FRIENDS OF KIRSTENBOSCH

Transcription

1 FRIENDS OF KIRSTENBOSCH NEWSLETTER JUNE 2008 THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA KIRSTENBOSCH BRANCH PO Box 53445, Kenilworth, 7745 Tel: (021) Fax (021) Website: Dear Member NEWS FROM THE KIRSTENBOSCH BRANCH OFFICE AT THE STONE COTTAGES: THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE KIRSTENBOSCH BRANCH OF THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF SA WILL TAKE PLACE ON TUESDAY 26 AUGUST 2008 AT 12 NOON IN THE KIRSTENBOSCH STONE COTTAGE (MIDDLE COTTAGE), CORNER KIRSTENBOSCH & RHODES DRIVES, NEWLANDS. In terms of the Constitution, serving members Messrs Rory Gilmore and Denis Mills have completed their terms of office but are eligible for re-election. Nomination forms are available from the Branch office and must be submitted not less than 7 days before the meeting. Notice of motions for consideration at the AGM must reach the Branch office 30 days before the meeting. Audited accounts will be available. After the AGM Mr Neil Macgregor will give an illustrated talk Farming with Flowers.

2 Honorary Life Membership: Dr John Rourke, President of the Botanical Society of SA presented Mrs Janette Yeats with Honorary Life Membership at a function held at Kirstenbosch on 6 May 2008 in recognition of her ongoing support and dedication to the Society. PHOTO Caption to read: Mrs Janette Yeats and Chairman of Kirstenbosch Branch Mr Dirk Muller Janette helped formalise the Kirstenbosch Branch Volunteer Programmes of the Estate and is also the convener of the annual Kirstenbosch Garden Fair and Plant Sale. She has served as a member of BotSoc Council, as Chairman of the Kirstenbosch Branch and is still a member of the Kirstenbosch Branch Committee where she continues to give of her time and expertise. The Committee and staff of the Kirstenbosch Branch would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Janette on receiving this prestigious award. Kirstenbosch Garden Fair 2008: the 33 rd annual Fair and plant sale which took place on 15 and 16 March was a great success - heartfelt thanks to each and every volunteer, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens staff, and Botanical Society staff who assisted. The Botanical Society Bookshops at Kirstenbosch: Grow Clivias by Graham Duncan is the latest publication in the Kirstenbosch Gardening Series. Its contents starting with a brief history of this exquisite plant also covers general information: Taxonomy, Cultivation, Pests & Diseases. Clear information and full colour photos covering 188 pages makes this a great addition to any bookshelf. Selling price R less 10% discount to Botanical Society members. Tel / ; kbranch@botanicalsociety.org.za. You can also shop online at and follow the prompts to the Bookshop. Kirstenbosch Craft Market: The market is currently in the winter recess and will re-open on Sunday 28 September. Enquiries: tel Hack Group for the Kenilworth Racecourse Conservation Area: Following a stimulating and enthusiastic presentation by Ross Turner to the BotSoc Volunteers on his work at the Kenilworth Racecourse Conservation Area, CREW (Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers) initiated the formation of our Hack Group early in This unique remnant of Sand Plain Fynbos (see Anthony Hitchcock s two excellent articles Weaving the Golden Circle Veld & Flora March 2008 and Restoration Conservation at Kirstenbosch - Veld & Flora March 2006) is

