‘The best thing is when we went canoeing and went into the unknown…’

This comment by grade 6 Harmony Primary learner, Zarah van Graan beautifully captures the spirit of the Princess Vlei Wetland Explorer event in earlier in February. The program was held over two days, involving 83 learners from Lotus High, Levana, Harmony and Rosmead Primary. Lotus High stepped in when another primary school had to cancel at the last minute. 
    The learners went on a habitat hunt, to assess the Princess Vlei wetland area for its suitability as a habitat for various species. They noted food, nesting material, places to shelter, and threats such as plastic litter. 
     A highlight for all the learners was the kayaking, facilitated by Gravity Adventures. Gravity crew members Jen and Waris briefed the learners on water safety and kitted them out with lifejackets. With temperatures approaching 35 degrees on Day 2, the kids were happy get wet in the process of getting the kayaks in and out of the water.

The learners also thoroughly enjoyed exploring the aquatic life at Princess Vlei, by netting some of the small species such as tiny bass and carp fingerlings, tadpoles, water boatmen and water skimmers, dragon fly and damsel fly nymphs. Kamva Nose showed the learners how to safely catch these creatures and transfer them to specimen trays for observation, and how to release them again without harm and minimal distress. 
      Kamva also explained that checking for the presence of aquatic species is a good measure of water health. The number and diversity of species found suggests that the Princess Vlei is reasonable shape for an urban water body. Unfortunately, plastic pollution is a perennial issue. 
     While the learners enjoyed the activity, many squealed with alarm at the feel of the mud squelching between their bare toes. Most of our older readers will remember this sensation as a staple of childhood experience, but modern urbanised children raised in a world of screens seldom go barefoot and may have very little variety in their tactile experiences. Getting them out into ‘the unknown’ not only teachers them about the natural life at Princess Vlei, but also helps them push their own boundaries of fear and gain confidence in themselves.
    Learners also spotted a number of birds, including weavers, swallows, African Darters, Blacksmith lapwings, and Egyptian geese. The massive improvement made to the water quality by the Princess Vlei Forum’s hyacinth clearing project in 2025 is paying off with the return of many bird species. 
     We look forward to visiting the Princess Vlei wetland with our intrepid young explorers and scientists again. 

• Thanks to the National Lotteries Commission for making this possible, and to Gravity Adventures for their invaluable contribution of supplying the kayaks, paddles, life jackets and experienced guides.
  

‘ A River has the right to flow and to flourish and to exist… we should change the way we value water… The river sustains living organisms and has the right to flow free and be free from pollution.'

This was said by one of the Lotus High Learners who participated in the Forum's Source to Sea programme. Over three sessions, the learners traced the course of the Diep river, from near its source on Table Mountain, through Princess Vlei, to the estuary at Muizenberg. This project gave them the opportunity to see a river as a living entity, as it flows through these different states from a stream to wetland to the sea

The learners hiked to Cecilia waterfall last year, to visit the river near its source. On 22 January this year, 22 learners and 5 educators from Lotus High School and visited Princess Vlei to investigate wetland phase of the river. The session was facilitated by Denisha Anand (Project Manager) and Kamva Nose (Intern) from the Princess Vlei Forum.
      The learners discussed the importance of the vlei as a freshwater system and its ecological role in the river’s journey from source to sea. Denisha Anand explained the purpose of the programme and outlined the ground rules to ensure safety and respectful behaviour towards each other, and towards the living species at Princess Vlei.  Kamva Nose explained the mini SASS method and its importance in assessing river and wetland health. The following steps of the mini SASS method were explained:

• Select a suitable sampling area within the waterbody.
  
• Using insect nets to gently skim through the water, vegetation and substrate to collect macroinvertebrates.
• Emptying the collected organisms into transparent buckets half-filled with water.
  
• Use the mini SASS identification sheet to identify the macroinvertebrates caught.
• Assign sensitivity scores to each identified organism.
• Add the scores together to determine the overall mini SASS score and water quality rating.

