In the spirit of community service and love for the environment, 62 volunteers from IQVIA gathered at the Kloofendal Nature Reserve to eradicate alien invasive plants under the direction and guidance of Friends of Kloofendal (FRoK).
FRoK has over the years dedicated themselves to meeting once or twice a week early in the morning to remove alien invasive plants in the reserve, and this time they had the luxury of receiving a larger group of people to help with their ongoing efforts.
According to Karin Spottiswoode, one of FRoK’s members, the groups were divided into 10 people per group, with six FRoK guides going with them. Cindy Ellis from IQVIA also introduced a fun dress-up competition where each group had to dress as an invasive plant to make it fun and interactive for the volunteers.
“It is important to learn and know what these plants are and what harm they cause to our indigenous plants and the environment,” said Spottiswoode.
As the teams headed out to the field, they had different tools for use for the removal of different plants, like a tree popper that is used to take out small, medium and large trees; they also had a weeding fork that was used to loosen the ground and take out the stronger ones. They had the secateurs to cut away branches, leather gloves as some plants have thorns, poison (herbicide), pangas, foldable saws and garbage bags.
“When it comes to the poison, it is important to follow the instructions; otherwise, the plant will grow again. It needs to be applied within 10 minutes after removing the plant and using a paintbrush. The idea is to always work as a team,” she added.
Some of the plants removed include the black wattle, pine trees, bug weed, eucalyptus trees and lantana.
Spottiswoode thanked dedicated FRoK guides for the amazing community work they do and urged community members who would like to get involved to call her on 079 693 5608 or go to the reserve on Wednesday and Friday mornings at 07:30.
