www.conservancies.org / www.nacsa.org.za www.nacsa.co.za
“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”
In this e-newsletter:
Notices
Snippets from around the province
Interesting articles
Notices:
14 August GC&SA 2010 AGM
The 2010 AGM of the GCSA will be held at 10am at the home of Charmaine and Reg Humphrey, within the Welverdiend Triangle Conservancy in South Gauteng, there will be a bring and braai after the meeting, salads, pap and gravy will be provided. For further details and directions contact the office:
(016) 590 2914 08h00– 12h00 Mon to Friday or kathy@nacsa.org.za
20 August GC&SA
Conservancies & Biodiversity Symposium
This promises to be a very interesting event for anyone involved or interested in becoming involved in Conservancies. It is to be held at Casablanca Manor in the Cullinan Conservancy. For further details contact either:
Joan Du Toit (012) 736 2069 or Cheryl Dehning (011) 316 1426 email Cheryl@innercs.co.za
27 to 29th August
NACSSA AGM Howick, KZN
Well worth the trip to this beautiful venue, to hear what is happening with the conservancy movement at a national level. For further details and bookings contact:
Kathy Oliver (016) 590 2914 08h00– 12h00 Mon to Friday or kathy@nacsa.org.za
Snippets from around the Province:
FRANCOLIN CONSERVANCY
The Francolin Conservancy is situated in the Crocodile River Valley, near Pelindaba. The Daspoortrand mountain range forms the northern border of the site. The conservancy forms part of the Gold Reef Mountain Bushveld and Andesiet Mountain Bushveld. The site is characterized by open grassland, rocky outcrops, natural drainage lines and mountainous areas, and most of the site is in pristine condition. The climate in the area is one of extremes, with heavy frost in winter and high temperatures in summer.
The Orient Boutique Hotel is situated in the conservancy. A city wall encloses the main hotel building, creating a sanctuary of privacy and security.
The conservancy consists of a number of farms bought by the owner, Cobus du Plessis and combined into a reserve. A brick wall has been erected around most of the perimeter of the conservancy, except for the inaccessible summit of the mountain, to control fire, poaching and illegal tree harvesting. The wall is perforated in areas to allow small game to migrate. The conservancy contains some small game species such as duiker, wildebeest, kudu, impala, reedbuck, nyala, zebra, blesbok, waterbuck and red hartebeest.
The conservancy is managed by Ivan van der Walt according to an Ecological Management Plan, in order to monitor and address issues such as, water usage, invader plant eradication, plant species mix, animal species mix, fire management, recreation etc.
Within the conservancy, the tarred access road from the security gate leads through the veld to the main gate. This road also serves as a walking trail for guests, with benches at strategic points for them to rest. The veld has been enriched in places close to the road, with indigenous plants creating more interest, almost as a botanical garden. This is an ongoing process with more endemic species specially grown for veld enrichment.
The water system of the complex is aimed at sustainable use and consists of four separate systems for the hotel, water features, irrigation for hotel garden with borehole water and irrigation outside the city wall with purified grey water.
Two artificial wetlands have been created. One is situated in a natural run-off zone where cleaned effluent water is discharged to create a more permanent wet area for frogs and other wetland wildlife. This has been planted with indigenous bog plants. Another wetland is supplied with borehole water from a solar pump. It pumps into a drinking trough for game, overflowing into the wetland.
Walking trails have been created with appropriate signage and pamphlets for use by hotel guests. Benches constructed from removed alien species have been located along the way.
A botanical artist Daleen Roodt has been appointed to paint the wild flowers of Francolin. Paintings are also reproduced on menus of the Restaurant Mosaic.
Francolin has been selected as one of the pilot sites for the Gauteng Biodiversity Stewardship program.
Pictures of indigenous plants found in Francolin Conservancy, painted by Daleen Roodt
Art and conservation: A ‘floribundant’ future
Taking photographs of plants might seem the obvious or appropriate way of accurately recording a plant’s distinctive features. Such details are particularly important for the description, classification and identification of plants, activities associated with the discipline known as plant taxonomy. But where a camera can only record what is in front of it, botanical art opens the passage to reveal a plant in all its aesthetic splendor—multiple stages in a plant’s growth can be shown simultaneously in a single pleasing composition, or the presentation can be manipulated in such a way that not only something of the plant’s 'personality' is revealed, but also something of the emotion experienced by the artist.
Besides its aesthetic quality, botanical art has traditionally fulfilled an important supportive scientific role, with artists assisting botanists in depicting new and other noteworthy species. However, instead of having only its traditional scientific value, the question can be asked whether botanical art could be used for other purposes as well, for example to support and promote conservation and ecology. Should botanical art not be employed more ardently as a tool to educate and promote awareness?
