THE CLOGGED ponds at the Virginia Bush Nature Reserve have been given a remarkable transformation in a matter of months.
Volunteers and children from the Kinship Programme tackled the ponds in October last year in an effort to remove and rid them of invasive aquatic plants.
The 38-hectare reserve is home to several ponds and has been affected by various invasive 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.
Also Read: Plan of action for Virginia Bush Nature Reserve
Durban North resident Michaela Geytenbeek, who runs the Kinship Programme, an after-school initiative that facilitates immersive learning in nature for children, said she is impressed by how animal life has begun to thrive again.
“It was a mammoth task. When we started, we had water lettuce and Kariba weed on a large scale to get rid of. We mostly worked on the weekends to clear the ponds, and after our first clean-up, we had made great progress. A week later, we returned to find so many of the invasive plants had regrown and again covered the surface of the ponds. We were a little despondent because we felt like everything we had done was for naught.
“We then decided to build mini litter booms and clear the pond segment by segment. The Eco Bricks used in the boom were donated by Durban Green Corridors, and we bought shade cloth and built the booms with the children. I think we really saw progress at the beginning of December when we could see the bottom of the pond. Prior to this, it was brown and murky, but now you can actually see schools of fish, both big and small, in the pond,” she explained.
Geytenbeek said attention is now turned to one of the worst affected ponds which they will tackle this year using similar methods.
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