3 home to an outstanding 300+ indigenous plant species tally besides the intriguing lists of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. Sadly however, this veritable haven faces many threats, not least of which is alien infestation. Through CREW s efforts we were able to gain the permission to enter and work on the property and to be supplied with a few initial tools from CapeNature. More loppers and saws were added by the Kirstenbosch Branch of BotSoc and then the very kind donation from the Trails Club of their hack tools ensures that we have plenty of implements for a formidable hack team. What s missing now are more happy hands to grasp those tools! Over the months as the seasons come and go our little team has attacked horrible infestations of Port Jacksons, Stinkbeans and Poplars not to mention the many areas of herbaceous weeds and just plain rubbish that has been cleared. This often seems an unbelievably daunting task but amazingly always after a morning s hard work we are without fail, incredibly impressed with the progress we have achieved and thus feel well rewarded. Our efforts received a wonderful boost early in 2007 with the appointment of Kenilworth s incredibly dynamic and enthusiastic Conservation Manager, Maya Beukes (nee Stauch). She has not only managed to motivate the Racecourse owners and surrounding tenant businesses to take a keen interest in the preservation of the natural area but together with her tiny team has greatly enhanced the alien clearing programme and assisted in guiding us to targeting critical areas at appropriate times. Our team meets on the second Monday of the month, and hacks approximately 3 hours. We welcome any new members and can certainly promise a fun and rewarding morning besides the joy of experiencing the changing face as the seasons rotate of what is surely the world s most unique urban natural area. For further information, please contact Tessa van Rooyen at , rosier@botanicalsociety.org.za. NEWS FROM KIRSTENBOSCH BOTANICAL GARDEN: Wednesday Talks at Kirstenbosch presented by Room to Grow, Sanlam Hall, Kirstenbosch at 10:30 11 June: Waterwise Gardening by Kirstenbosch horticulturist Ernst van Jaarsveld; 25 June: Chelsea Flower Show 2008 Report Back by David Davidson; 9 July: Gardens in Europe and Morocco by Donovan Gillman of Room to Grow; 23 July: Gardening Going Forward by Sandy Munro, horticulturist/manager Starke Ayres; 6 August: Gardens in China by Carly Cowell, horticulturist and Project Co-ordinator of the Millennium Seed Bank Project at Kirstenbosch. Enquiries: Cathy Abbott, tel / cathya@wol.co.za. Plant ID Courses for 2008: Structure and content of ID Courses: all workshops are practically orientated where participants will have their own flowering plant material to dissect, draw and record information. Each workshop follows the same format of investigating a range of

4 different families, depending on what plants are flowering at the time. Explanation of the key features will be illustrated with the video microscope but other dissecting microscopes will be available to use. Keys for families and genera will be used to key out each plant to family and genus level. Venue: Gold Fields Environmental Education Centre, Kirstenbosch. Spring Workshop: Identifying fynbos plants: intermediate course September, 13h00-16h30. Course requirement: introduction to identifying fynbos plants Summer Workshop: Introduction to the principles of identifying fynbos plants, 3-7 December, 09h30-16h30. Course requirement: none. Cost: R600 per person (2 half price bursaries are available. Apply with written motivation to be considered). Contact Wendy Hitchcock tel / , hitchcock@mweb.co.za. Kirstenbosch Eco-Art Holiday Workshops: Enjoyable and informative workshops for children will be held in the Gold Fields Environmental Education Centre in early July. Activities on the theme of Nature s Beautiful Biodiversity include an introductory discussion, a guided walk to relevant parts of the Garden and video-microscope investigation of varied plant forms. The highlight of the session follows, when each child creates their own collage, using high quality paper on a durable board, art media, as well as coloured beeswax and dried plant material of many different species. The workshops are presented by Sue Nepgen, art and environmental educator/lecturer. UCT students and Gold Fields trainees will be on hand as assistants. Dates, times and fees: Grades 1-3: Wednesday 2nd or Thursday 3rd July, 9.30 am pm. Cost: R75. Grades 4-7: Friday 4th July, 9.00 am - 1 pm. Cost: R80. There are a limited number of partial or full bursaries available. Booking details: Contact Marian or Sue at or snepgen@xsinet.co.za for more details. Sappi Tree Spotting Cape Coast to Kalahari Guided Walk: Sappi and Jacana Media invite you to a guided walk through the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens with Dr Eugene Moll, Chairman of Council, Botanical Society of SA. Dates in 2008: Sat 14 June, 10 am; Mon 16 June, 9 am; Sat 9 Aug, 10 am; Sat 6 Sept, 10 am. To book please contact Eugene on emoll@telkomsa.net or The course is free to Botanical Society members. Non-members R Maximum of 20 people per walk. Kirstenbosch Biennale botanical art exhibition will take place from September 2008 at the Old Mutual Conference Centre, Visitors Centre, Kirstenbosch (Gate 1). Kind regards Tessa van Rooyen Kirstenbosch Branch Secretary

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