The continuous effort of clearing mountain slopes of alien species is rewarding but challenging work. With the continuous effort of our mountain clearing teams and the support of the DFFE, LandCare, Gouritz Biosphere Cluster Reserve, and landowners, it will be possible for the conservancy to reach our end goal of controlling alien species in our precious mountain catchments. THANK YOU TO OUR CLEARING TEAMS AND FUNDERS Currently, the Grootvadersbosch Conservancy is part of a high mountain alien clearing project located in Langeberg Mountain, between Heidelberg and Swellendam. The Grootvadersbosch Conservancy covers over 30 000ha of private land which includes high mountain catchment areas. This project involves the clearing of alien species (mainly Hakea and Pine) in an estimated area of 6000ha, on the mountain slopes and their catchment areas. These catchment areas are essential in sustaining river systems due to the high runoff and groundwater recharge capabilities. The dominant vegetation type in Langeberg Mountain is mountain fynbos, a fire-driven ecosystem that must burn every 10 – 15 years. However, with alien invasions, fires become more frequent and intense. These intense fires do harm to the natural vegetation and wildlife. The project's goal is to control alien species within these catchment areas to improve groundwater recharge and catchment runoff and reduce the intense fire outbreaks that can threaten infrastructure and natural vegetation. In 2020, the Grootvadersbosch Conservancy started working on a management plan to remove the alien species in the high mountain areas. The initial plan was developed in 2020 by our General Manager, Aileen Anderson. She did this by camping out in the mountains with countless hours of scouting and assessing the area’s infestations, prioritizing each area, and identifying access routes and suitable camping sites. From this information, a plan was developed with the help of photographs and drone footage to show the priority areas. This plan formed the basis of our ongoing High Mountain Project. FUNDING In order to execute this project, funding was needed, and partnerships were required. In 2021, funding was initially secured from landowners and the Department of Environment, Forestry, and Fisheries (DEFF). In later years, the Gouritz Biosphere Cluster Reserve and LandCare also provided additional funding for the high mountain project. TEAMS This project required the establishment of a high mountain clearing team. In order to work in these remote conditions, each member underwent training. These training courses included ‘Overnight wilderness camping’, ‘first-aid training, and ‘snake awareness and response’. 45 people underwent this training in September 2020 and again in July 2022. The mountain team took on this project with creative enthusiasm. In order to be efficient, the team camps out for continuous days in the mountain. They are provided with camping equipment (that needs to be durable and lightweight) such as tents, backpacks, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, flashlights, and cooking stoves. The first team was operational in February 2021, the team had to come to terms with clearing aliens at high altitudes and all the challenges that these types of projects come with. These include working in harsh weather conditions and being temporarily cut off from public communication. The team has a radio to communicate with the conservancy. Despite the difficulties, the mountain team never feared these challenges and they continuously appreciate the view that this work comes with (as shown here in a video). This project includes initial inspections, internal inspections, and follow-up control. Initial inspections are done beforehand by the conservancy team to determine the workload, and days needed to camp out on the mountain slopes. Then, final inspections are done to observe the clearing team’s progress. In some cases, drones are used to assess and document progress. CHALLENGES AND LIMITATIONS
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A year ago, our alien clearing team underwent a High-Altitude Training Course with Dion Tromp, making it possible for them to clear alien plants in areas that are only accessible with rope access equipment. Working at these high altitudes is a dangerous task but critical for our area which has many areas that can’t be accessed by normal clearing teams. Our objective was to provide the team with the best training and equipment so that they can perform these tasks as safely as possible. The work is crucial for our Korentepoort Alien clearing project, which involves clearing a kloof below the Korentepoort Dam that supplies water for the town and agricultural community of Riversdale. PURPOSE OF THIS TRAINING In January 2023, the high-altitude clearing team, along with Ricardo (project manager) and Twakkie (quality controller), attended a 2-day review training course. The course was once again presented by Dion Tromp at the beautiful Korentepoort Dam in Riversdale, Western Cape. This training course was conducted to test and ensure our team’s recollection of all the safety precautions, the tying of different knots, and to check the standard of the gear. On the first day, Dion briefly discussed high-altitude training in general, what procedures to follow when putting on the high-altitude climbing gear and what knots to tie in different scenarios. He