Nikita January-Johnson. Nikita first became involved as a school learner from Lotus High in 2012. Many of the plants now flourishing at the Vlei were planted by Nikita and her classmates, as a form of protest against the planned shopping mall. She was now coming to plant with her husband and two small children.

In a Facebook post about the event, Nikita said, “I loved getting my hands dirty while cleaning up the vlei regularly … When I became part of the environmental club at school it was at first an escape from everyday challenges. It later became something deeper when I joined the Forum because then I got to be part of something greater than myself.

“Ten years later my daughter got to enjoy this beautiful space, seeing how it all became something that I remember as plans and meetings and after school clean ups has now become this beautiful serene space I can take my kids to … I could not be any more proud.”

Picture
Nikita with her husband, Cole Johnson, 2 year old daughter Avery and 2 month old son Hunter. Inset: Nikita talking at a planting event at Princess Vlei in 2012
As so often with planting events at Princess Vlei, there was a certain magic in the air on June 16. Perhaps it was the ring of mountains, from Muizenberg to Devil’s peak, so perfectly mirrored in the still water. Or the monarch butterfly exploring a Wilde Dagga flower, or two cormorants flying overhead through a drift of scattered clouds

Or perhaps it was the simple but powerful magic of people of all ages, from all walks of life, coming together to grow something new and restore a small, battered patch of ground to the glory that nature intended.
Picture
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    October 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    February 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012

    RSS Feed

    Author

    Posts by Bridget Pitt unless stated otherwise.

    Categories

    All
    Articles
    Landscape And Identity
    News
    Past Events
    Princess Vlei
    Women's Day

About Princess Vlei Forum

Proudly powered by Weebly