Volunteers tackle clean-up of Virginia reserve ponds
The 38-hectare reserve is home to several ponds, which, in recent times, have been affected by invasive aquatic plants that have completely covered three of the ponds in the lower bush.
VOLUNTEERS and children from the Kinship Programme tackled the clogged ponds at Virginia Bush Nature Reserve last week with a plan of action to clear them of water lettuce.
The 38-hectare reserve is home to several ponds, which, in recent times, have been affected by invasive aquatic plants that have completely covered three of the ponds in the lower bush.
The floating plants commonly form large mats that clog the ponds and reduce waterflow and oxygen levels, which then threatens wildlife.
Durban North resident Michaela Geytenbeek, who runs the Kinship Programme, an after-school initiative that facilitates immersive learning in nature for children, said this was part of their Labours of Love session.
She added, the plan was to spend the rest of this term clearing the ponds and sectioning them off, using litter booms to make it easier to remove the alien invasive plants.
“This is a large-scale infestation, and our hope is to completely clear the ponds of them to bring them back to their original state. We’ve come to Virginia Bush for the last two years, and we spend a lot of time here. We had stopped using the lower bush because it was so overgrown, and the ponds were full of water lettuce. It is such a magnificent space, especially for the wildlife, and we realised that in order to make a positive change, we needed to make the space accessible.
“Throughout this term, we’ve dedicated our time to removing the hyacinth. A big part of what we do at the Kinship Programme is to help develop a connection between children and nature, to create meaningful change. In order for that to happen, we need to action that with an opportunity to help make a difference. We are so grateful to Durban Green Corridors who donated several eco bricks, and we then used shade cloth and cable ties to form litter booms. We will now place the booms across the ponds to segment them off and clear a section at a time,” she said.
Geytenbeek added, they will also try to make positive use of the lettuce by turning them into bio briquettes with the hopes of creating charcoal.
“There’s a recipe we are hoping to try out once they are dried out. You can change them into charcoal, which we are keen to test out,” she said.