discussed the importance of safety when operating at these heights and that the team must remember that safety is a joint responsibility. Everyone is responsible for checking each other and communicating to ensure that no mistakes are made. DAY 1 After the brief discussion, the team went ahead and put on their equipment. Every team member checked the harness and each equipment piece and ensured that nothing was ripped, broken, or missing. Dion also reinformed the importance of tying the correct knots and securing them (making sure the knot will not come undone) and closing the carabine (which is a gear piece that essentially holds every other equipment piece in place). After a short break, the team commenced the practice of forming an anchor on level ground, using trees as anchor points. This rehearsal was done to ensure that the team could recall how to plan an anchor, what knots to use to secure the anchor, and how to execute the procedure effectively. Afterward, the team was instructed to form a ‘lifeline’, this is used as a ‘path’ in high elevations to make a more secure and safe route to follow when walking at these altitudes. Despite it raining the whole of the first day, the team did a fantastic job. DAY 2 On the second day, the team went up into the Korentepoort dam kloof with all their equipment. It was the perfect day, with no rain, to do a practical assessment. Dion explained that a practical demonstration must be completed, using the previous day’s training lesson and commentaries as a guideline. This procedure included planning and forming an anchor, descending the cliff to the designated area, with a rope bag, and ascending again. The team executed the procedure perfectly and Dion was happy with the training session and confidently allowed them to continue the work in the kloof. This short training session was conducted to refresh our team’s memories and reinforce the bond the team members have with each other (after their well-deserved vacation break). The training was done to remember all the necessary steps that need to be followed when doing high-altitude climbing as safely as possible. Thank you to Dion Tromp for this essential training session with our High-altitude climbing team.
On the 5th January 2023, we received the incredibly sad news of the sudden passing of Francis Steyn. Francis led the Sustainable Resource Management unit (LandCare) in the Western Cape and was a great friend of the Grootvadersbosch Conservancy. We are still trying to process the news which will have far reaching implications for the conservation community across South Africa and beyond. However, no loss will be as great as that felt by his family, who lost a son, husband, father and grandfather. We think and pray for his family as they come to terms with this tragedy. Francis died of a heart attack while canoeing on the Breede river with friends. It was too soon but it may have been how he would have wanted to go-with those he loved, on a river, doing what he loved. We will all miss his intellect, energy, enthusiasm, infectious ideas, and laughter. He was truly dedicated to his work and the people involved. He was looking forward to retirement but there was no doubt that he had many more things to achieve. Landcare continues to be a crucial partner for our conservancy, and we are ever grateful for their support. We will continue his legacy by doing all we can to continue the work and projects that he was so passionate about. We trust that he is now paddling a more peaceful and beautiful river and, while we sadly can’t join him right now, we will always remember him and all he did for the Grootvadersbosch Community. Rest in peace and thank you for all you did.
Landcare will be hosting a memorial service in his honour on Friday 27th January from 10-11:30am at the Percheron Hall, Elsenburg College, Off Muldersvlei Road, Stellenbosch. Hydrological monitoring of our river systems is a vital part of conserving our aquatic species. To do this effectively, human-made structures and/or equipment are used to collect data and monitor the environment and its condition. The Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation is responsible for the management of hydrological gauging weirs across the country. These weirs need to be kept in working order to understand and monitor changes in river flow. At the end of last year, the conservancy played a crucial role in ensuring these weirs continue to provide vital information, while averting a devastating impact on a critically endangered fish. BACKGROUND The Tradouw Redfin (Pseudobarbus burchelli) is only found in the Huis and Tradouw Rivers, close to the town of Barrydale. These fish are critically endangered and threatened by two main factors: 1) Invasive fish (such as bass, and bluegills) that predates on the redfins, and 2) the reduced water flow in the Tradouw and Huis River systems that impacts water quality and fish habitat. Obtaining accurate data on river flow is therefore crucial to ensure the long-term survival of the species. In October 2022, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS – Hydrological Services) was about to commence a routine clean-up of the Huis River’s gauging weir, below the town of Barrydale. Recordings of the surface flow data is done using a gauging weir system which provides important data on the aquatic environment and its condition. An obstructed passageway