‘This is a victory over the selfish needs of capitalism.’
      So said Cllr Kevin Southgate at the unveiling of the Provincial Heritage Site Plaque on 12 October.
     Cllr Southgate commented that he was fighting for Princess Vlei long before he was a councillor. ‘I remember standing on Prince George Drive with a placard reading, ‘No to the mall of death, Yes to the Princess.’
      All the community’s efforts culminated in the decision by the city in 2014 when it agreed to stop the proposed development of the mall. When elected as ward councillor I committed myself to assisting and bringing to reality the people’s plan for princess vlei. Over the past six years the city has contributed millions as part of its commitment to the restoration and development of Princess  Vlei Park,’ Cllr Southgate said.
      The Councillor quoted Chief John Jansen in his submission to HWC: in a community facing extreme social and historical challenge, such as loss of identity, resources, land and way of life it is as important to restore the cultural ecological link of helping to rebuild a semblance of our past, to ensure a future for our children. A past representing a people whose lived values of sustainable use of resources, expressing their history to the care and stewardship of nature, a people who lived by the collective values of sustainable development can be restored once again.’

Gary Stewart, Chairperson of the Princess Vlei Forum, commented on how proud he was of the Forum, and the hard work done by all its employees and volunteers, and all community stakeholders, to secure this victory. As important was the ongoing work to restore the biodiversity heritage of the vlei by re-indigenising the vegetation on site, and to make local schools and community members aware of the cultural, social and natural value of the site.
      Stewart reflected on the historical neglect of Princess Vlei, and said that achieving heritage status was not the end of the  road, it was a significant milestone in the struggle to restore the vlei.  However, there was still much to be done. ‘We thank the councillor and and the City of Cape Town for all they have done, and which to assure both the CoCt and HWC that in the Forum you have a very passionate and committed community partner. We may not always be agreeable, but we are fully behind any efforts to enhance the vlei and to deepen its value as a place of heritage for our community.’
      Delivering the keynote address, Minister Anroux Marais, provincial Minister of Cultural affairs and Sport spoke about the rich history of the vlei, and its cultural significance to the community., describing it as a ‘unique landscape of people’s identity.’
        She spoke about the significance of the Princess Vlei myth in our history, and said that ‘The Princess Vlei represents a place of unity, healing and identity, all of which is much needed in the current climate. The heritage status communicates clearly that the heritage community and agencies consider this site to be an asset that warrants serious and focussed conservation attention from all parties.’
       This is indeed a significant milestone. However, as the Forum we are acutely aware that much needs to be done to secure the heritage value of Princess Vlei. The legacy of decades of neglect is not easily overcome, and we welcome the minister’s statement that the site merits serious and focussed conservation attention from all parties.
      This does indeed represent a victory of people over profit, for it has been the sustained action of thousands of community members, from school children to pensioners, which has led to this victory. Our young Princess Vlei guardians represent a new generation who will take this legacy forward. We look forward to working with the City and Heritage Western Cape into transforming the Princess into a precious community treasure, embodying our cultural, social and environmental identity for generations to come.  To quote Ian McCallum, 'In damaging the landscape, you damage the soul of the community.’ Equally, restoring that landscape can heal the soul of the community. That is our over-arching mission and dearest wish.

No pollution… end to global warming… people respect nature… children are safe… plants can grow… we all have what we need…human rights for all…
   These are some of the wishes for the world expressed by Lotus High learners at a workshop held at the Princess Vlei Eco-centre during the school holidays last week.
Fifteen learners came together to study the relationships existing in nature at Princess Vlei, and think about what nature can teach us about healing the world and making it a better place for all beings who live in it, human, plant an animals. 
    The group started off with an exercise to create a web, exploring what makes a web strong. They then went into the natural areas around the vlei to study the relationships in nature. 
‘We observed a snail and a slime lily, and a feather indicating the bird, and a piece of glass. The slime lily benefits the snail, and the snail benefits the bird, but the broken glass benefits nothing and is     harmful,’ one group noted.
    Later, the learners discussed the different types of relationships in nature - parasitic, commensalist, and mutualist, and spoke about how these can teach us to live with nature and each other in a way that is not harmful, the benefits those who are connected.

   The learners drew mind maps to show these relationships and came up with a number of wishes for how we could create a kinder, more sustainable and just world. These were then narrowed down to 9 wishes, which the learners painted on boards to form part of the collaborative artwork that will be installed at Princess Vlei at a celebration event on October 16
    The artworks will take the form of giant webs. They will incorporated contributions of creative work of over a hundred learners from Harmony Primary, Hillwood Primary, Levana Primary, Lotus High, Muhammadeyah Primary, Primrose Park Primary and the Peter Clarke Art Centre. 
Learner’s also tie-dyed fabric to be used as part of the art work. This was a popular activity, with some learners being inspired to dye their clothes and shoe laces as well!
    The learner’s visions, and the visions of primary school learners from five schools, will be woven into a poem which will be performed by Lotus High learners on the day.
The celebration on the 16th will include a procession through from the Retreat Civic through the streets of Sasmeer estate to the eastern shore of Princess Vlei; a ceremony to install the artworks, and a performance of the River of Life by The Jungle Theatre Company. We invite members of the public to come and view the procession and the wonderful artworks. 
    We also plan to share some of the artworks in an online exhibition and a display at the Grassy Park Library at a later date. 

