This is the 100th article in an ongoing series that highlights the riches of Pigeon Valley, the urban nature reserve in the heart of Glenwood. The focus of this article is on how we get young people into nature.
One day, while friends were staying for a month in our outdoor flat, I headed off to Pigeon Valley as usual, only to have Nathi (then four years) and Luthando (three) Mgobhozi burst into tears. I was flummoxed and then heard them complain that I was going ‘ehlathi’ without them. Were not scared of the big snake (it was when the Black Mamba was often encountered)? No. So, we headed off.
This process was of course particularly slow, with stops along the way, for all kinds of reasons. I mentally gave up on seeing much wild life. Yet the girls were very happy. They began trying to use the camera and binoculars, and, by the end of the morning had succeeded in getting real photos. At one point we came to the bird bath where I tend to get the best bird sightings.
Nifanele ukuthula, I said (you have to keep quiet). Immediately, the quiet chatter was replaced by the loud whispers that children resort to when being quiet. Undeterred, two juvenile Buff-spotted Flufftails immediately emerged from the undergrowth and began their bath in the water. I have never seen this at any other time. I couldn’t help thinking that it was an expression of solidarity by the young.
ALSO READ: Exploring Pigeon Valley: The False Dotted Border
I went through a similar process with young Khethokuhle Maphela, who is nearing two years. He insists on trying to imitate whatever the adults do around him. The bird bath has been a source of fascination for him, and at one stage he took to sitting in it and contemplating life. Then I gave him a brush and showed him how to clean it. Very quickly he wanted to move to the next level and pour in the water. This was done with great concentration, enthusiasm and occasional accuracy.
When I showed him the photos of himself at work, he jumped up and down in delight. David Attenborough once told me that his interest in wildlife began when, as a child, he would play in Pigeon Valley (in case of some mystification, this is the Durban, not the UK variant of David Attenborough, and, yes, he is also very knowledgeable and engaged in wildlife issues). It always pleases me to see in the reserve small children from the youngest of ages, starting to make the connections with nature that develop into true understanding and meaning.
Crispin Hemson chairs the Friends of Pigeon Valley, a group that undertakes clearing of alien plants, keeps records of bird and mammal sightings and alerts management to any problems.
The Friends have a monthly walk at 7.30am on the second Saturday of each month. Email: friendsofpigeonvalley1@gmail.com.
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