at the weir will produce inaccurate readings of the flow of the river. The maintenance had been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and excessive sediment had built up in the gauging pool. DWS was unaware that a large population of critically endangered Redfin was living in the pool above the weir that now needed to be cleared of sediment. Fortunately, some of the Grootvadersbosch Conservancy staff were doing fish monitoring in the Huis River and observed that the DWS was proceeding with removing sediment from the pool above the weir with a potential devasting impact on the redfin population. The Grootvadersbosch Conservancy team contacted Cape Nature who informed the DWS of the redfin species and its whereabouts. The DWS immediately postponed the maintenance until a collective agreement could be found to protect the fish. Thanks to all three parties: Cape Nature, the DWS, and the Grootvaderbosch Conservancy a rescue plan was then implemented to translocate the critically endangered Tradouw Redfin from the pool above the weir to a safe site on the Tradouw River. RESCUE PLAN Dr. Martine Jordaan, a Cape Nature fish specialist, led the rescue plan and the main objective was to catch as many redfins as possible and relocate them to a secure place. Firstly, sandbags were placed above the weir pool to temporarily isolate the pool from the river. Dr. Martine and her team then used fish nets, hand nets, and buckets to catch the fish in the isolated pool. Dr. Martine and her team observed, in a single netting, a total of >900 redfins, and thousands of tadpoles were seen on the pool’s surface. The fish were translocated to the dam at Joubert Tradouw Private Cellars, located in the upper regions of the Tradouw river. Some of the redfin populations were also translocated to the Tradouw River release sites. It is estimated that the expedition resulted in the successful translocation of over 4000 Tradouw Redfins. With all the fish safely removed, the DWS could then continue with the maintenance and removal of sediment. As indicated in the image below, the vegetation in areas A and B was removed and placed in area D. Area C is where the sluice valves are located and are used to lower the water levels. The red line in the image below indicates the area where the sandbag structure was positioned. This project created a unique conservation opportunity, where all parties worked together to achieve a common objective to protect our rivers. A further benefit was that the DWS is now engaging directly with Cape Nature to understand any other gauging weirs that might be close to important indigenous fish populations. There is now a plan to engage across organisations for the maintenance of river flow gauging stations. This will ensure a more secure and effective way to monitor our river systems while conserving, not only the Tradouw Redfin but, all indigenous fish in the Western Cape. Come and join us at the Grootvadersbosch Valley for our annual music festival! The festival will take place from Friday the 21st till Sunday the 23rd of October 2022. We are located between Swellendam and Heidelberg in the Overberg region in the Western Cape. During this 3-day period Grootvadersbosch will be hosting multiple activities from nature walks and talks-to telling stories over beer and wine-to a dairy tour and milk tasting with the local farmers and do not miss the famous Shed Concert with Richard Cock that is the main event of the festival! On the nature side of things, spring is in bloom in our valley where anyone can join, and experience walks from local scientists, conservationists, and anthropologists. This blog outlines the important nature talks that will be taking place. On Friday at 11am at the Strawberry Hill Farm, we join well-known Naturalists that introduce the unique creatures of Grootvaderbosh and their natural history. These creatures are visually brought to you by artist Donovan Julius, who will be displaying his amazing and detailed art of various nature portraits. The event will include discussions about unique links between art and nature. Also on Friday, we will visit Rietvallei farm outside Suurbraak for a dairy tour to discover the wonders of milk. Early Saturday morning at the Grootvaderbosch Farm we will join leading naturalists, including Chris Martens and Rupert Koopman, at the Grootvaderbosch River, so make sure to pack in warm clothes and comfortable shoes. Fortuitously, spring is upon us, and we will experience the beautiful birds in full song and the glorious flowers in full bloom along the path. The event will end at a picnic spot near the river where Dr Martine Jordaan, freshwater ecologist, will discuss the incredible diversity of the local indigenous freshwater fish. At 7pm on Saturday night we will be joining Prof Les Minter and Dr Andrew Turner, both frog experts, on a night walk. This night walk will take place in a dark forest, but our frog experts will use the frogs tunes to guide us through the forest. This is the ultimate night walk with the best vocal performance by the amphibian’s choir. On Sunday at 9:30am in Swellendam, Prof Michael de Jongh, notorious anthropologist, who will be talking about the first inhabitants and their history of Swellendam in the historic reading room at the Olyfkrans school. Anyone who is interested in learning and experiencing nature and history up-close will enjoy these festival events.
