Princess Vlei was alive with activity on June 16, when over a hundred people gathered  for the Forum’s Youth Day clean up and planting event.
 
First to arrive were members of Church inCreation, a group of Anglican environmental activists. The group gathered for a prayer, led by Bishop Geoff Davies, followed by a silent meditation.

Then the Community Education Environmental Trust arrived with a group of young volunteers, while other community members gathered until there were about a hundred pairs of willing hands – some old, some very young, but all ready for some hard work.
 
The first task was to complete the Garden of Healing, which primary school learners had started the week before. The garden is planted with Dune Strandveld plants indigenous to Princess Vlei, with a particular focus on plants of medicinal or spiritual value to the local Khoi people, past and present. This still needed the inner spiral path to be marked out with river stones and wood chips for a path. We also planted another 300 plants.

While one group was busy with this, another was tackling the invasive water hyacinth which is creeping over the vlei – with volunteers donning body suits to go right into the water. Another group gathered litter. After a break and a snack, the groups swapped around, so that every one had a chance to do some planting.

Kai Bi’a Hennie van Wyk was there to do some planting, and later spoke to the young people there about our cultural heritage.

While community volunteers were busy, music was provided by an informal prayer group which had arrived at the Vlei to play their instruments, sing and pray – apparently a regular activity.

By the end of the morning, volunteers had laid the Garden and path, collected about 30 bags of rubbish, and removed a large pile of Water Hyacinth from the vlei. With community care like this, the Vlei is sure to grow into a beautiful and well-treasured sanctuary for people and nature alike. The Forum would like to thank CTEET for their assistance, and the Hans Hoheisen Charitable Trust, managed by Nedbank Private Wealth, for sponsoring our citizen conservation programme.

“We are learning about the Khoi in history, and actually we are learning about all of us, hey?”
 
This was said by a Floreat Primary learner after taking part in creating the Garden of Healing at Princess Vlei on June 08 2018.
 
The garden was planted with indigenous Dune Strandveld plants with a particular emphasis on those which have a medicinal or spiritual significance for the Khoi people and other South African groups. Ninety children from Levana Primary, Harmony Primary, Floreat Primary, John Graham Primary and Lotus High came to do the planting. This is part of the Princess Vlei Forum’s program to rehabilitate and beautify the vlei, and to use it as a space to enable children to experience nature and learn about their natural and cultural heritage. 

The garden is traversed by a by a path in the shape of a Fibonacci spiral to sympbolise eternal life, and to connect it to spiritualism and nature.  As one of the oldest known symbols, spirals and have been used since ancient times. The first people in South Africa drew spirals on the walls of caves and carved them into rock. The Fibonacci spiral occurs frequently in nature, and is also the shape of our Galaxy.

The children began the afternoon by exploring the vlei to find and record other examples of Fibonacci spirals and other patterns in the flora and fauna at the vlei. They were very excited to discover a leopard toad – one of the many that have been repopulating the vlei thanks to our restoration efforts.

Members of the House of Xoraxoukhoe came in full regalia to bless the garden. Bi’a Bradley Van Sitters, and spoke to the children about our Khoi heritage, and taught them songs and prayers in the Nama language.
 
He explained that this tribal group, the Xoraxoukhoe, lived throughout this area. “When Van riebeeck came, the Khoi Khoi people were here, and here are the khoi Khoi still. We are the descendants, the children of the Khoisan ­ - anyone who stays here. We are not coloured, we are the Khoi.’
He taught the children the Nama name for the Cape Flats, which  means 'where the clouds gather'.
 
The leader of the Xoraxoukhoe tribe, Kai Bi’a Hendrick van Wyk, said it was important to know that many cultural practices of the Nguni people originated from the Khoi. He encouraged the children to feel proud of their Khoi heritage and identity.

