The Flora Restoration project concentrates on the removal of Alien Invasive Species (AIS), with the aim to restore the indigenous flora endemic to Brackenridge. If you would like to become involved or get in touch, please mail us at emc@thegreenridge.co.za .
2025 AIS Control Activities
One of the top priority initiatives of the Environmental Management Committee for 2025 is the scaling up of AIS control in our Estate. Two reasons make AIS control very important:
- One, we are dealing with an estate wide backlog in professional AIS control that has developed over the past 20 years. If you want to see for yourself what that means, then visit the wetland area close to Barringtons …
- Two, a particular need for AIS control arose recently in the areas where we conducted the two controlled burns in 2024
Post-burn attention to AIS control is particularly important: for unfortunately, it is not just the fynbos vegetation that thrives after a fire, but the majority of alien species are fire adapted. Similar to our indigenous fynbos, the seed banks which these invasive plants have deposited in the ground over time spring into action once the first rains hit a charred ground – so the sooner you can identify and remove them after a fire, the better!
Against this backdrop it was decided to concentrate on five so-called “AIS sections” in 2025. One of these sections (marked AIS 1 on the map below) overlaps with burn block 6. This area has experienced a veritable explosion of AIS seedlings in January and February.
After obtaining competing quotes the contract for the professional removal of AIS in these 5 sections was recently awarded to the Kranshoek based company Plett Alien Clearing.
Elsie and her team (under supervision of our ECO Kellyn and our EMC member and volunteer Debbie Constant) started to work on sections 1 to 3 on 3rd February and completed this first phase two weeks later. They are now scheduled to move on to sections four and five towards the end of February.
The total natural area that we will be tackling during this first AIS control initiative covers some 20 ha. A schematic layout of its five sections is given in the map below, and the right hand part of section 1 overlaps with burn block 6. With the next controlled burn in block 1 (that is, on the large 10 ha northern slope facing the Golf Course) already being prepared and currently scheduled for April / May 2025, this section is then probably the prime candidate for our next AIS control “push”.
2024 Group Activities
24 May 2024: AIS “hacking walk” above Orchid Valley
Four “hackers” – Deborah, Angela, Steve and Chris – met for our group’s inaugural, hands-on “hacking walk” on 24 May 2024. We had identified a problem area above Orchid Valley, along the contour path below properties #54 to #48 Watsonia Heights, where a vast amount of Port Jackson had sprung up. We had decided to remove these before they would start seeding. Little did we know that we were about to take on a forest…
Our group was equipped with 2 tree poppers, two loppers, an electric chain saw, a bow saw, numerous secateurs, tree poison – and with a most useful handbook: Jeremy Croudace’s “Alien Clearing Handbook for the Western Cape” (many thanks to our resident Paul Falla for bringing this to our attention!) The handbook provides information on how to identify and deal with the various types of alien vegetation. For example, page 5-6 shows you what Port Jackson looks like, how it grows, which tools you will need to remove it and how to make sure that it won’t resprout:
Copies of the booklet are available for loan at the Brackenridge Office and we highly recommend you get one!
We worked hard for three hours and took out some fifty to sixty Port Jackson. The tallest had already grown to tree size and could only be cut with a bow saw. Later in the afternoon Angela and Chris came back once more and marked with purple spray-paint some more Port Jackson along the western section of the contour path, plus all the stumps of those that we had cut down before. These will now need re-poisening with a tinted solution (ours was unfortunately transparent).
We have documented the results of our effort in two videos which we posted on the Greenridge Facebook Page – see
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/vfBvYSERgdFyYvbB/?mibextid=qi2Omg
(PS: In the second clip I accidentally refer to “Rooikrans” – sorry, these were of course Port Jackson. But don’t worry, we’ll get to the Rooikrans next time round!)
24 March 2024: AIS survey on the flood plain behind Barringtons
The first area we investigated was the loop behind Barrrington’s. We looked at the area in detail on 24 March – you can find the results in this document.