To book tickets please visit https://www.quicket.co.za/events/185188-silver-mountain-music-festival-october-2022-spring-edition/#/ For more information visit our website at https://www.silvermountainmusic.co.za/ GASPP stands for Grootvadersbosch Aquatic Species Project and is a project that supports long-term monitoring of data (such as river flow, fish sampling, water quality, SASS) of the Grootvadersbosch rivers, which include the Tradouw and other smaller tributaries, Grootvadersbosch rivers, and Buffeljags River. We've been working on this project for three years, and we're grateful to our funder, Table Mountain Fund for supporting this work. CapeNature has also been an important partner as they have offered important assistance through input from aquatic scientists Dr Martine Jordaan and Jeanne Gouws. They have both been very willing to help us with monitoring and training. Freshwater river systems have a high level of biodiversity, and our river systems are truly unique. The Cape Fold Mountains Region (CFR) has clear cool temperate acid water streams in general, and some of our freshwater fish and other residents are highly endemic and distinct. The conservancy is monitoring sites, connected to the Tradouw river and other smaller tributaries, Grootvadersbosch river and Buffeljags river. One of the key goals of the project was to build capacity for long term monitoring. This has been a resounding success as all four of our staff who undertook training for SASS are now accredited. The South African Scoring System (SASS) is a rapid bioassessment technique based on one component of riverine biotas, the benthic macroinvertebrates. Each taxon is assigned a tolerance/sensitivity score, which are summed to provide a Total Score. This allows us to measure the health of our rivers. Well done to Aileen Anderson, Goliath Highburg, Ricardo Januarie and Zaniel April who completed the training and are now SASS accredited. Click here to Read the SASS training blog that we did at sass-5-training.html Read our previous blog about the adventures we had last year with this entire project at busy-times-fun-times-with-gaspp-week.html . Human activity has altered our natural environments. In our Valley and surrounding areas, we have committed ourselves to protect endangered wildlife that we cherish. Other factors such as climate change, population growth, alien invasive species, and water abstraction have all had a negative impact on our river systems and the species in them. We are doing all we can to work with partners, as well as other conservation organizations such as CapeNature, to protect our resources and biodiversity. Environmental education is also one of the aspects of GASPP. We work with the communities of Suurbraak, Barrydale, Buffeljagsrivier, and Heidelberg to promote awarness. Donnovan Julius, a local artist, assisted in painting a series of murals in Barrydale at Net vir Pret, Mullersrus Primary School, Klein-pikkewyne preschool in Heidelberg, and at the Suurbraak camping site, involving many children in the community. These murals were painted to raise awareness of our freshwater fishes and to protect them, as well as to emphasise the importance of biodiversity and the harm that pollution causes to our beautiful environments. With such initiative, we hope that our local community will also take on the challenge of protecting and respecting their natural resources. We've done some other activities with the kids, such as miniSASS and talks about freshwater fish. read a blog that we covered on that at environmental-education.html. SASS 5 SASS 5 provides a means to assess the quality of a river at a specific time. Some of our rivers are impacted by land use changes and abstraction but many are still in a very good condition. Many are home to very sensitive species. The sites in more natural environments house sensitive macroinvertebrates. We have also found many SWC endemic insect families that thrive in the naturally acidic and tannin-stained waters of our rivers. We are now planning to do regular SASS monitoring, especially in sites where we are planning to do alien clearing to see the impacts and to see if there is any change over time. We already have three years of data across over 30 sites so we have a very interesting picture of our river systems. Freshwater fish Most indigenous fish have had their distribution ranges severely reduced over the years. The indigenous freshwater fish that we usually see in our rivers are mainly the Cape galaxias (Galaxias zebratus), Cape kurper (Sandelia capensis) and the Breede River redfin (Pseudobarbus burchelli). These are just the indigenous fish that we have encountered while doing our river monitoring. Habitat destruction and water abstraction are the most serious threats facing freshwater fish. However, alien invasive plant and invasive animal species are also a serious problem for our freshwater habitats. Alien fish invasion is a massive threat that is difficult to reverse. The invasive fish that we see in our rivers systems include the Banded tilapia (Tilapia sparmanni), The Sharptooth catfish (Clarias gariepinus). We also see the Bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque) as well as our Longfin eel (Anguilla mossambica) these are the invasive fish that we have encountered while doing monitoring at our sites. Freshwater scientists from SAIAB (South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity) visited us in April this year, to do a talk in the community of Barrydale to discuss what is found in our rivers as well as the importance of safeguarding the Breede river redfin. We also enjoyed the opportunity to do monitoring with these leading freshwater scientists. We had a wonderful time and it was such an intriguing conversation. We are continuing with our monitoring to better understand the distribution of fish in our systems and the main impacts that they face. FBIS (Freshwater Biodiversity Information system) Reliable information is needed for the management of our freshwater systems. At the conservancy we have adopted FBIS (Freshwater Biodiversity Information System) which we were introduced to by Helen Dallas from the freshwater research centre. FBIS is used to host, visualize, and share freshwater biodiversity for South African Rivers. We have integrated the data we previously collected, such as SASS and freshwater fish data, into FBIS in order to generate graphs, compare, and evaluate the quality of our rivers. It is a very helpful database. We greatly appreciate the assistance from Helen Dallas in using FBIS. FBIS provides a dashboard that indicates when SASS is complete and includes graphs that demonstrate how the water quality has changed over time. With the fish data there are also graphs which shows the fish that we found throughout the years.