The group led the children down to the garden, accompanied by music played on a traditional bow by Bi’a Kingsley Saralina. At the garden, they burnt imphepho, conducted prayers and planted the first four plants of the garden, which were imphepho plants, in the centre of the spiral. Bi’a Bradley Van Sitters led a prayer, calling on the Creator to bless the plants and to help bring unity to our people.

The children then planted the remaining plants. With each plant, they placed a stick with their name written on to show what they had planted. Three hundred and fifty-three plants were put in the ground.
      

Afterwards, children from different schools thanked the Princess Vlei Forum for organizing the event. In the words of Dean Andrews from Harmony Primary, ‘We loved the activities here today. We are in the environmental club, and we love working with plants. We loved the planting today.’

It was a great day for birds at Princess Vlei on May 11, when 50 visitors from the year 3018 came to learn about birds.

The visitors, from Levana, Steenberg, Floreat, Harmony and John Graham Primary schools (yes, they are still there in 3018!), had come on a rescue mission. They reported that there were no birds in the year 3018, but they had discovered images and old movies showing birds. They wanted to know more about them, and to warn residents of the present day to take steps to make sure that there would be birds in the future.
 
They were guided by a spirit guide, who told them what Princess Vlei used to be like many years in the past, when the only human residents were Khoi groups who lived in harmony with nature and did not destroy it. Two bird guardians from the 2018 Bird Club, Gillian Barnes and Priscilla Beeton were there to lend the visitors binoculars and tell them more about the birds. Brendon Bussy, the Chief Time Lord, and other time lords ensured that our visitors returned to their time travelling ship in time and did not get stuck in 2018. The visitors wore face masks so that they did not infect the birds and plants with viruses from 3018.

 
The visitors spent the afternoon carefully observing the birds and Princess Vlei, and making notes on what food and nesting materials there were for them, and what dangers there were that might have caused birds to go extinct. They also drew maps of the area. They found interesting objects such as a skull, which the 2018 manager of Princess Vlei, Denisha Anand, told them had once belonged to a mole rat.
 
When they had completed their observations, the visitors reported their findings back to the others. All groups reported that one of the dangers to birds was the litter that was found, which they felt might have caused birds to go extinct – and they warned us to tell the people of 2018 to stop using so much plastic and leaving it lying around.The Bird Guardians were asked to assess the presentations and choose a winner – this was a difficult task, as all the presentations were so interesting. They awarded a team from John Graham a prize of a R500 voucher to spend on bird friendly plants at the school. The group from Harmony came second.
​
Below are some of their sketches and notes:

 
All thanks to Brendon Bussy for his fabulous game, available as a shared document here, for use by non-profit groups for educational purposes. Also thanks to the wonderful bird guardians for their help and support; to the teachers for being such wonderful Time Lords; and to the Hans Hoheisen Trust and National Lotteries Commission for making this possible. We look forward to hosting visitors from the future (and perhaps the past?) again.

Below is a video of the presentations

VISITORS to Princess Vlei will have noticed a number of improvements recently. These are part of the ongoing project by the City and the Princess Vlei Forum, to transform the area in accordance with the community vision for Princess Vlei.
    For the past five years, the Forum has been consulting with community members to develop this vision through workshops, surveys and meetings. The Forum  also has a team of architects and professional designers who are donating their time to work with the planning department of City Parks to make sure that developments are done according to the wishes of the community.
     Many of the improvements have been made possible by Councillor Kevin Southgate, who has allocated a large proportion of the ward budget to Princess Vlei every year. Cllr Southgate has also been instrumental in assisting the Princess Vlei Forum with leveraging other resources from the City to improve the environment and facilities at Princess Vlei.
    Recent developments on the eastern shore include:

• A new entrance and boom gate, designed to limit access to the park at the night. This is restrict after hours drinking on site, vandalism, theft and dumping. The boom is open at sunrise and closed at sunset, but arrangements can be made to open at other times on request.
• Brick paving of the entrance roadway and parking lot
• The erection of a wooden viewing deck
• Stone braai stands with surrounding walls. These were installed in time for those wanting to braai on the Easter weekend. Families using the new stands were pleased with the chopping blocks for wood, and hoped to see tables and benches installed soon.

