Post by Emma Oliver

It’s a perfect summer morning at the Princess Vei Park. No wind. Soft clouds. The floating princess and her reflection stand as one in the water and sky. Audrey and Sune, facilitators for Brave Rock Girls, arrive with 9 girls. The group energy is glum and heavy. No one has had breakfast and several have had little sleep with their year-end Prom happening last night. So we start with bread and juice. At the braai spots next to us a Pentecostal church group is gathering for their year-end celebration. Kettles are on the fire and chairs being placed for the seniors in the group. Beyond them, on the platform, the Saturday morning yoga class is taking place.

My brief from Audrey is that they want to learn more about fynbos. We walk along the shoreline and I tell the girls to ask questions about what they see and notice. First question. Why is that plant growing there and not there? She is pointing to clumps of sour fig (carpobrotus edulis). It’s a good question. Some of the sour fig look healthy with thick green stems and others look scraggy, shrivelling and heat stressed. We dive into everything about what might be going on for these plants. We bite on the stems, tasting the bitter antiseptic sap. The girls try the sap on their skin, feeling how it soothes. They break open a fruit, the fig, and experience that unique fynbos sweet and sour taste.
   It was a morning to touch, taste, smell, reflect and then draw. We were nature journalling. What did we notice? What did we see? What did we feel and hear? What was surprising? What made us wonder? We reflected on what we were seeing and how the experience might have been for those living many generations before us. We hardly moved from the one spot. Around us there was Bruinsalie (salvia Africana-lutea), wild rosemary or kapokbossie (eriocephalus), Wildedagga (leonotis leonurus) and of course water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes). Each plant is there with its own fascinating story, its personality, its many qualities to be explored. We could have stayed long.
    We ended the morning sitting at the table by the braai, painting our drawings, relaxing and unwinding . The girls shared what they hoped for in the holidays ahead. For all of them it was a wish for peace.

Post by Emma Oliver

 Tackling water hyacinth at Princess Vlei is an ongoing story of successes and failures as,  together with the CoCT, we have tried to come to grips with what is known as ‘the world's worst water weed’. Each year the situation gets worse as a carpet of the pretty but destructive water hyacinth spreads rapidly across the vlei.   The dense growth suffocates life beneath it, prevents access to the water, and disrupts the delicate balance in the vlei's aquatic eco-systems.
      In 2023 the City of Cape Town spent R9 million using heavy machinery to remove the water hyacinth. There was outcry over the amount spent, over the damage to the banks of the Vlei by the heavy machinery, and over the inadequacy of the operation to tackle the problem.   (See the post on the shoreline destruction). In 2024, no budget was allocated by the City to remove hyacinth, and the weed grew steadily. . There was a small die back in winter  but spring brought new growth, and now in summer it is  blossoming with its delicate lilac flowers and expanding rapidly.  The Southfield canal and Sassmeer outlets are completely clogged up. Hyacinth Islands blow across the Vlei,  and settle all around the shoreline, preventing access to the water. Dealing with it  is a daunting task that will take years of ongoing effort to manage.

      However, we have been given new hope that 2025 will be more constructive and productive. In June, the Princess Vlei Forum, via Nature Connect, received R60000 of a ‘noncompliance’ funding (funding given by a development project as penalty for flouting compliance requirements) which was to be spent on clearing invasive alien species. With this money we have bought a 15HP boat motor, a work boat, life jackets and waders, to be used by a boat team. We also raised funds for a boat team through Hans Hoheisen Charitable Trust  (managed by Nedbank Private Wealth). The boat team will be headed up by Sidney Jacobs from the Friends of Zeekoevlei and Rondevlei. Sidney’s team have much experience  in this field from work in Zeekoevlei. Funding raised by the Forum will give them 24 days working on the water.