After this introduction, the learners were divided into two groups and taken to different sections of the vlei. A demonstration of the mini SASS method was conducted, after which learners were given the opportunity to carry out the activity themselves under supervision. Species caught included crabs, a dragonfly larva, beetles, snails and water skimmer insects. Several small fish were also observed.
     After sampling, all organisms were placed into clear buckets for identification. The mini SASS scores were calculated, and the results indicated that the upper part of the outlet was moderately modified (fair condition). This was supported by clearer water and the presence of more sensitive species. The lower part of the outlet was found to be largely modified (poor condition), showing reduced water quality, perhaps due to the sluggish flow of water in the dry season.
   The programme concluded with a reflection session, where learners discussed what they had learnt about freshwater systems, water quality monitoring and the importance of protecting wetlands such as Princess Vlei.

On the 30th of January, 37 of these and other Lotus High School learners attended the final Source to Sea session, a field trip to Zandvlei estuary  to explore the last stage of the river’s journey to the sea. 
   Learners explored the estuary environment and discussed the differences between rivers, wetlands and estuaries and the roles that they each play in Cape Town’s urban water system. We did a short recap on the journey of water and recalled how water moves through the city before reaching the ocean.

Learners worked in groups to pick up litter in and around the estuary area and completed a litter audit activity in their source to sea workbook, which involved  and recording the types of litter that they collected, where they come from and threats that they pose to biodiversity.
     After the estuary lesson and exploration learners walked to Muizenberg beach where the water from Little Princess Vlei finally reaches the ocean . They learners spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying nature - swimming in the sea and playing soccer on the sand. 

• Thanks to the National Lotteries Commission for making this project possible

The restoration efforts at Princess Vlei are steadily growing the biodiversity on site, not only of the plants but also of the many faunal species they attract.
   Our conservation intern, Kamva Nose, has greatly increased our capacity to monitor the changing biodiversity at Princess Vlei.
   Kamva recruited Cape Peninsula University of Technology Nature Conservation students to participate in all biodiversity related activities at the conservation area. Their primary involvement has been in surveys and monitoring, including bird counts at the Eastern, Western, Northern, and Southern shores, vegetation assessments at restoration sites. 
     During the mid-year break in June an average of 12 students participated daily, peaking at 21 students in a single day. Over 27 CPUT students contributed throughout June. 

They played a vital role in biodiversity surveys, including vegetation monitoring, insect sampling, and frog surveys, which not only provided valuable ecological data but also gave students practical conservation fieldwork experience. Their involvement in habitat condition assessments ensured that disturbance levels were properly recorded and that management decisions were supported by field evidence. They also conducted  alien vegetation clearing and weeding at sensitive restoration sites such as Briana and the pond area.
       In July, a CPUT MSc student conducted bird ringing research on nectar feeders, successfully capturing and ringing species such as Cape White-eyes, Bulbuls, Sunbirds, and Weavers, providing valuable long- term data - read more here. 

       Under Kamva's supervision,  bird surveys were conducted at all shores, with over 45 species recorded during the year. Notable observations included the African Fish Eagle, Jackal Buzzard, Reed Cormorant, Hartlaub’s Gull, and a wide range of waterfowl and passerines. Vegetation surveys and habitat condition assessments further informed management decisions. Mini SASS surveys evaluated aquatic invertebrate communities as indicators of water quality. Amphibians such as the Endangered Western Leopard Toad and the Clicking Stream Frog were recorded, highlighting the ecological value of restored habitats. Reptile sightings included the Cape Terrapin and Mole Snake, while small mammals such as the Striped Field Mouse and Cape Mole Rat were observed. Insects, including dragonflies, damselflies, bees, moths, and beetles, further confirmed the site’s biodiversity richness.

We look forward to welcoming more species at Princess Vlei as the restoration progresses. 

   Small nectar feeding birds such as our local sunbird species rely on regular supplies of nectar, and in turn are important pollinators of many fynbos species. They are threatened by urban development which eradicates their fynbos feeding stations. The restoration of fynbos at Princess Vlei, and in surrounding schools is helping to sustain these jewels of the bird kingdom.
  Since 2013, the Ingcungcu Sunbird Restoration Project has been developing nectar-rich gardens at several schools across the highly urbanised Cape Flats to provide important bird pollinators, particularly sunbirds, with a source of nourishment. According to monthly bird surveys carried out at the schools, sunbird presence has increased significantly after the establishment of these gardens. However, the question arises whether a sunbird seen at one school is the same individual seen at the other schools or in the surrounding nature reserves. Are these gardens acting as stepping stones which help these birds move not only within the urban area, but to the surrounding natural areas where many threatened plant species depend on their pollination for their survival?
   Muneeba Lamera is a Masters in Conservation Science student at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology supervised by Prof Sjirk Geerts and Dr Colleen Seymour and funded by the Joan Wrench Kirstenbosch Scholarship and South African Association of Botanists. Earlier this year, she began a two year study to investigate how help understand the movement of sunbirds through these spaces,  ringing sunbirds at Princess Vlei and from surrounding areas.
  