Proposed improvements include:

• A communal braai stand, probably to be located under the large trees close to the ablution block.
• A children’s play park near the braai stands
• Kirstenbosch has undertaken to help with landscaping the area around the braai stands
• A 5 km walkway and trail to go around the vlei. This will include a bridge over the northern canal, and will include a short section accessible to wheelchairs, prams and so on.

The Forum is planning to raise money for the play equipment, and for a visitor's centre/ education centre/ tea room to be erected in place of the existing ablution block. This will include ablution facilities.
Trudy Gibbons from the City offers regular community walks from the Eco-Adventure center on the Western side of the vlei, and there are plans to host a weekly Park Run around Princess Vlei later this year. These activities will help to transform Princess Vlei into a rich and vibrant asset to both community and nature.

Progress made by the Manager at Princess Vlei
Denisha Anand, the manager at Princess Vlei, is settling into her job and making a huge difference to the area. Denisha's work includes restoring the strandveld and fynbos on the site, working to improve the water quality, alien clearance, monitoring of flora and fauna species, liaising with the community and the City, and environmental education.
   The Princess Vlei Forum raised money from the Hans Hoheisen Trust, with the help of CTEET, to employ a full time manager. Denisha works in collaboration with  the City management team.
Having a full time manager has enabled the City to free up some resources to the site, such as the deployment of a team of EPWP workers who have been involved with alien clearance and many other tasks. We hope that the City will take over the funding of this post in due course.
   To find out more about Denisha's work, download her latest report here.

Our wetland wildlife just got a whole group of new friends, thanks to the Princess Vlei Forum’s Wetland Wizards project. The project, which was run in collaboration with the Peter Clarke Art Centre, aimed to encourage local school children to discover more about the amazing life that is sustained by the wetlands at Princess Vlei.
 
On the afternoon of 13th March, forty school kids from Levana Primary, Harmony Primary, and Floreat Primary, gathered at Princess Vlei with binoculars, nets, sample boxes and worksheets. The learners discussed what they understood by the word habitat, and why a healthy habitat is so important for all living things. Then they went out to see what creatures they could find, and discovered water beetles, dragonflies, bees, beetles, spiders, lady birds, moths, stick insects, as well as a great variety of birds. Creatures who were caught were treated carefully, examined, and returned to their homes without being injured. Sadly they also discovered many things that don’t belong in the habitat such as old car tyres, discarded bottles and other litter.

We met again on March 22 at Steenberg Primary, this time with Steenberg Primary learners as well. This was a chance for the learners to translate what they’d discovered into beautiful artworks, guided by Liesl Hartman from the PCAC.  The learners worked in groups to create dioramas showing some of the wonderful plant and animal life that makes up the Princess Vlei wetland. Each panel of the diorama showed a different part of the wetland – under the water, underground, on the water and land surface, up in reed tops and the tree canopies. Unfortunately, due to a change in the date, Floreat Primary could not join us for this.
 
The artworks produced showed the children’s powers of observation, as well as their remarkable creativity. These wonderful dioramas can be assembled together to form a ‘Wetland wall’. This will be displayed at our art exhibition to be held at the Grassy Park Library later this year.
 
Thanks to the National Lotteries Commission for providing funds, to Steenberg Primary for providing a venue, to the teachers for giving up their valuable free time, and of course to the learners for their enthusiasm, curiosity and creativity.

Below are the wonderful art works produced by the children.

