At the Rooiberg Breederiver Conservancy, three women are doing their part in environmental management.
During lockdown 2020 government released funds to stimulate the economy and create jobs. The Rooiberg Breederiver Conservancy, an environmental NPO outside Robertson that works with conservation-minded landowners, received funds to do alien clearing and start a nursery.
The nursery was established in November 2020 under the guidance of the conservancy manager, Carina Du Toit-Becker, and currently employs two female workers, Franneley Reens en Januline le Wak, who are learning about plant propagation and care.
Over 100 ha of aliens were cleared along the Noree, Vink and Breede rivers in 2020 and 2021, generating employment for communities from McGregor, Robertson and Paarl.
Alien trees such as blue gum, black wattle and Port Jackson threaten our local flora, use large quantities of water and pose a high fire risk.
All indigenous seeds are hand collected, sown and grown in the nursery with the aim of restoring the river banks. In the winter of last year, the first sites along the Noree and Vink Rivers received plants.
To date over 3 000 plants, in the form of trees, shrubs and grasses, have been planted to the river banks, to return diversity and key plant species. These sites will create important refuges for insects and wildlife moving through the agricultural area, as well as stabilizing river banks and improving soil condition. Over time these plants will reproduce and recolonise the surrounding areas.
Landowners, who are members of the conservancy, support the project by providing irrigation for the plants, giving donations for purchasing plants as well as labour to prepare the sites.
However, the bulk of the planting work, maintenance of the site and monitoring is done by Du Toit-Becker and her female team. The conservancy says it is pleased to support and empower local women with skills and knowledge.
“Restoration in arid areas is very challenging and we are continuously learning which methods and which plant species work best and which do not. This is hard work but it is very rewarding to see my ladies take pride in the plants they produce and see barren river banks being transformed,” says Du Toit-Becker.
The conservancy says it is grateful for the landowners’ enthusiasm and support for the project.
It also promotes planting of indigenous plants with workers on the farms they work with and is inviting local farm schools to join them for Arbour Week in September.
The nursery is largely running on donations and outside funding and will need to be relocated to a new site. If you would like to support the nursery through a donation, please contact admin@rooibergbreederiverconservancy.org.
