GALLERY and VIDEO: Hit the road black jacks
GREYMONT – Albert's Farm underwent a make-over after having its black jacks burned away.
The extensive black jack population at Albert’s Farm went up in flames on 16 May.
The park is located in Greymont and has many visitors and dog walkers. The wall that surrounds the dam has been eroding for some time. Friends of Albert’s Farm chairperson Charles Cator said, “We dug up the trees next to the dam and where the water is leaking out so that we could properly block off the exit point of the water.”
In a combined effort with the group and other residents, they tried to build up the wall in order to create a stronger structure to encase the water. Secretary Rose Maree said, “The black jacks have come up as a result of uprooting the trees which caused a disturbance of the soil. One black jack seed can lay dormant under the ground for over 150 years.”
Group member Nina Venjakov explained that they cannot access the area below the wall where the soil eroded due to the infestation of black jacks.
The group gathered to set fire to the black jacks by using petrol and lighters, and made it a spectacle.
WATCH HERE:
When asked why they cannot just forcibly move through the bushes of black jacks, Maree said, “Each black jack can spawn one bush carrying over 1 500 seeds. So if we carry any of the seeds around the park it will spark a brand new growth elsewhere.”
Details: nina@outofthebox.org.za
