IT is with great sadness that we record the passing away of Ian Pattrick on 20 April after a short illness. Ian was a great friend and supporter of the Kloof Conservancy and the conservancy movement in general and strongly believed in community involvement in conservation.
He served as the conservation officer of Krantzkloof Nature Reserve for more than 10 years in the 1990s to the early 2000s. During his time at Krantzkloof, he was instrumental in getting the Kloof Conservancy involved in supporting the reserve and was part of the team that started the Kloof Conservancy Indigenous Open Gardens.
Not only did he encourage the conservancy’s involvement, but he also led by example by taking on conservancy tasks in many fund-raising activities, creating a true bond between the reserve and the community-conservancy.
Ian was one of the early pioneers in the battle against invasive alien species and had been active in this field until recently at Hillcrest Conservancy, where he ran many courses teaching gardeners on how to remove the invasive species.
He was responsible for the original Wanted Dead or Alive signs that are on Bridle Road. He also donated the original wooden Welcome To Kloof sign on the Pioneer Road off-ramp on the M13, as a farewell gift to the Kloof Community when he was transferred away from the area by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.
Ian was a devoted conservationist and always encouraged individuals to get involved in conservation and, with his personal involvement, led from the front. On a personal note, I recall how Ian inspired me to get involved in looking after a small section of D’MOSS land that borders the reserve.
He met with residents who owned the property and explained the importance of green buffers surrounding the reserve which, if rehabilitated to their indigenous condition, would provide invaluable protection for the reserve. This led to a highly successful rehabilitation programme that effectively added 5ha as an indigenous buffer to the reserve.
In the mid to late 1990s he actively encouraged a group fondly called the plant nutters to scour the reserve to record the many rare plant species found there. Although not a botanist himself, he not only encouraged the team but he passionately guided them in their plant hunting.
We extend our deepest condolences to Ian’s wife Colleen and his family, we have lost a friend and true conservationist.
– The Kloof Conservancy
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