• This project was made possible by funding  from the City of Cape Town Grant in Aid fund and the  Hans Hoheisen Charitable Trust managed by Nedbank Private wealth.

There are many wondrous tales about the mermaid or water monster that lives at Princess Vlei, but not so many know about the giant octopus on its banks.
      The ‘octopus’ plant,  better known as a waxberry, or Morella cordifolia, is a sprawling member of the Dune Strandveld plant community. This one, planted four years ago by school learners on the eastern shore as part of the Forum’s restoration project, now has tentacles spreading over eight meters in all directions.  In a natural setting, these waxberry plants would be controlled by herds of eland moving through.
    The ‘Octopus’ plant was one of many wonderful plants featured on the Princess Vlei Forum Spring Walk on October 2. While the weather was more wintry than springy, twenty die-hard enthusiasts braved the weather to accompany restoration expert Alex Lansdowne and discover some botanical treasures at Princess Vlei.

Lansdowne explained the Princess Vlei is located on a gradient between the acid soil of the critically endangered Cape Flats Sand Fynbos, and the alkaline soil of the endangered Dune Strandveld. This provides the potential for restoring unique endemic plants that are found almost nowhere else
    These include the Serruria foeniculacea, or Rondevlei Spiderhead, a plant brought back from extinction by Howard Langley in the 70’s and cultivated at Rondevlei. Seedling and seeds planted at Princess Vlei are thriving, and the site has the potential to host the biggest community of this rare plant.
      Also thriving are other protea species grown on site from specially prepared seed such as the Protea scolymocephala  (aka Wit skollie, or sugar bush), and the leucadendron florid, and the beautiful Pelargonium Triste and Pelargonium betulinim.
       After the walk, damp chilly walkers were warmed by coffee, muffins and rusk generously donated by Tony Klein at the Jolly Carp Saturday market.
        In the words of local resident, Erica Williams: ‘The kids got to be out in the fresh air, with the sun on their skin. We learned about the names, which we'll try to remember, and were made so much aware of the plants that are important.  We'll be able to point the plants and flowers out. We’re glad, we joined in with the walk, and want to make a difference to our vlei, as little as the kids are now, so that when they are grown, they will have all the beauty restored to our Princess vlei.
       I  found the network, unity and just people who want to do more and hopefully get more people involved. We are connected, just as the vlei's flow…  how the one vlei, leads to the next. We need each other, we love our vlei.  All , I can say is, Thank God, no mall was build on it’

‘I would like to live in a world where… people would get along; the gangsters could not kill anyone; people can take care of nature and each other; no-one can look down to people that don’t have.’

These are the wishes of Shaun Amos (Grade 6) Hillwood Primary School in Lavender Hill. The Princess Vlei Forum is currently collecting children’s wishes for the world to be part of an art installation to be displayed at Princess Vlei on 16 October.

This forms part of our ‘Dream Weavers’ project to help children learn from the positive connections and relationships in nature, and explore how we can use this knowledge to imagine a more caring and safer world. Schools involved include Hillwood, Levana, Harmony, Primrose Park and Muhammadeyah Primary School, and Lotus High School.

Dream Weavers project will include a display at Grassy Park library on 11 to 15 October, and a celebration at Princess Vlei on 16 October. This will include a short procession with the learner’s artworks through Sassmeer Estate, and a performance of The River of Life by the Jungle Theatre Company.

In art workshops held over the last month, learners painted pictures of various species that they had seen at Princess Vlei in field trips in August. These beautiful paintings will form part of the art installation and library display.

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.
  

An enthusiastic group of about 30 people  gathered on 21 August to help restore indigenous fynbos at Princess Vlei - but this time they weren’t planting, but cutting trees down.

This was the second mass-clearing hack at the Greater Princess Vlei Conservation Area hosted by the Princess Vlei Forum and Botanical Society Kirstenbosch. Clearing invasive alien plants is critical to enable regrowth and restoration of indigenous species.

A seasonal seep between the two vleis was selected for clearing. This area burnt in summer 2019/2020 and a surprising diversity of species have been found germinating from the seed bank underground. It is a priority to clear this area as the habitat has great rehabilitation potential.

The seep was invaded with an impenetrable thicket of White Poplar (Poplus alba), Black Alder (Alnus glutinosa), and Port Jackson (Acacia saligna). The youngest plants were 1 year old seedlings, and the largest were 5 meter tall Port Jacksons.

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.