The Princess Vlei Forum took one step closer to achieving the People's Vision for Princess Vlei at the Co-design Workshop on 21 October.
   The workshop was a follow-on from the workshop held in October last year, when people came together to build on previous work and create an overall vision for Princess Vlei. Read more about the 2016 workshophere.
   After the 2016 workshop, the Princess Vlei Forum Technical and Planning Committee worked with the City Park's planning department, as well as with a team of professional designers, architects and landscape designers to give more substance to the ideas raised at the workshop. This group worked paid several site visits, and produced preliminary sketches and ideas to put forward at the workshop.
    We also asked the third year CPUT architectural students to put forward some ideas for the Interpretation Center.
     The group met at Princess Vlei, and, after a short introduction, were asked to close their eyes and imagine a transformed Princess Vlei. The groups were then invited to join one of the following interest groups:

1. The walkway and the possibility of a bridge across the canal
2. The braai areas
3. The interpretation centre
4. Space for KhoiSan rituals (note: this group did not materialise as all the participants present chose to be part of the other groups)

 The group explored the site to discuss possible locations for these features, then returned to LOFOB to develop ideas. A detailed description of the various discussions may be downloaded below:
     The ideas developed at the workshop have since been presented to members of the City management and planning team, with a focus on the walk way and braai designs, as it is hoped that funds will be found for these in the short term.  Feedback from the workshop was given on the City's proposed braai designs - these have now been commissioned, and will be built in the coming months. 
    The team also met to consolidate the plan for the walkway, and to create a masterplan for the site to integrate the various improvements as funds are found. This will be presented to a broader reference group from the City in January, and a plan made for when the various improvements may be rolled out.
     Thanks to our fabulous design team for all the hard work in developing these ideas: Malcolm Campbell, Terrence Smith, Stanton Brown, Bharat Bhikha, John Prince, Andrea Couvert;  to Caron Von Zeil, Lloyd and Mizat for organising the CPUT project, and to all the CPUT students for their wonderful ideas. These will be made available shortly. Thanks to Andrea Couvert for creating the wonderful video of the day.

Below: proposed walkway for Princess Vlei

‘Imagine a world where the environment does not need any saving.’
This slogan from the Lotus High Environment Group inspired the play that was performed at the Flight of Dreams concert and parade at Princess Vlei on the 23rd of September 2017.
It was not hard to imagine this world when looking at the enthusiasm and talent of the young participants in this event.
This project, run jointly by the Princess Vlei Forum, Peter Clarke Art Centre, Jungle Theatre and eMzantsi Carnival, has now been running for five years. It offers a great opportunity for children to explore their creativity and develop their appreciation of local birds and other wildlife, while providing entertainment for the whole family. This year, the event was made possible through funding from the National Lotteries Commission.
As one of the participating teachers remarked, ‘Our kids come from an area which is like a war zone, with gunshots all the time.  I'm so glad that some kids can be exposed to the beautiful world that Mother Earth is.'
Below is a photo essay to document this magical day.

 The parade set off, led by the Fairmount High Cadets. It made a colourful sight, as it wound down Third Avenue,Victoria Avenue, and then to Princess Vlei via First Avenue. The giant bird puppets, featuring frequent avian visitors to Princess VLei and created by learners over the past five years, flew proudly above the group. A lion on stilts and a dancing frog and vulture joined us from Jungle Theatre, and eMzantsi Carnival was there with their lively Blokka Band and chameleon headdresses. Spectators lined the streets to watch this amazing spectacle.

An enthusiastic crowd gathered to celebrate the talent of the performers, while enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful view.

Lotus High has an active environment club lead by their teacher Shafiek Isaacs. Members of the club worked with Vincent Meyburgh from Jungle Theatre to write and a perform a play at the concert.  The play, “Imagine a Life”, was inspired by a vision of a world where the environment doesn't need saving - a vision that is alive at Lotus High with its flourishing permaculture and indigenous gardens. The play looks at two neighbours, the wasteful Worsie (Abdud Daiyaan) and the eco-friendly Mr Green (Nicole Anthony), with an hilarious narrative of how Worsie learns to see the error of his ways after his beloved dog (operated by Damian Hendricks) falls ill from eating poison.

Mixed Mense is an Emile YX? initiative. It is a Heal the Hood Hip Hop School that aims to teach performance & life skills to youth. The duo infuse traditional dance styles and melodies into Hip Hop, and spread a message of positivity.