    In August, the Zeekoevlei Catchment Forum was formed under the leadership of specialist fresh water ecologist, Dr Liz Day. Princess Vlei lies within the Zeekoe catchment. The Catchment Forum brings together people from many diverse fields – the CoCT, NGOs, Friends Groups, volunteers – to find ways to improve the health of the catchment. This collaboration has enabled the creation of the Princess Vlei water hyacinth clearing team. The team members include city officials from Recreation and Parks, which is responsible for the banks and land around the vlei; from Catchment, Storm water and River Management (CSRM) which is responsible for the water body and operates heavy machinery, booms in the water, and land teams for clearing the hyacinth once out of the water; from the Invasive Species Unit, under Bongani Zungu, which is breeding and introducing megamelus scutellaris, or water hyacinth planthoppers,  as biocontrol agents. Another key player is Jane Doherty, who is completing a PhD exploring whether biocontrol can be effective on water hyacinth in the Western Cape. The Forum is supplying the boat and boat team and other supplementary funding.
    The aim of biocontrol is to get the planthoppers in their thousands to eat the hyacinth, make holes in it, and cause it to sink and die.  Large numbers of megamelus bugs are crucial for an effective outcome. The ISU at Westlake is breeding megamelus, and the Forum is paying for an additional consignment of the water hyacinth planthoppers  to be couriered from the Waainek Rearing Facility at Rhodes University. The first consignment of 5000  bugs has already been released on hyacinth in the Southfield canal.   Several consignments will be needed. The biocontrol work is new territory for many on the team, and needs  to be carefully monitored. The success of the operation depends on good communication between the different players. For example, it is essential to ensure  that the CSRM heavy machinery contractors don’t remove the hyacinth where they bugs have been released.
     The challenge for the Forum will be to liaise, push, collaborate, demand and do what it takes to hold the water hyacinth team together and ensure that the CoCT departments, the CSRM, Recreation and Parks, the Invasive species unit all deliver.  However, persistence and determination is a quality we have developed over the years. Watch this space.
    Huge thanks to all involved, and to Nature Connect and Hans Hoheisen Charitable Trust managed by Nedbank Private Wealth for making this possible.

‘Hallo, my name is Faith, my first toad’s name is Abongwe, and the other one is Bukees. I’ve shown the whole life cycle with Bukees, from the egg, the tadpole, and growing legs, until his out and I’ve put some flowers with some insects, and a bright sun, and also the water with some fish inside, and by Abongwe we have some flies, clouds, a bright beautiful sun and also some insects and flowers.’

Faith was one of 84 learners from five primary schools who took part in our boats and toads project in November. The project, which was sponsored by the National Lotteries Commission, aims to generate excitement and passion amongst local school learners for the critically endangered Western Leopard Toad.
The Western Leopard Toad breeds at Princess Vlei every year, and migrates into surrounding communities between breeding seasons. Teaching learners about these creatures helps to promote community awareness and to safeguard the toads when they move into residential areas.
The program began with a field trip to Princess Vlei. Learners were given basic information about the toads, and went out with our volunteers and staff to do their own exploration of the creatures of Princess Vlei. Their mission was to ascertain whether Princess Vei has everything a toad needs in its habitat, and to asses threats, and breeding and foraging opportunities, for the toads.

Armed with nets and specimen tanks, the learners set off. They were excited to discover some thumbnail sized tiny toadlets. They also found tadpoles in various stages of development, juvenile fish, dragon flies and other insects, and shiny land crabs. While some learners were exploring the Princess Vlei aquatic and terrestrial life, others were experiencing the vlei from the water. Gravity Adventures were there with canoes to give the kids an adventurous but safe encounter with the water. A brisk wind on both days of the field trip made experience this even more exciting.
The field trip was followed by an art experience at two schools to enable learners to consolidate what they had learnt from their observations. Although the wind had prevented them from filling in worksheets during the field trip, our young natural scientists had absorbed the information. A question and answer session at the beginning of the art process confirmed that they knew about the toad’s life cycle and knew what toads needed in their habitat to breed and flourish.

The learners  created clay toads, and painted plates with a suitable habitat for the toads to live in. Many learners brought an extra flair to the task. Some, like Faith, created toads at different stages of development. One particularly creative learner, Rixario, created a hollow rock next to his toad, and hid another tiny toad beneath it.
The learner’s pride and enthusiasm was clearly displayed in the videos where they were asked to introduce their toads and explain what they had put in their habitat. All learners were delighted to do this, even those who, according to teachers, are reticent to speak in class.
This annual event is hugely popular with learners - this year we ran two groups to enable more learners to attend. It is truly holistic education, designed to stimulate all aspects of their intelligence: sensory perception, physical confidence and co-ordination, creativity, deductive reasoning, problem solving, observation and story telling among others. We are confident that these learners will hold a special place in their hearts for the Western Leopard Toads.
     A huge thanks to the National Lotteries Commission for funding this project, to Hillwood, Levana, Rosmead, Harmony, and Floreat Primary and their staff for participating, and to the fabulous guides from Gravity Adventures.