We did not know much about FBIS until Helen showed us where we can store our data and share it on one platform. We found it quite challenging to get used to the platform and to combine all the data from three years of monitoring into one platform. However, we are very pleased that we have been able to integrate all the data so that we know we have one integrated platform to share and analyse data. References Dallas, H. and Rivers-Moore, N., 2022. A protocol and tools for setting environmental water temperature guidelines for perennial rivers in South Africa. African Journal of Aquatic Science, pp.1-16. Ellender, B.R., Wasserman, R.J., Chakona, A., Skelton, P.H. and Weyl, O.L., 2017. A review of the biology and status of Cape Fold Ecoregion freshwater fishes. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 27(4), pp.867-879. Skelton, P.H., 1993. A complete guide to the freshwater fishes of southern Africa. Prof Krystal Tolley, a Research Leader at the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), has been conducting research on a member of the Dwarf chameleon family and has spent a long time trying to describe and name this elusive reptile. Krystal has been looking for a chameleon that resembles the Knysna dwarf chameleon but was suspected to be a different species yet to be described. Krystal visited Grootvadersbosch in October 2020 to once again look for them. The GVB Conservancy and Cape Nature staff assisted her in finding a few specimens. We wrote a blog about Krystal’s visit and the unique experience we had learning about the special chameleons in our forest. This chameleon has been a mystery for several decades and it has been a long process to officially describe it. Between early 1990s and around 2018, only three records were in existence. This is because they are difficult to locate and prefer to stay high in the canopy or out of sight. Krystal needed to collect enough genetic material to determine if it really was a new species. After a long wait and much searching, they had collected enough material to describe the chameleon. The elusive species has been present in our forests for hundreds of years but has gone unnamed due to a lack of information. Krystal has now given it a name: Bradypodion venustum sp.nov (Common name: Grootvadersbosch Dwarf Chameleon) Bradypodion means "slow-footed" in Greek, and the specific epithet venustum is a Latin adjective that means "attractive," and it refers to the new species' colourful flanks, which perfectly describes our good-looking chameleon. Chameleons are truly wonderful and iconic creatures that are only found on the African continent. We are thrilled to finally have a scientific name for our very own African reptile. The paper that describes the species is published in the African Journal of Herpetology (Krystal et al, 2022). This new Grootvadersbosch species is a specialist of Afromontane Forest at the foothills of the Langeberg Mountains. Although there are a few populations of Bradypodion species that occur in fynbos and afromontane forest, it appears that this species is a specialist for forest environments. One is most likely to encounter it from the months of July to August, but it is a tricky species to view as it usually spends its time high in the canopy. To date, this chameleon has only been found in mature indigenous forest within the Grootvadersbosch Reserve. Although, the true range of the species is not yet fully understood. This species is presumed to have the smallest extent of occurrence and distribution size of any chameleon in South Africa. This seems to be a common problem with people that find themselves in our little piece of Eden- they just don’t want to move anywhere else! The new paper also describes two other new species of Bradypodion: Bradypodion barbatulum sp. Nov and Bradypodion baviaanense sp. nov. The addition of these three new species means that the genus now contains 20 species, making it the third most species-rich chameleon genus on the African continent, after Trioceros and Kinyongia. "Furthermore, the richness of the Cape Fold Mountains is increased substantially, from five to eight species.” (Krystal et al, 2022). Well done, Krystal! The long journey to finally name these chameleons has included many nights mountain and forest excursions, sample collections, data analysis and examinations. We are very proud to have contributed (in a small way) to this process and to have assisted Krystal in her research to describe Bradypodion venustum sp.nov. We loved joining in the fun and excitement to officially christen the Grootvadersbosch Dwarf Chameleon. We are grateful to Krystal Tolly, Colin Tilbury and Marius Burger for a fascinating article that has now been published. We salute the many natural scientists and organisations, who are working tirelessly to better understand our natural world. It is very encouraging that while so many species are being lost, we are also still discovering new ones. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and interesting work.