    Under the supervision of licensed bird ringer, Dr Dieter Oschadleus, Muneeba’s team captured nectar-feeding birds at the schools and protected areas, including Princess Vlei, using standard bird ringing techniques (i.e., capturing with mistnets). They then placed a PIT (Passive Integrated Transponder) tag leg band on one of their legs to provide the bird a unique signal and identification code via a microchip. Bird tracking stations linked to a sugar-water feeder were then placed at each of their sites, recording all visitation from the tagged birds. From this data, they will have an idea of how individuals move between natural and urban areas, and whether these gardens are successful in helping our important pollinators.
    While at Princess Vlei, Muneeba and her team tagged 5 Cape bulbuls, and 4 Cape white-eyes at PVlei during our 3 ringing sessions. But additional birds caught were ringed caught, such as a Cape Spur fowl ( Cape Francolin) and Levaillaint's Cisticola. This also provides valuable data for the monitoring of biodiversity at Princess Vlei. 

‘Princess Vlei… You are not alone any more … we are here to inspire the next generation to love you as we do’
These words were said by Hafzah Mahmoud from Lotus High, reading her poem at the Princess Vlei Forum’s Fynbos Fantasia celebration on Saturday 25 October.
    On Saturday 25 October, over 170 young people from local primary and high schools, and some from further afield, came to celebrate our rich floral diversity. Thanks to restoration efforts for the past fifteen years, many fynbos species are now flourishing at Princess Vlei. 

   The day marked the highpoint of the Fynbos Fantasia  project to open the minds of young people to the variety and beauty of Cape Town’s fynbos, the interaction of plants and pollinating insects, birds and other animals, and its historical cultural and spiritual significance. 
   For over two months, learners have been interacting with the fynbos at Princess Vlei in different ways, and have been hard at work preparing for this celebration by writing poems, preparing dances, and painting t-shirts featuring local fynbos flowers and pollinators. Crestway learners took it to a new level by turning themselves into Plant People, wearing  flower headdresses featuring giant versions of plants such as proteas, rain daisies, pincushions, bietou and Wilde dagga. 

The group gathered at Retreat civic for face painting and to make fynbos inspired headdresses. They watched the dances created by four primary schools (Rosmead, Levana, Hillwood and Floreat) and heard the poems written and read by Lotus High learners Tracy Daniels, Paige Eden, and Hafzah Mahmoud.  They also watched a performance of Hoerikwaggo, a story of Table Mountain’s baboons returning a lost baby to its parents. 
    Then it was time for the parade, as learners poured out onto the streets of Sassmere Estate, with their colourful t-shirts, headdresses, fynbos hats and bird puppets made by previous groups of learners. Drummers trained by the Jungle Theatre Company kept time. 

The procession wound its way to Princess Vlei, and along the edge of the Vlei on the newly constructed walkway. At the waters edge, Shihaam Domingo saluted the Princess of Princess Vlei and led learners in a traditional Khoe song to honour women. 
      The learners from the different schools pledged to care for nature, and for Princess Vlei, for future generations. ‘We act like we have a spare earth in our pockets, but we don’t. Nature doesn’t need us by we need nature so we’d better start treating it with respect’  warned a learner from Crestway High.
      Floreat learners reminded all present of the medicinal benefits of many plants such  buchu, Kankerbos, honeybos, Cape May, Aloe, Rooibos. Hillwood learners said, ‘Nature feeds us thats why we have to take care of the world.’
      Levana learners pledged to ‘protect and preserve Princess Vlei, to honour its natural beauty, safeguard its wildlife, and ensure it remains a sanctuary for future generations. Through care and respect and sustainable practices we commit to maturing the vital eco system.’
     The Princess Vlei Forum would like to thank the City of Cape Town for their support for the project through the Grant in Aid fund; the fabulous dance and drumming  instructors, all the many volunteers who helped us, and the learners who came to truly celebrate Princess Vlei and our fynbos heritage.

