The annual Kenridge Wildflower Walk is being presented as three guided walks on Sundays 24 August, 21 September and 19 October to experience the beauty of the local wildflowers.
Hosted by the Wildflower Stepping Stones Project, they will start at 11:00 in the park opposite Vineyard Deli.
The three-hour walks offer tours through the wildflower “stepping stones” (or conservation circles) of Kenridge. The route will take participants through three indigenous park gardens and 11 conservation circles (stepping stones for pollinators and birds) along the way.
One of the gardens on view is a pollinator garden planted on Mandela Day with grant money received from Nature Connect, which is affiliated to the Table Mountain Fund. The grant also makes provision for a garden planted at The Valley Primary School and an educational programme that benefits Valley Primary and Kenridge Primary learners through various events.
There will be ample time to stop and admire the various species in bloom.
The circular walk covers just a little bit less than 5 km and is done at a leisurely ace. There will be ample time to stop and admire the various species in bloom.
Some of the flowers you may expect to see on the walks include Babianas, Raindaisies, Veerkoppies, Butterfly Lilies, Fountainbush, Kapokbos, Renosterbos, Viooltjies, various species of Oxalis, Butter Silk Lilies, Beetle Lilies and Cape Stars as well as a Cyphia creeper, a special discovery in one of the stepping stones.
Participants will learn more about the local veld types and can also expect to see birds, insects and possibly a skink or slug eater along the way!
Community education
Kenridge also boasts three near-threatened species that are now protected year-round in the parks, thanks to the Wildflower Stepping Stones Project.
In addition to maintaining two wildflower routes, the project also actively engages in community education and upliftment by using MES workers (from by an organisation that serves the homeless and unemployed), supporting Valley Primary and overseeing local school students and scouts who do community work.
FynbosLife Circle
According to Dalena Theron, a representative of the project, of the Wildflower Stepping Stones Project, they are also busy with a FynbosLife Circle at Door De Kraal Dam. “It will be wonderful acquisition for the dam where children and residents can see how the original veld looked like,” she said.
In preparation for this learners of Curro Durbanville High School took part in a clean-up of the dam area and removed weeds. A total of 18 bags of litter were removed by the 13 learners and four adults. “They removed 80 Spanish brooms, an invasive weed, as well as Patterson’s Curse,” Theron says.
Tickets
The Kenridge Wildflower Walks are supported by the Greater Kenridge Neighbours Committee and the route has been approved by the City of Cape Town.
Tickets are R100 (plus a R7,50 booking fee) per person. All funds go towards the upkeep and maintenance of the route, such as adding more route markers and removing invasive species throughout the year. People can also sponsor route markers with a donation of R600 each. This covers the cost of the pole, cement, the route marker, a commemorative plaque, as well as the labour.
Bring a sunhat, a rain jacket in case of rain, sunscreen, water and snacks.
- Contact dalenavanjaarsveld@gmail.com if you are interested in sponsoring a route marker with a personalised plaque.
- Visit the project’s page on Facebook at The Wildflower Stepping Stones Project or on Instagram at @wildflowersteppingstones to see more of what they do in the various neighbourhoods where they work.
- Visit https://www.quicket.co.za/events/328983-kenridge-wildflower-walk-2025/#/ to book a walk.