Post by Denisha Anand

Thirteen Harmony Primary School  learners attended their first camp at Princess Vlei from the 22nd to the 24th November. Learners from Grades 5 to 7 spent 2 nights at the Eco Center, a recreational facility based at Princess Vlei wetland park in Southfield.
      They started off their camp with a walk to the Greater Princess Vlei where they were asked to listen to the sounds of nature, observe ecological relationships at the vlei, note any threats and come up with solutions to deal with those threats. After each walk (2 per day)  learners spent time journaling in the books that we provided for them. They also made drawings of the biodiversity and collected leaves, feathers and stones during their walks.

 The sunbird and fynbos workbook guided the activities that the learners did while on camp and they managed to complete their books by Sunday. They spent some time being creative on Saturday by creating fynbos ecosystem collages for their journal covers. Learners also made sunbird and protea stick puppets and learnt how to use ink and pastel to create beautiful patterns on their birds and flowers.
On Saturday evening they were treated to a night walk at Princess Vlei, escorted by our on site park rangers, they all felt safe enough to explore. The endangered Western Leopard Toads were out and about and the learners were lucky enough to see a few toads, spiders and even a crab!
They also did a listening exercise at night to compare the sounds that they heard during the day to that of the night. On Sunday we closed off with the campaign poster activity in the sunbird and fynbos workbook, where they created beautiful pieces to create awareness about the relationship between sunbirds and various fynbos species and how we can protect and conserve these relationships.
Thanks to the National Lotteries Commission for funding this camp.

Because we love the earth and the waters we pledge to protect and preserve Princess Vlei, to honour its natural beauty, to safeguard its wild life and to ensure it remains a sanctuary for future generations. We pledge  care, respect and sustainable practices. We commit to nurturing this vital eco system.
     This pledge was made by learners from Levana Primary, at the ceremony to launch a floating sculpture at Princess Vlei. The sculpture is intended to honour of the Khoe princess who gave Princess Vlei its name, and to raise awareness of the history of Princess Vlei, and of the indigenous wisdom of our Khoe and San ancestors who live harmoniously with the land.
    Sometimes, all the elements come together to create something truly magical and transcendent, when all the complexity and wonder that makes Princess Vlei can be experienced. This ceremony on 12 October was one such day.
    The waterside ceremony followed a day of celebration by 200 school learners and community members. The group gathered at Retreat Civic earlier in the day, where learners had their faces painted and create headdresses celebrating our wetlands to wear on the procession.

Learners from four Primary schools (Levana. Hillwood, Harmony and Rosmead primary) performed dances inspired by nature at Princess Vlei. Their dances were followed by Captain Kwanda’s Fanplastic Adventures, by the Jungle Theatre Company. The young audience thoroughly enjoyed this lively production, while also learning about the importance of saving the oceans from climate change and plastic pollution.

After the play, the group formed a procession to walk from the Retreat Civic to Princess Vlei. They carried giant bird puppets and mandalas, all created by learners over the years, with messages about fighting climate change, deforestation, pollution,  and living harmoniously with nature. The learners also carried colourful smaller fish puppets and windsock fish that they had created. They wore t-shirts they had tie-dyed themselves.

At the water’s edge, Shihaam Domingo led a ceremony to launch the Princess sculpture. ‘The water connects us, the plants are medicine, the water is medicine. …. I invite learners to think about their mothers, and grandmothers, who brought healing plants to them. This princess would walk here and teach her children about the plants and the animals… I have seen all so many creatures honoured in your dances, snakes and birds and fish… we are all connected. Be like the princess, find that connection again.’

The Ceremony was attended by Zolani Mahola, former lead singer of Pan-African supergroup Freshlyground. Zolani called on ‘the spirit of the Princess, and to the spirit of all our ancestors and all the people who came before us.
‘We are all children here today, we all came from somewhere and we came onto this planet, and we are nature, we are not separate from nature, and so we look after it as we look after ourselves.’