The workshops began at Lotus High School on 10 September, where learners studied plants in  the rich ingenious garden and nursery at the school, established by science teacher Shafiek Isaacs.
They learned how to identify plants with healing properties as well as edible plants. They were taught about the value of indigenous and traditional knowledge and how their gardening supports the preservation of plant knowledge and therefore helps to protect indigenous vegetation. Shihaam prepared wild rooibos tea with honey for the learners and gave them sprigs of indigenous teas to try at home with their families. 
         The learners were gifted notebooks from the poet Barbara Boswell, who would be helping them write poetry at the second session at Princess Vlei. They wrote their thoughts and feelings as they moved through activities to generate material for their poems.
      On the 12th September learners were treated to roosterkoek and homemade jams prepared by Shihaam on the fire at the Princess Vlei braai areas. She infused these treats with indigenous plants so that learners could experience the taste of the edible species that they were learning about.

Learners shared their writing and walked with Shihaam through the fynbos to learn about species like the wild rosemary and skilpad Bessie. Wilde dagga, wilde knoffel, wild rosmary, wild rooibos, bruin salie, skilpadbessie, tabak bos and malva. Shihaam stressed the importance of respecting the plants. 
     Speaking about the tabak bos, she said this sacred plant has been used by women for meditation and reflection. ‘It’s important not to abuse it for just any reason. Remember, a plant has an intention, so our interaction with it is also intentional …’ 
     Learners were also taught about the indigenous khoe princess who gave the vlei its name and asked to write about her relationship with plants and the vlei. Barbara Boswell hosted a session on poetry writing. Learners were taught to free write, then to weave elements of their free writing into a poem to express  their feelings about plants and the vlei.
    In the third session, held at the school, Shihaam told learners about the role of plants in ceremony and how diverse groups of people including the khoe and descendants of the Khoe continue to work with plants to bring healing and restoration to land and their communities. Learners were invited to wash their hands in a water with indigenous herbs and were taught about the cleansing and healing properties of water combined with  healing plants.  Shihaam also provided a plant based balm that she’d made. She explained that all the ingredients in the balm came from custodians who harvest at the right time in the plant’s natural environment,  which boosts the healing properties of the balm.

     In the final session, learners again met at the Vlei and enjoyed rosterkoek and tea made with fynbos plants. Vlei. Learners were invited to share their poetry in a circle and took turns to recite what they had prepared. Shihaam encouraged them to continue working on their poetry and journaling as part of the process. Those who were comfortable enough to share to poems performed their poetry at the Fynbos Fantasia celebration on 25 October. 
     These workshops gave learners a opportunity to engage deeply, using all their senses, with the plants at Princess Vlei; to enrich their understanding of the cultural heritage of these plants, and their relations with pollinators, air, water and people; and to express their reflections an this through poetry

• Thanks to Shihaam Domingo, Barbara  Boswell, Lotus High teachers and learners, and to the City Grant in Aid for funding this project. 

Pelargoniums and butterflies, Ericas and sunbirds, Arum lilies and Frogs, a mouse and a protea, the bietou and the bee… these are some of the relationships celebrated by learners from local primary schools on colourfully painted t-shirts.
The learners were reminded of the flowers and pollinators they saw at Princess Vlei, and asked to select designs, which they then painted on the t-shirts. These t-shirts will be worn at the Fynbos Fantasia celebration on October 25. Some of the teachers at Levana, including the principal Ms Charity, brought their own tshirts along to paint.  
Below are some of the beautiful Tshirts created by these fynbos inspired young artists. 

What dance would you do if you were a pollinator? 
    This was the challenge for the 90 learners from Harmony, Levana, Floreat and Rosmead Primary.who came to the vlei in August for a creative and immersive experience of the wonders of our fynbos floral kingdom.
    The experience was the introduction to our ‘Fynbos Fantasia’ project. The project aims to open the minds of our young people to the incredible variety and beauty of Cape Town’s fynbos, and the interaction of plants and pollinating insects, birds and other animals. It incorporates art, dance, observation and all the senses: taste, touch, sight, scent and hearing to  enable to learners to fully experience our local plants. 
  The learners were given a short explanation of the interaction between flowers and pollinators, and told about the dances performed by bees to inform other bees of where to find pollen. They took part in a meditation where they envisaged being a plant themselves. They were asked to closely observe a flower and the pollinators which visited it. They were told to do a ‘blind’ drawing, where they only looked at the plant and not at their page, to enable them to really observe the plant, before doing a second drawing in which they could look at the page. They also drew any pollinators they saw.