Reference Krystal A Tolley, Colin R Tilbury & Marius Burger (2022) Convergence and vicariance: speciation of chameleons in the Cape Fold Mountains, South Africa, and the description of three new species of Bradypodion Fitzinger, 1843, African Journal of Herpetology, 71:1, 14-38, Christian Fry has recently released an incredible freshwater field guide called the “Field Guide to the Freshwater Macroinvertebrates of Southern Africa.” We love the guide and it is really helping us as we try and become SASS accredited. We recently obtained two signed copies and a poster from Christian, which we are so grateful for so we decided to interview him to promote this incredible piece of work. Where did you grow up and how did you get into this field?. Christian grew up on a farm near the Elands River in Mpumalanga. He is extremely grateful for his upbringing, According to Christian, the Elands River was once relatively pristine, but it has degraded over time. As a child, Christian spent a lot of time down at the river, playing, fishing, tubing, and exploring. This is how he first learned about the river and developed an interest in freshwater systems. He mentioned that he had a very basic understanding of what lives in the river, which basically meant flipping a rock and seeing all the bugs crawling around, which was interesting, but he didn't look closely at them. He didn't realize what they were or what they meant until he started studying them. So, spending so much time in the river sort of imprinted that passion in him but it wasn't until later in life that this passion developed into a possible career. This happened when he met some researchers from the University of Johannesburg who were conducting research in the area and came to stay on his family farm. The students did different assessments on the river. Among them was a post graduate student that was doing his PHD. This student made Christian aware that it is possible to do this as a career, which Christian found very inspiring. What is your favourite macroinvertebrate family? Many of the macro invertebrate’s appeal to Christian. He admits that it is difficult for him to choose a specific family, but he enjoys the freshwater shrimp (Crustacea family). We shared with him our recent finding in the Tradouw River where we found a freshwater shrimp. He explained that the shrimps from Grootvadersbosch are not as dark as the ones found in Mpumalanga. How did you come up with the cover of the book? Christian started out the book on a PowerPoint document. He showed his friend (Colleen Murray) who is graphic designer, what he was doing, and asked if she could help him out a bit. She said that everything that he had done was wrong so he started the process over. She explained how to do deep edge and edit photographs. She also chose the book's cover. He is grateful for her talent as a graphic designer. Colleen created the book's aesthetic and clean style, which Christian appreciates. He wishes he could take credit for the front cover, but it was Colleen's idea. He truly appreciates her help. Her creativity has resulted in a book that stands out from the rest. What else did you do differently with this guide? Instead of utilizing the dichotomous key for identification, Christian used the identifying features in the family tree. Instead of going through the step-by-step process of identifying down to the family level, Christian used the identifying futures. As a result, he concentrated on bringing the last step to the front so that the identifying trait could be seen first. He tried something new and only time will tell if it works. Christian is still waiting for comments, and while he knows that people enjoy the way the book appears, he also wants the book to be practical in the field. What were some surprising things that you learnt in the process of writing the book? The most surprising experience to Christian was how little he really knew about macroinvertebrates. He started the book to educate himself. He failed his second SASS accreditation because he got confused with a clam (Cyrenidae) and a pill clam (Pisidiidae). He was frustrated and he wanted more resources on how to distinguish between them. The existing guides were limited and not practical. As Christian researched further, he started to compile his own library with photos to identifying the macroinvertebrates. He later became aware of the diversity of the macro invertebrates. For example, you look at an Elmidae and you see another one and another one but you don’t slow down to look at them carefully. When you look closely, you see the diversity. For Christian, the diversity is incredible and surprising. What were some of the challenges of putting this guide together?