    Several young learners stepped forward to make their own pledge to care for Princess Vlei, for our natural waterways, for Nature. ‘I commit to stand up for every wrong against nature… I pledge to keep all bodies of water clean. I shall not litter in or around the water…. I pledge to protect the mammals, reptiles, insects, amphibians, fish and birds of Princess Vlei…. Earth is my planet and yours. I pledge to teach my community and future generations to do this – to preserve all that was given to us. We pledge to protect what is ours.’
   Denisha Anand read the message of the Floating Princess, captured in a sign by the water's edge.
    Zolani enthralled the gathering by singing Doo be Doo, Freshly Ground’s iconic song about the day that politicians agreed to honour and obey, and give their love away

The wooden sculpture was created by members of the Princess Vlei Forum, the Peter Clarke Art Centre, and learners from Lotus High. It stands on a floating platform planted with indigenous Cape freshwater lowland plants such as restios and Arum lilies. It was towed out by a boat on Friday, and stands approximately 30 meters from the shore. Read about the making of the Floating Princess here.
     This project is a collaborative effort from the Princess Vlei Forum, Jungle Theatre Company, local dance practitioners and local schools. It forms part of the Princess Vlei Forum’s creative education program to generate passion for nature amongst local school learners, and to use the area as a living classroom to raise environmental awareness.
Thanks to the City of Cape Town’s Grant in Aid Funding for making this project possible.

We ordered the materials: pliable center cane and coir stuffing and hessian. Drawings were done, discussed and  circulated, and we created a small maquette out of paper rolled sticks to guide our construction. The arms were initially going to be outstretched, but we didn’t want her to resemble a scarecrow so we decided to go with pliable hessian and wood arms, holding arum lilies in one hand and a stave with the other.

Building began in earnest at the end of September, when Lotus High learners came to the Peter Clarke Art Centre for a two day workshop. Here, we discussed the message of the Princess,  reflecting on how our waterways are all linked, how caring for them is critical for the health of our planet and humanity. We identified threats such as plastic pollution and climate change.
     The learners assisted with constructing the base for the Princess, making stencils and stenciling flower patterns on her skirts, and creating her braided hair. They also worked on creating flying fish windsocks to carry on the procession in her honour.

n a few days, she took shape. Working flat out in the week before the launch, we created the torso, head and arms. Then it was decorative touches. The headdress was created in consultation with Shihaam Domingo, and made with ostrich shells donated by  Shihaam and porcupine quills and a shell from Emma. The seashell connects her to the ocean, the quills and the ostrich shells to the land, and to the first nations who walked this land and used these for adornment.

Friday 11 October was launch day. The Princess was to stand on a floating platform created by Neil Major, who specialises in creating these for natural pools. The hexagonal raft was attached to empty plastic drums for flotation, and one filled with sand to act as a counter weight. The platform was planted out with restios, arums, wild garlic and other plants that form part of the Cape Lowlands freshwater ecosystem.
     A group of fishermen recognised that their day’s fishing would be interrupted, and kindly gave up on fishing and provided extra hands where needed. This included digging a hole for the sign which would explain the message of the floating princess.
     The platform was towed out by boat about thirty metres from shore, and anchored on three corners to stop it drifting or spinning. A central mast was raised and secured to a counter weight beneath. Then it was the turn of the Princess in the boat. The figure was taken out in two sections, which were lifted over the central mast and secured to the platform.

By late afternoon, the work was done. The Floating Princess was ready, and waiting for the ceremony to launch her on the following day.

The team: Design & project management: Fabian Hartzenberg, Bridget Pitt.
The Lotus Team: Tracy Daniels, Mushfeeq Bedford, Hafza Bester, Zia Booysen,  Miekaaiel Buekes, Paige Eden, Enrich Hendricks, Zea Hope, Mickah Jacobs, Skylar Leeman, Erin Leo, Diedre Louw, Lisa Leevan     
Construction and installation: Fabian Hartzenberg, Bridget Pitt, Emma Oliver; Denisha Anand; Andrew Jacobs; Peter Mitchell, Neil Major, Sidney Jacobs, Hanleck Kustom
Platform: Neil Major and Ivan, guided by Sidney Jacobs

Thanks to the City of Cape Town Grant in Aid fund for sponsorship.