After drawing the plants, learners worked in groups to create a dance honouring the flowers and pollinators. They were guided by dance instructors Thimna and Tauriq, with a rhythm provided by Marvin Saffoor on the drums. These dances will be developed for performance at our Fynbos Fantasia Celebration on October 25.
     The  beautiful drawings are a testament to their paying attention and closely observing the flowers. This close attention enabled them also to note the less visible fauna, such as monkey beetles and bees burrowed in the vygie flowers. An interesting diversion was a carp caught by a local fisherman .
    For young people flooded with tik-tok videos and social media, an afternoon paying attention to and getting excited about flowers is a good antidote to the over stimulation and stress that they experience on a daily basis. 

Other activities in the Fynbos Fantasia project are: 

• A four session workshop for High School learners led by Shihaam Domingo reconnecting the learners with their ancestral roots by exploring ancestral relationships with healing and culturally significant plants. 
  
• Dance and drumming workshops for Primary school learners
• Painting T-shirts for Primary school learners
• A two day workshop with high school learners to create head dresses inspired by fynbos plants indigenous to Princess Vlei
• A celebration on 25 October which will included dances and poems performed by the learners, a performance of Hoerikwaggo, a play by the Jungle Theatre Company, and a parade from Retreat Civic to Princess Vlei in honour of the fynbos plant and animal life. 

These experiences were made possible by funding from the City of Cape Town and the Hans Hoheisen Charitable Trust managed by Nedbank Private wealth. 

I really love plants …. I love being in nature and finding peace in natural spaces…Even though I live very close I realise I don’t think I’ve ever been here before. I think I’m going to come here a lot more to see some of the animals and explore the biodiversity…. iI’s nice to actually come out into nature and feel that you are helping to restore something  - when you restore the line of healing you restore the land, you also restore something in yourself and in our fragmented society.
      These were some of the reasons which participants gave for joining the Princess Vlei Mandela Day planting on 20 July. Community members of all ages gathered to help restore the wetland environment on the Northern shore of Princess Vlei, in celebration of Mandela Day on July 18. 
       Kamva Nose, a conservation intern with the PVF, welcomed the group of 20 volunteers: ’We want to give back to nature, I come every morning here and hear the birds chirping … for me it is peaceful, a spiritual connection with mother nature .. I hope that when you come here you feel the same connection … As humans, we have responsibility, we are the custodians own nature. So let’s take care of it .’

Waiting for the volunteers were 200 plants, including Chrysanthemoides incana (Bietou) Leucadendron floridum (proteas), Salvia aurea ((Bruin Salie) and  Leonotus leonurus (Wilde Dagga).
    While we were planting, three Retreat residents, Allasandro Thareeq Byron walked past with their two dogs, Fluffy and Max. They are regular visitors and often fish in the vlei. They joined in helping with the planting.
      The Forum’s restoration team created this second pond earlier this year, to bring back the biodiversity that once thrived at Princess Vlei. These seasonal ponds were filled in when the vlei was dredged to prevent flooding over Prince George Drive.  
    We cannot restore the vlei to its original depth, but we are bringing back the ponds.  This will see the return of endangered species such as the micro frog which used to live here but is currently only found at Kenilworth Racecourse Conservation Area. In the old days locals gathered waterblommetjies at these ponds and shallow feeders, such as flamingos and spoonbills, would have frequented the area. (See for more about the ponds).
       ‘In the light of recent statistics of fast disappearing wetlands in our country and globally, this work is so important,’ said Mea Lashbrooke, one of the volunteer planters and a founder member of Princess Vlei Forum. ‘It’s wonderful to see so many here today. I have overheard questions and conversations about Mandela, about saving the planet, about saving the vlei from a mall. We are all learning from one another. Wetland ecosystems are vital to every aspect of the health of the planet and daily life.’
      Kamva reported that the bird life has increased markedly since work on the pond started. While we were planting, we saw a grey heron, cormorants, cisticolas, weavers and robin chats. 

• The Forum would like to thank all the volunteers, as well as the National Lotteries Commission and the Hans Hoheisen Charitable Trust, managed by Nedbank Private Wealth, for supporting our restoration project. Plants were donated by the Kirstenbosch branch of the Botanical Society of South Africa. We look forward to the flourishing life this pond will bring.