Category Archives: Environmental Information

Want to learn more about renewable energy technologies, energy saving and how to get off the grid?  Join the next Get of the Grid course in Baskloof Private Nature Reserve (Scarborough, Cape Town). The venue operates ‘off grid’, so you can experience first hand, a functioning integrated renewable energy system on display. Our next public course will be run on Saturday 14th April. We can also offer these courses exclusively to organisations for a group of 10 people minimum. The course fee is R750 per person, which includes lunch & refreshments. Alternatively, you can attend the course on Wednesday 2nd May … Continue reading →

Please find the Glencairn Action Group (GAG) Annual General Meeting minutes, held on the 24th October 2011 on the following link: GAG AGM 2011 minutes The next AGM is scheduled for Wednesday, 17th October 2012 at 18:00 at the Phoenix Hall.

If you walk in the hills around the Glencairn Valley with binoculars, or if you keep a cat, please look out for colour-ringed birds either in the fynbos, in your garden, or in the prey items your cat brings home! Information on sightings of colour-ringed birds, especially sugarbirds and sunbirds, but anything apart from doves and pigeons, will be extremely useful to the SANBI-UCT-SANParks project on bird vulnerability to climate and land use change. Please contact Dr Phoebe Barnard, SANBI, p.barnard@sanbi.org.za or 083 562 8238 with any sightings. In particular, will the owner of a small pretty black and white … Continue reading →

What really pollinates the Black-bearded Protea (P. lepidocarpodendron)? This is the main question of an honours project in the far south peninsula by Stellenbosch University student, Lara Croxford.   To answer it, Lara is doing short-term experiments at Elsies Peak and Silvermine.  Hikers may have noticed nylon bags and wire cages over flowers of the Black-bearded Protea on several routes, which are part of the study and should please not be disturbed! Many people believe that the Cape sugarbird pollinates the Black-bearded Protea, but there is little scientific evidence for this.  So Lara, who is co-supervised by Dr Anton Pauw of … Continue reading →

Ever wondered where your cats wander? We can tell you! • We need you! To learn more about the hunting behaviour of domestic cats and their movement patterns we require cat owners to kindly volunteer their cats. If you are interested in finding out where your cats wander off and spend most of their time, this is the perfect opportunity to discover just that! • No harm will be done to the cats as we will not be displacing any cats from their homes. • The study requires that cats be collared, with miniature GPS tracking devices attached, for approximately … Continue reading →

Cf 983 – Brief History ofCf 1404 – Brief History Illegal landuses May 2007 to May 2011 Hi All Another temporary landuse departure application for CF 1404 to permit restaurant/tearoom, a retail arts, crafts and curio sales, retail sculpture garden display area, an adventure course, a concert facility and associated parking, stating that these facilities are currently operating on the property. Please Note that all the land uses are in contravention of the zoning sheme and have been operated illegally , some since at least 2007 despite complaints. The envelope of the registered letter is dated 11-611 at the Plumstead … Continue reading →

For those who would like a far south option to see the movie read on:   The Kommetjie Transition village initiative will be screening Gasland in the Kommetjie Community Hall on Sunday 20 March from 7 pm. There will be a short facilitated  discussion afterwards with information on possible next steps that concerned people could take. R5 or 5 talents at the door towards Transition events.   The film is 1 hour and 44 minutes long and is a documentary made recently in the USA where Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) as a way of extracting natural gas has been going on … Continue reading →

Gasland, the Oscar-nominated documentary about fracking – an environmentally destructive method of natural gas exploitation that may be used in the Karoo soon – will be shown at: The Labia on Orange cinema in Cape Town on Monday 21 March at 6:15pm, on Tuesday 22 March at 8:30pm and on Wednesday 23 March at 6:15pm and at: The Bioscope Independent Cinema in Johannesburg on Monday 4 April at 8.00pm, Tuesday 5 April at 8.00pm and on Friday 8 April at 8.00pm. Part verite travelogue, part expose, part mystery, part bluegrass banjo meltdown, part showdown – Gasland is the must-see documentary … Continue reading →

Dear Mountain Walkers, The klipspringers have been seen on Elsies Peak so please take care to control your dogs when walking on the mountain.================================= Lorraine Holloway Cape Town, South Africa Email: hollowp@telkomsa.net Voice: +27-21-782-3446 =================================

The Height of the Fire Season The Most Dangerous Criminal of All Consider – A burglar might rob you of a few possessions, but a sudden fire could sweep away absolutely everything - including the precious lives of your loved ones. Visit the Cape of Fire blog to learn about wildfire risk  >>>> CLICK HERE

Notice about GEESE activities to honour World Wetland Day 2011 As you all know, a New Year means 2nd February, World Wetland Day, is only days away! This year it falls on a Wednesday and so we are delaying our celebrations until Friday 4th, Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th FRIDAY 4th February – Two Hours of Clean-up from 09h00 to11h00 SATURDAY 5th February – Two Hours of Clean-up from 09h00 to 11h00 ? As usual, each of the days, we will meet outside the Southern Right Hotel for pairing, planning and directions. ? After the two hours, we all meet … Continue reading →