The Friends of Kloofendal (FRoK) hosted their Annual General Meeting (AGM) recently, highlighting some good and not so good things that took place during the past year.
The AGM was opened with the showing of camera trap photos by Alana Smal, followed by a presentation on the conservation of the Roodepoort/ Krugersdorp ridges by Andrew Hankey, Tony da Castro and Belinda Cooper.
The FRoK chairman, Steve Spottiswoode, welcomed all present and the AGM officially commenced. “We have a number of concerns about the state and management of the Nature Reserve and have approached Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo (JCPZ) in a positive a fashion, and have had some positive responses. The major reason for our concerns is that FroK has a different view of what is needed for managing the reserve than has been accepted by the City Council, as seen in the following points,” he said.
• The grasslands are being replaced by bush, resulting in reduced biodiversity and grazing, and are in dire need of controlled burning
• Poorly executed Invasive Alien Species control which is often ineffective and wasteful, with poorly-aimed and incomplete spraying of herbicides, resulting in missed areas and species. FroK has asked JCPZ for copies of the completion certificates used to support the extravagant claim that 369 hectares have been cleaned of alien vegetation
• The lawn in the Amphitheatre is in a very bad state and mostly overtaken by weeds. This is partly due to over-cutting with brush-cutters, because the seven-day cycle of park maintenance is exceeded
• JCPZ is working on the paths with the aim of regaining the Green Flag status that expired a few years ago
• JCPZ has overall shown a lax attitude to breaking of the public open space by-laws, creating the impression that permission has been given to use alcohol and listen to electronic music
• Because of incidents in which buck were killed by poachers or chased by dogs, JCPZ has been making extra efforts to repair fences
“We are hoping that the involvement of the General Manager: Stakeholder and Public Relations will improve the communications in resolving various concerns mentioned and not mentioned in this report,” Steve said.
The 2016/ 17 committee members were also thanked for their tireless work during the year. The current secretary, Neville Roberts, stood down due to personal reasons, resulting in Owen Slabbert being appointed as the new secretary.
Karin Spottiswoode, FRoK’s administrator and Environmental Education Portfolio member, also reported on the year’s activities and said, “Thank you to our loyal FroK guides, committee members and volunteers who jointly do so much for the reserve! Also thanks to JCPZ’s EE department, with whom we now have a good relationship.”
FRoK is in need of volunteers who can assist with the following:
• Qualified Field Guide Association of South Africa (FGASA) guides who are interested and available to guide schoolchildren during the week
• An administrator to administer promotions of the hands-on environmental education programme for schools and the weekend two hour guided walks, handle bookings of school groups and individual participants, indemnities, booking of the guides, keep record of all payments in and out, handle bookings of the Ecological Centre and handle enquiries on the FroK cellphone
• Volunteers to work on invasive alien plant control during the weekend or even week days as JCPZ only work on a limited number of invasive alien plant species
• Volunteers to help during the week with the school group environmental education programme, particularly in the nature treasure hunts
Anyone willing to assist with any of the above can contact Karin on 079 693 5608, or leave a message.
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