If you imagined that a newspaper is only for reading or putting under the cat tray, you would be amazed at the creations flying out of John Graham Primary on Saturday August 12.
 
The event was the Flight of Dreams Flying Puppets workshop, in which teachers learnt how to create movable bird puppets from newspaper and masking tape. The workshop was presented by Liesl Hartman and Fabian Hartzenburg, from the Peter Clarke Art Centre and the Ibhabhathane Project. It was funded through the Princess Vlei Forum.
 
Introducing the workshop, Bridget Pitt explained the philosophy behind the Flight of Dreams Project. ‘Too often, environmental education is about rules. We want to awaken a sense of wonder in children when contemplating nature, and nurture a love of wildlife and natural spaces. We have found that celebrating nature through art creation is one of the best ways of getting kids to really observe nature and to appreciate it. If they love it, they don’t need rules to tell them how to respect it and protect it.’
 
Liesl Hartman, Principal at PCAC, demonstrated how these remarkable birds can be constructed with scrap paper and tape, along the way teaching many lessons about art, design, and natural science.  The secret to the designs is creating sticks by rolling the paper tightly – which can then be used in all manner of ways to construct the flying puppets.
 
The workshop forms part of the Princess Vlei Forum’s Flight of Dreams project, which includes a parade and children’s concert to be held at Princess Vlei on September 23. Any teachers keen to hold workshops at their school, or participate in the event, can contact Bridget Pitt at imagine@princessvlei.org.  Thanks to John Graham Primary for the use of their beautiful artroom.

The Launch of Phase One of the transformation of Princess Vlei Park was a significant milestone for dynamic community involvement in managing Cape Town’s public open spaces.
 
Since its successful campaign to scrap the proposed mall at Princess Vlei, the Princess Vlei Forum has been working with the City of Cape Town to transform Princess Vlei into a vibrant nature, heritage and community park. This transformation has been guided by the vision formulated through workshops, surveys, and other community engagement as part of the Forum’s Imagine Princess Vlei project.
 
The vision that emerged from this process was for a park that:

• creates a haven for wilderness and natural beauty
• provides space for environmentally sensitive recreational activities
• provides a learning and recreational space for youth
• honours cultural heritage and provides a space for cultural practices.

 
The views of all sectors of local and broader communities were canvassed, and incorporated into a Conceptual Development Framework drawn up by the City.
 
On August 5, the Princess Vlei Forum and the City of Cape Town launched the completion of Phase One of the proposed transformation.
 
The first phase of the Princess Vlei Park, completed at a cost of about R893 000, includes an entrance gateway and walls to create a sense of arrival. It also includes a pedestrian pathway which terminates in a timber viewing deck overlooking the vlei, and a paved multi-purpose parking area.
 
The event began with the planting of over 250 plants, many of which are part of the Cape Flats Sand Fynbos or Strandveld species. ‘This project benefits the ecosystem health of Princess Vlei by increasing the biodiversity of the site, helping to provide food and shelter for insect, birds and other animals. Perennial vegetation cover is also more desirable than the annual grass cover on much of the rest of the site, in that it prevents wind erosion and facilitates better infiltration and decreases evaporation when it rains, and filters water before it enters the vlei,’ said Stuart Hall, botanist and Princess Vlei Forum man com member.
 
The plants, donated by the Table Mountain Fund, were planted by community volunteers, Forum members, and members of the Lion’s Club.
 
The group was then addressed by various City Council and Forum members. In Introducing the speakers, ward councilor Kevin Southgate said that he hoped by inviting the Mayco members to the event to encourage them to give the project support.
 
Ald. J.P Smith,  Mayco member for Safety and Security and Social Services, commended the Forum and the community for the fight put up to save the vlei. ‘This is a beautiful space with a spectacular view across the water and it would have been a great pity to see it go otherwise.’
 