Our wish for Princess Vlei is that if anyone has bad intentions, bad dreams and bad wishes for this area that those dream catchers will catch those and only let through the good vibes.” - Ayesha Price, 2012

Ayesha Price was one of the leading inspirational voices in the struggle to save Princess Vlei, and the journey of renewal since then. Her death at the age of 49 has been a great shock to all who worked with her.
Ayesha’s first involvement with the Princess Vlei Forum was her work on the Arts Alive event at Princess Vlei in 2012, when various artists and principals of community arts centres came together to create giant dream catchers with their learners to hang at Princess Vlei.
Ayesha was then Principal of the Children’s Art Centre in Zonnebloem, and one of the key inspirations behind the idea. She continued with this talented team of artists and others to initiate in many artistic interventions in and around Princess Vlei.
These included our first Flight of Dreams Parade, a night time parade in 2013. The energy sparked by this event has inspired the 9 annual parades and processions since then, held every year save for 2020 when it was cancelled due to Covid restrictions.
Ayesha had a wonderful way with children, and inspired many with her guidance. She ran workshops to create masks and puppets for the Princess Vlei Parades, and helped learners to connect with nature through observational drawing at Princess Vlei.

    She also served on the Imagine Princess Vlei committee, which was instrumental in collating the community vision for Princess Vlei, which has served a blue print for the City of Cape Town’s improvements to the area since the plans to build the mall were scrapped. She provided the voice over and commentary to a video we created to explain the Imagine Princess Vlei project.
    In 2013, she created a seven panel  multimedia installation to embody the spirit of Princess Vlei, which she described as “ a wetland in an urban area and a specific site of trauma: haunted by myths, riled with urban legends, inextricably linked to the displacement of people and currently, under real threat of destruction by commercial development.” http://www.princessvlei.org/articles/a-mesmerising-installation
   After leaving the Children’s Art Centre, Ayesha worked as a teacher, volunteer, art facilitator and curator at the District Six Museum. With a personal connection to the trauma of forced removals from District Six through her mother, Ayesha was passionate about using art to help heal the trauma of the past. She facilitated a number of public art projects, working with young and old. One such project was the Flower of Maryam on the wall of the District Six Clinic.  Ayesha described the flower as “a powerful maternal image that speaks to shared indigenous knowledge and a sense of belonging to a community even through migration and displacement.” (Ayesha Price 2019)
Since 2019 she has been teaching undergraduate projects in sculpture at Michaelis School of Fine Art.
In the video below, Ayesha narrates the story of Imagine Princess Vlei

During August and September, over 70 learners at local primary schools have been attending creative workshops as part of the Princess Vlei Forum’s Living Waters Project, funded by the City of Cape Town’s Grant in Aid fund.
    The learners came together to tie-dye T-shirts, and to create colourful fish puppets. They will wear the T-shirts and carry the puppets in a procession on 12 October. The intention is for the procession to create a “river” as it winds through the streets of Retreat and Sassmeer Estate, and onto Princess Vlei.
    In the words of one of the learners, ‘it was very fun to do the tie-dye’. Their pride in their work can be seen in their portraits below. These projects give learners who have limited access to art materials an opportunity to learn skills, and explore their creativity, while also learning the deeper lessons of taking action to safeguard our freshwater and marine ecosystems.

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Petrina Roberts, who died on 14 August 2024.
    Petrina was a founder member of the Princess Forum, and served on its first Management Committee for three years. She was a tireless organiser, involved in planting, picketing, and organising a multifaith protest meeting against the proposed shopping mall at Princess Vlei.
     She was an active force in MENNGOS, the Micro Enterprise Network of Non-Governmental organisations, and was devoted to building community networks and  small business initiatives. For several years, she ran an organic and craft market at the Jolly Carp, creating many opportunities for local vegetable growers, crafts people and bakers. Under her tireless guidance, the Jolly Carp became a hub of community activity,hosting coommunity meetings and events and music concerts such as the annual Jazz on the Vlei. She transformed the once-neglected historical site  next to the Vlei, into a beautiful, creative, thriving space, with organic vegetable gardens, children's play structures, and rooms for meetings and workshops.
    She was a devoted animal lover, and took in dogs who needed homes. She was civic-minded and a community builder. She had a passion for developing people, and helping them to acquire skills. She organised food gardens, taught people to grow food in order to become self-sufficient. She was well known in The Eastern Cape where she worked in villages, including Marx village. She taught people to grow food and to raise funds for their communities. She was public relations officer for CAFDA and worked tirelessly to make it well-known  in the Western Cape.
    Petrina was a familiar figure at Princess Vlei, with her small grey dog who came with her to all the plantings. Many of the plants thriving at the vlei today were planted by her. She had a vision of a cohesive and thriving community, and worked hard to ensure that the seeds for that vision were sewn and nurtured. We will miss her.