The guide took nearly six years to complete. One challenge was processing all the photos. There were thousands of photos. He processed a lot of the photos, but some were used, and others were not. He also did the work outside of his work hours -on was weekends, nights and holidays. He would sit at family gatherings with his laptop and edit photos The deep edging to process all the photos was endless. What were the highlights of writing the guide? The rewarding part was collecting the new taxa for the book, that was very exciting. Going out into the field and collecting taxa is fun, and it's nice to find specimens for photos in his area. Traveling to the Cape and sampling all those different taxa, was also rewarding. Sometimes they were holidays or family events, such as weddings and his in-laws had to drive him quickly to a river. But in the end, it was very rewarding to explore new areas. He found it rewarding to find some of the taxa that haven’t been seen by other experts, such as Helen Dallas, who have been in the field for twenty years. (At this point, we had to proudly interject and tell him that when Helen came to train the conservancy for SASS, we found a caddisfly (Goeridae) that she had never seen before. Christian admitted that he had not seen it either, so he promised to visit soon.) He loves hunting for taxa and then finding them after years. For example, the Limnichidae (Minute Marsh-loving Beetle) are vaguely described in other SASS guides. In some guides it says that you might find a certain taxon in an area but when one looks and looks and then you find one in a completely different area, it’s very exciting. He found it so rewarding to look at river systems a lot closer. What advice would you give other freshwater scientists?. Christian said that you must not lose your passion and forget why you started in the field. Often with careers, when you turn a passion into a career, you lose the passion. As a passionate, young scientist myself, I couldn’t understand this, so I asked him to explain. He explained that when you turn something that you love into a job, it can become tiresome. Sometimes in the consulting field, you do the same thing over and over and you get burnt out. For him, writing the book and taking on this project, reignited his passion for freshwater ecology. He also advised that people look more closely at species, beyond their families which is what is required in SASS. He hopes that the book will help with this exploration. He wants people to start to try to identify to genus level and discover the diversity of species in our rivers. What’s next for your career? He said that he was going to take a break. I was surprised and laughed, but I understand that he has really worked hard on the book. He is now enjoying some time off and not sure what direction he’ll go next. We just hope that he’ll come and visit us in the conservancy soon so that we can explore our amazing macroinvertebrate diversity together (and show him that special Goeridae for his next edition of the book!). Thank you, Christian. Your book is beautiful and very practical indeed. If you would like to obtain a copy of the book, email info@freshwaterinvertebrates.co.za. The book is also now available at Jacana and Takealot. jacana.co.za/product/freshwater-macroinvertebrates/ Mural in Barrydale In March, we arranged for Donovan Julius (local Suurbraak artist) to paint a mural at the office of Net vir Pret (an after care centre in Barrydale). We had such a warm welcome from the entire team at Net vir Pret, and they did their best to provide any equipment Donovan needed. The mural project was sponsored by the Table Mountain Fund and the Western Cape Department of Arts and Culture, in collaboration with the Silver Mountain Foundation. When we arrived, we met with Peter Takelo, the Director of Net vir Pret, who is a fascinating man. He always has a lot of stories to tell. We literally hung on to his every word as he displayed the medals that he has received for his community service. He suggested putting a song on the mural and asked Donovan to incorporate the story of where the people came from. He also mentioned the redfin fish and how unique it is in the area. Peter appreciated the interaction and thanked us, and he kept us going throughout the day with stories about the Khoisan. Donovan and team went back the following day to finish the mural. Mural in Suurbraak A second mural project was also completed in Suurbraak. Donovan Julius completed the masterpiece in Suurbraak near the river at the campsite. He used the mural to emphasise the importance of our responsibility to care for our river systems and their inhabitants. He drew our Tradouw redfin, which we must protect, and the catfish, which is an alien invasive species that we do not want in our river systems. Another mural was later painted that highlighted pollution and raised awareness about the harm it causes. What an incredible piece. Mural in Buffeljagsrivier Donovan and his assistant Duran went on to create a mural for Mullersrus Primary School. The drive to raise awareness about environmental protection continued, and he painted a beautiful mural at the school depicting environmental protection. Mural in Heidelberg The next exciting mural is at Kleine Pikkewyne-preschool in Heidelberg. Again, we can only say that Donovan and his assistant, Duran, have outdone themselves. We are confident that the preschool children will enjoy their new mural. While doing these murals, it is truly amazing to interact with the children and the members of various local communities. It's a blessing to be able to be part of projects that combine art and nature. Thank you so much to our funders for making this project possible.