At the Francolin Conservancy I’m currently busy with a two-year project to capture with my brush some of the area’s indigenous wild flowers. Every second Tuesday Ivan (the landscape consultant) and I take an early-morning walk—or rather; we go flower hunting—through the Conservancy. According to Ivan, this aspect of the project is particularly important to Francolin, as it assists in constantly observing, locating, identifying and recording plants that come into flower, especially previously unrecorded plants. During our walks I take photographs, make quick sketches, and, where possible, collect plant and seed samples of indigenous species. We’ve had some interesting expeditions of discovering mushroom communities in the woods, venturing up the mountain in freezing gusts, and so far we have identified at least one new flower on every single trip. After these expeditions I return home to make botanical paintings of the plants. This project is giving me the freedom to indulge in artistic creativity while at the same time enabling me to get to know a great variety of species.
There will be some who do not consider botanical painting to be an art form and consider it more of a technique lacking in artistic merit. But botanical painting is more than just art; it is the combination of art and science.
For the owners of Francolin Conservancy, botanical painting serves a very important role and it can be appreciated just for the effort involved to produce these paintings:
“Daleen’s botanical paintings, like the plants from our own conservation area that they depict, are not only beautiful to look at—they introduce and remind us of many fascinating areas of study, such as the history of botany, the history of western explorations, and the development of printmaking in the west. Whether we acquire botanical paintings and prints that appeal because of their beauty or embarking on a major collection focused perhaps on a particular flower, artist, or technique, there are many fascinating stories to be gleaned, which add to the depth and pleasure of the collecting experience. Our investment in the art and the antique market, as part of a comprehensive investment portfolio comprising a mixture of both, combined with our property investments, provides not only a stable and reliable, but also a pleasurable asset diversification for us.
With a large amount of our plant species of flowering plants threatened by extinction in the next 50 years, we have a vital role to play to inspire and deliver conservation. This project will take us one step closer to our goal. Francolin is pleased to be serving the community and art enthusiasts with this new and exciting project and we look forward to the exhibition early in 2012. The Orient’s gallery, situated in the Francolin Conservancy at The Orient Boutique Hotel will provide the right environment to exhibit Daleen’s paintings and will make the collection more accessible to a larger audience.”
According to the “Red list of South African plants” (SANBI, 2010), 13% of South Africa’s plants are threatened and in danger of extinction, and another 11% are under categories of conservational concern. As some of these species are probably already extinct or disappearing at a rapid pace, there is urgency in thoroughly recording and conserving the plants in their natural habitat. Botanical art can be used to create public awareness and thereby enhancing the process of conservation: thematic books can be published, conservancy-specific brochures and stationary can be made, or hiking trails can be enhanced with botanical illustrations, to name only a few possibilities. After the Francolin project I would like to start with an ongoing national project of painting ‘flagship’ species or red data plants for the sake of conservation and awareness, but also to provide an artwork of the plants by which different areas can be characterised. Such paintings (or products based on them) could then be exhibited and auctioned in order to raise funds that can be put back into the maintenance, conservation and management of these plants in their natural habitat.
I wish to encourage similar projects and commissions following the Francolin project. It is my hope to be provided with sufficient sponsoring that will enable me to work in a variety of geographical regions, thus promoting an awareness and appreciation for the local botanical treasures. With South Africa’s exceptional floristic diversity as well as the universal appeal that a flower painting carries, future possibilities are endless.
Daleen Roodt
Gladiolus Elliotii Striga Gesnerioides
GCSA Annual Awards
A big thank you to all conservancies that have submitted their entries for the 2010 Conservancy Awards. The standard of the entries received this year are outstanding and our judges will have a difficult time deciding which conservancies deserve the trophies. Good Luck to you all!!
Books
Please send us your news and notices of events for inclusion in “Ear to the Ground”. This e-newsletter goes to all the Gauteng conservancies and to a long list of “friends of conservancies” plus other interested people. The list grows by the day. If you would like to contact any of the conservancies or people mentioned in this “Ear”, let us know
“This little bokkie has her own website”
ACRONYMS:
NACSSA: National Association of Conservancies & Stewardships of SA
GC&SA: Gauteng Conservancy & Stewardship Association
GDARD: Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
EWT: Endangered Wildlife Trust
DME: Department of Minerals and Energy
DFA: Development Facilitation Act
EIA: Environmental Impact Assessment
I&AP: Interested and Affected Party
SLAPP: Strategic Litigation Against Public Participants
Previous Ears to the Ground
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