The Silvermine wetland needs additional volunteers to ensure that the area is free from alien vegetation clearing and that the ecosystem thrives through regular clean-up campaigns.
The Silvermine Nature Reserve is maintained and kept tidy through the help of the Friends of Silvermine Nature Area (Fosna), a registered non-profit organisation (NPO) that works collaboratively with South African National Parks (SANParks), the City of Cape Town and other stakeholders, including the Umvoto Foundation, a non-profit company (NPC) that deals with earth sciences consultancy.
The volunteers promote the conservation of the Silvermine Nature Area. They also foster and promote public awareness of the area.
Martin Sholtz, Fosna chair, said they have over 30 volunteers who assist with alien clearing once a month.
Fosna was founded in 1992 and set up by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa).
“This scheme was created to encourage communities across South Africa to become actively involved in the conservation of local natural environments vulnerable to urban changes, to promote their future integrity. The Friends of Silvermine Nature Area have worked together enthusiastically ever since. We spearhead and support the ongoing conservation of the diverse flora and fauna found in the Silvermine Section of the Table Mountain National Park, and along the course of the Silvermine River, to its estuary and the sea,” Sholtz said.
Last year, their volunteers from Clovelly and other neighbouring suburbs came along and over 20 000 alien Port Jackson seedlings were removed during a two-hour clean-up campaign.
Some of the alien trees found in this area can grow up to about 100 mm in diameter and grow between 1 to 2 metres per year, said volunteer Karen Hart’s report that she conducted at the nature reserve between May and June this year.
Fosna is funded only by donations, and is run purely by the efforts of volunteers from surrounding communities, Sholtz added.
“We amalgamated in 2021 with the Riverine Rovers, a longstanding group of volunteers who over decades cared for the Lower Silvermine Wetlands. We are actively encouraging community members to take part in Fosna alien clearing activities. With the recent fire in Silvermine Nature Reserve, the exposed soil is a prime opportunity for Port Jackson and other alien species to germinate opportunistically and to outcompete fynbos plant populations,” he said.
.For more information visit website Fosna Home Page or call Sholtz at 083 461 3840.