Post by Choi, Janelle Ye-Lim

From the 20th to the 23rd of September, the Great Southern Bioblitz (GSB) 2024 united people from around the world to spend time in nature and with community. In more than 82 areas across 21 countries in the Southern Hemisphere, thousands of citizen scientists embarked on a mission to record the biodiversity in their regions and outcompete others.  On the morning of the 21st of September, 15 citizen scientists from around Cape Town congregated at the Retreat Civic Centre to observe the species diversity along the southern dunes of Princess Vlei.
   The GSB 2024 event at Princess Vlei was as much about capturing a snapshot of the Vlei’s biodiversity as about connecting with people in the community. The day kicked off with introductions as we went around in a circle sharing our names, professions, and what drew us to the event. We were a group of volunteers, professionals in the environmental management space, six-year-olds, professors, and students, united by our appreciation for nature

As we walked along Toring Road, Princess Vlei Forum’s Biodiversity Project Manager Denisha Anand, shared the history of the land. The land south of Princess Vlei is covered in Cape Flats Dune Strandveld (CFDS) and was the only area deemed worthy of conserving by an Environmental Impact Assessment of Princess Vlei. The CFDS vegetation type is endangered as a result of urban sprawl, sand mining, illegal dumping, and poor management. The Princess Vlei Forum has worked to protect and conserve this area in addition to the remaining 110 hectares that compose the Greater Princess Vlei Conservation Area. With no other similar veld types in Cape Town, the group had an exciting time snapping photos of the many plants, insects, and critters who call the Cape Flats Dune Strandveld home.

Emma Oliver shared instructions on recording observations on iNaturalist, an online platform that allows people to share biodiversity information and learn about nature. By capturing a photo of a wild organism, uploading the geotagged image to iNaturalist, and selecting a best guess for the species of the organism, the observation is shared to the community. Any observation can be uploaded with a guess of the organism’s taxon, but when a species is identified and verified by two out of three identifiers, the observation is upgraded to research grade status.
 Across the Southern Hemisphere, the biological survey that citizens conduct by taking photographs of wildlife provides insight into the range, diversity, and richness of species. The involvement of  citizen scientists in the monitoring of invasive and native species allows organizations and governments to devise more accurate environmental management plans and conservation policy.

Princess Vlei Forum’s GSB 2024 event was a success with 177 observations and 75 different species observed! Downy Drumsticks, Zaluzianskya villosa, a plant endemic to South African and found on the sandy flats and lower slopes of the Western Cape. Participants were excited to see the Strandveld Trumpet Bobbejaantjie, Babiana tubiflora, which is found in the West Cape province of South Africa and has tolerated severe habitat loss. Aided by binoculars, Professor Todd Vision observed birds flying above the water, though they were not identified. The call of a bird was uploaded to iNaturalist and identified as the Helmeted Guineafowl, Numida meleagris. As we made our way back to the Retreat Civic Centre from the banks of the Vlei, the petals of the Blue Afrikaner, Gladiolus carinatus, were spotted. As the group marveled at the beauty of the natural world, shared conversations, and enjoyed some oranges and apples, the event came to a peaceful close.

    In the Greater Princess Vlei Conservation Area community on iNaturalist, 400 species have been observed with over 1,700 total observations. Join the Greater Princess Vlei Conservation Area community on iNaturalist! Anyone with access to a phone can share data to a community of nature lovers and contribute to the growing scientific knowledge of biodiversity. To be counted in the GSB2024 competition, participants have until October 7th to submit all observations!
   The Great Southern Bioblitz effectively engages communities in citizen science with a fun, competitive twist. Currently, Cape Town sits in third for the most observations recorded during the GSB 2024! This annual, international event has a lasting impact as community members end the day equipped with knowledge of how to upload to iNaturalist and continue engaging in the recording of biodiversity. Thank you to all who participated in the GSB 2024, and we look forward to seeing which region comes out on top on October 7th! View the results on the iNaturalist Community: Great Southern Bioblitz 2024 Umbrella!