The mural project was sponsored by the Table Mountain Fund and the Western Cape Department of Arts and Culture, in collaboration with the Silver Mountain Foundation. We are reflecting on a rehabilitation project that we assisted with in Barrydale during December 2021 and January 2022. It was a unique experience and our team learned so much. The Project The Barrydale Rehabilitation project was complete through the directorate: Pollution and Chemicals Management, Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Western Cape Government. BioAssets CC was the contracted supplier and Wynand asked Johann van Biljon (Intaba environmental services) for assistance as the subcontractor. Johann invited Grootvadersbosch Conservancy for assistance as it would be difficult to bring his staff from Tulbagh and we were very excited to be involved in another rehabilitation project. How did it start? We first met Johann van Biljon on a field trip to Tulbagh as part of the Annual Fynbos Forum. Johann works as the manager of Intaba environmental services, which provides environmental consultation, eco landscaping, and ecosystem rehabilitation services. We attended a workshop at their Tulbagh operation, unaware that we would be working together very soon. In the workshop, we interacted with Johann’s staff, were invited into his home, and got a chance to see some of the rehabilitation projects that he has completed. It was fascinating and inspiring to see what they have accomplished. Soon after this workshop, BioAsssets won a tender to work in the Barrydale area. Dr Wynand Vlok, owner of Bio Assets, specialises in freshwater ecological research, environmental impact assessments as well as wetland research. He needed some additional input and called on Johann for help. Johann needed a local partner, and we were happy to assist. Johann is a wealth of knowledge, and it was a pleasure to collaborate with him. He would share his knowledge with the team and tell all sorts of interesting and, sometimes, funny stories. He is also very hands on and cares about people and their aspirations. For example, when he asked some of us to accompany him on a walk to collect some Gymnosporia buxifolia seeds, he asked us about our goals and what we wanted to become one day. One of the team members wanted to be a mechanic and Johann inspired him to explore his dreams. Aims of the project One of the main goals was to replant indigenous plants along the riverbanks that had been cleared of invasive vegetation. The advantages that would come from this project, included increased biodiversity in the landscape, which can help to mitigate the effects of extreme weather conditions, such as flooding. One of the project's objectives was to improve the Huis River's ecological functioning. Seed collection For the project, the conservancy used one of our teams that usually works on alien clearing. The contractor, Yolande Cupido, is based in Suurbraak, and she accepted the work for her team. A team of 12 workers was assembled for the Barrydale seed collection. The plan was that the seed collection would take place over a few days and the seeds would then go back to Tulbagh with Johann to clean and prepare. They would then be brought back for planting in Barrydale. We collected a mixture of seeds which included Helichrysum patulum and Athanasia trifurcatas, Protea repens, Searsia lucida and Erica caffra seeds. Preparing the seed Some of the seeds were taken by Johann to Tulbagh to prepare the seeds. Preparation can include sorting, cleaning, and washing. In some cases they are then also germinated. Sowing Seeds The seeds that did not go with Johann to get prepared, got sown immediately on the side of the river. Carpobrotus edulis is an amazing riverbank stabilizer and was sown along the riverbanks. Some of the workers mentioned that you can cut a piece off and then plant it, which was interesting to hear. Johann kept on telling stories and keeping the spirits high. He inquired if we knew the Khoisan name of Carpobrotus edulis? It is called ghoenavy, or ghaukum, which some of us used to eat as children (so tasty!). We continued to sow the seeds that had been prepared in Tulbagh and the seeds that we had just collected. We went on and planted palmiet (Prionium serratum) which Johann had germinated in Tulbagh. Wynand demonstrated how to plant the palmiet in the river's wet zone. We planted it where the river's speed is reduced, so that when the river is in motion, the palmiet plant will thrive and be shaded and protected. Some of the seeds were not ready to plant yet so we were forced to leave them out of the planting, such as Metalasia densa seeds. However, we plan to work on the project for 2 more days at a later stage. The team learned a lot from the two natural gurus about the indigenous plants, how to plant them, and where to plant them. We also discovered which plants grow in the area and which do not. Overall, the project was interesting and enjoyable. This project was fun for the teams to work on and we all learnt a lot.
Thank you to Intaba Environmental and BioAssets for involving us. |
AuthorGVB Conservancy Staff Archives
March 2024
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