'I hope you grow into a beautiful plant and have the best time of her life; Hope you guys grow;
Don’t be taken over by humans; Take over the world...'
These were some of the messages to their plants from twenty Steenberg High learners, who came to Princess Vlei in November to plant over 300 dune strandveld plants in our restoration area on the eastern shore. Species planted included Anthospermum aethiopicum, Plecostachys serphyllifolia, Hermannia multiflora, Leonotus leonurus and Imperata cylindrica. The planters gave creative names to their plants, including Keanu Reeves, Diego, and Jeffrey Dahmer, although hopefully his plant namesake is less murderous.
This was our first activity with Steenberg High learners - we look forward to many more.

Blog and pics by Alex Lansdowne

Utilising the citizen science application, iNaturalist, ongoing surveying of living organisms at Princess Vlei Conservation Area is bearing fruit.

The Princess Vlei Forum and the Botanical Society: Kirstenbosch Branch recently conducted a joint bioblitz for the 'Great Southern Bioblitz 2022'. The focus area was on the Eastern Shore of the Little Princess Vlei which is currently a 'biogap' and under-surveyed. During the bioblitz 172 new observations were recorded. Of these observations 54 new species were positively identified at the time of writing.

This means that currently, at the Greater Princess Vlei Conservation Area:
662 observations have been made.
250 species have been recorded.
41 individuals have recorded observations.
The most commonly observed species are: 1. Skilpadbessie (Muraltia spinosa), 2. Rondevlei Spiderhead (Serruria foeniculacea), 3. Blombos (Metalasia muricata), 4. Kankerbos (Lessertia frutescens), 5. Wildedagga (Leonotus leonurus).

Some of the bird sightings included a spotted eagle owl, grey and purple herons, malachite and pied kingfishers, reed cormorants, darter, coot, and yellow billed ducks.

You can visit the iNaturalist Princess Vlei Project here:https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/greater-princess-vlei-conservation-area?tab=species

Special thanks to Emma Oliver (PFV) and Simon Tamblyn (BotSoc: Kirstenbosch)