Ald Smith encouraged the community to take ownership of the completed and proposed developments at Princess Vlei, saying that community usage was also the best protection against criminal activity at the Vlei. ‘People must start positively using this space, start walking here. We need a board walk to get people to start walking here, because that passive surveillance is effected by every activity you have here and every program you run here, will displace the criminal activity…. I give my commitment to helping initiatives to create a more integrated space, and to create other facilities here to draw people and make this a fun, active and enjoyable space for everybody.’
 
Ald Smith said that the City was committed to having ten Expanded Public Works Program workers deployed at Princess Vlei until the end of 2017, and that Park Rangers would be contracted from a private security company to patrol Princess Vlei. 
 
Cllr Eddie Andrews – Mayco Member for Area Based South, City of Cape Town ­­- thanked the stake holders and Forum members for their passion and commitment. He assured the gathering that he, together with Ald. Smith and Cllr Southgate, would ensure that traction was maintained on the project going forward.
 
Cllr Stuart Diamond, (Mayco member for Assets and Facilities Management) commented that the project was testimony to what can happen when a community opens up their voice and speaks, and is heard. He complimented Cllr Kevin Southgate for sharing the community’s passion, and for encouraging Mayco members, who control the purse, to open up their hearts and make a long term commitment to see that a sustainable project flourishes.
 
Forum Deputy Chairperson, Gary Stewart, spoke about the future priorities identified by the community for Princess Vlei, which include a play park, walkway around the vlei, upgraded braai areas, an inerpretation center and a craft market. He spoke of the vlei’s significance to community members, many of whom have nostalgic memories of picnicking and fishing there. ‘The vlei also has heritage significance – the well-known legend of the Khoi princess helps people to reconnect with their cultural heritage. The vlei is currently being used to teach youth about their environment and their heritage.’
 
‘I want to say to Mayco members that if you invest in this space, the returns are worth a lot more than the money you are investing. When you invest in this space you not only get a site which has great impact on people’s lives, but you also get the donated efforts of all these volunteers.’
 
Stewart thanked Cllr Southgate and City operational officials for their contribution to the project, and said that the Forum had raised the funds to employ a manager and assistant at Princess Vlei for three years, and to conduct environmental education programs for local schools, and for community members.
 
Philip Bam, Forum Chairperson, thanked all the many supporters who fought for Princess Vlei.
 
The event concluded with a walk to the western side of the vlei guided by Stuart Hall. Hall pointed out a number of flourishing indigenous species, some of which had grown themselves, and others that have been planted by community members and school children as part of the Forum’s program to rehabilitate the vlei’s natural systems.
 
On the walk, Khoi John Lewin pointed out Wild Dagga and ‘Hondeoor’ - Cotyledon
Orbiculata – which had been planted by school children in June this year. ‘My grandmother used to use these herbs. Wild Dagga you can drink, the leaves of Hondeoor you cut open and rub on sores.
 
‘I grew up in Raapkraal, near Pollsmoor prison. We used to come here on weekends. I was baptized here.’
 
Khoi Clive van Diemen said their Khoi heritage was important to them. ‘It is not about race or colour. It is about culture and discovering who we are and where we come from. When we come to the end of our lives our children should know who we are and where we come from. That is why we came.
 
‘We have memories of the Princess Vlei. We fished, ate, swam the whole day and slept here. We were never hungry. We saw the baptisms and heard the sermons of the preachers.
 
‘We want to know our Khoi heritage. Not be regarded as so-called Coloureds. Today we buried one of our elders. It taught us that the older generation is passing away. Soon they will never be able to tell us where they came from. My parents could tell me where their flower gardens were and where they collected water from the vlei.
 
‘That is why we are here, to make a contribution. We want to get to know Princess Vlei and build a legacy. We appreciate each one who has made a contribution here and we have grateful hearts.’
 
The Princess Vlei Forum will continue to strive to elevate the status of the Princess Vlei Park, and to leverage private and public funds to enhance its value to nature conservation and the Cape Town community. The Forum would like to urge the private sector to contribute to this exciting development.