NEWSLETTER OUR VISION | To be a highly effective and well-supported champion of the environment. OUR MISSION | To implement high impact environmental and conservation projects which promote public May 2019 participation in caring for the Earth. Dear Friends of the Environment, thanks to all those wonderful people to who attended the AGM! Mark Dixon speaking on the upcoming Strandloper Project was obviously a great drawcard and the attendees came from as far as Knysna, Sedgefield and Great Brak on a wet, chilly evening. Thanks to Wilmari Nel - the latest addition to our Committee volunteers – who enhanced the display of our veritable feast of a Cheese and Wine where over 40 participants enjoyed lively discussions after the meeting. Just so you can see what you missed.... And to read up on what the Strandloper Project is all about go to …. http://gardenroutetrail.co.za/strandloper.html for the complete article (Extract below) This coastline, like the rest of the South African coastline is heavily fished by both recreational and subsistence fishers for shore based surf fishing. As a consequence a substantial amount of fishing tackle is lost due to snagging on rocks posing a risk of ghost fishing from the baited hooks. Coastal Hike. In an effort to measure the amount of snagged fishing tackle and to raise awareness of the threat of ghost fishing as a result of recreational fishing, a group of locals will be embarking on a 10 day hike between Witsand and Wilderness. Tackle and trash survey. The primary purpose of the hike will be to conduct surveys both in the water and along the beach to quantify both snagged fishing tackle and washed up plastic trash along the coastline. Plastic Trash. A second aspect of the 10 day hike will be to document location and types of plastic trash found along the walk. We will be mapping the plastic using Cybertracker and will then be able to generate distribution maps according to the category of trash. Follow the Strandloper Hike on : @StrandloperP @StrandloperProject Strandloper Project https://youtu.be/x3un0_8ZMSE https://youtu.be/hfGEhJiwDaE StrandloperProject 18 May 2019 Rolbaken Nature Reserve, nestled in the Kammanassie valley. Rolbaken Nature Reserve R100 for the benefit of the Nature Reserve Rolbaken is a contract Nature Reserve, owned by Dick and Mary Carr. Since they bought the farm in 2004, they have systematically rehabilitated the badly degraded land into a sanctuary for the local population of endangered Cape Mountain Zebra. An exciting experience is awaiting you, with several focus areas on the agenda. This includes a gentle walk of 400 -500 m around the farm with Dick and Mary as guides, a Geological overview by Paul Rixom and Bird watching by Peter Ginn. We plan to start at Rolbaken at 09h45, have a picnic lunch at around 12noon and finish off with a geology session after lunch. We expect to finish at 15h00. The trip from George to Rolbaken will take about 1h30 min and from Oudtshoorn about 54 min (or more due to Stop –Go’s). A map and full instructions will be sent to all that participate in this outing. Dick and Mary serve on the GCBR Board (Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve) and are an endless resource of all matters related to sustainable living and environmental knowledge. An optional extra: Treat yourself to an overnight stay at their gorgeous, antique furnished Guest House, at a mere R395 pp sharing. Perhaps Friday night or Saturday night, or both? There are only three bedrooms so the sooner you book, the better. Camping facilities are also available, at R 50 per day. Click on the following link to make a direct booking for their Guest House or Camp site. Bookings can be made by emailing Annemarie: [email protected]. http://rolbaken.co.za/ Please state your point of departure as well as your contact number, including the names of the people in your party. In the interest of reducing our carbon footprint, please indicate whether you are willing to share lifts. Petrol costs should also be shared. Rolbaken Nature Reserve 18 May 2019 Celebrate Oceans Day 2019 with WESSA Eden and Knysna Basin Project at Fat Fish Restaurant, George 7 June 2019 The combination of natural variation fused with our Mark and Amanda Dixon offer passion for nature and our scientific background, has a variety of walks, hikes and The emphasis this month is again allowed Garden Route Trail Trails along the Garden Route :- on recycling and plastic to become unsurpassed Garden Route Trail - Discover reduction. There is information leaders of informative nature our Passion for Nature in the on the George Municipality guiding in the Garden Route. Garden Route. recycling system with 3 bag types http://gardenroutetrail.co.za - which I am sure that everyone The scope of environmental reading this is actually variation in the Garden Route supporting! offers visitors to the region the Detailed information on option of forest, wetland, hazardous waste and how to dune, Fynbos, estuary, riverine, dispose of it locally can be found montane and coastal in the separate attachments experiences without having to accompanying this Newsletter. travel vast distances. It is on this foundation of diversity that we have developed our range of guided walks, mountain biking and birding in the Garden Route. 8 June Oceans Day - 2019 CONSERVATION FOCUS - Together we can protect and restore our ocean Conservation focus: demonstrate leadership in preventing plastic pollution and share solutions that inspire and activate the global community World Oceans Day 2019 – with the 24-member World Oceans Day Youth Advisory Council helping empower people of all ages to become leaders in their communities – will rally the world to stop ocean plastic, a growing crisis facing society and our shared ocean. World Oceans Day 2019 will build on personal awareness, actions, and commitments to reduce single-use plastic, and mobilize action on the scale necessary to bring about real change. You can be a leader by rallying others - including families, friends, schools, local businesses, organizations, and corporations - for greater involvement! www.facebook.com/WorldOceansDay/photos/-2019-theme-together-we-can-protect-and-restore-our- ocean-2019-conservation-focu/10157581182640559/ 7 June 2019 Oceans Day celebration at Fat Fish Restaurant, George with Louw Claassens of the Knysna Basin Project speaking on fishy subjects. Join us for a lunchtime talk on Friday 7 June from 12h00 Louw Claassens – as many of you know – is a vibrant and passionate speaker on all things coastal. She will focusing on estuaries and the value they hold as nursery areas for fish as well as discuss fishing in South Africa and the need for sustainable fishing and what consumers can do to make sustainable decisions. The participation fee of R100 includes light refreshments and 50% of the proceeds being donated to the Knysna Basin Project. As seating is limited please book directly with Fat Fish : 044 874 780 PLEASE HELP Hi all our willing helpers & members! We are in need of BIG pots for our mother stock plants. If you have any that are just lying around we would really appreciate them. You can drop it off at our nursery during office hours. Join us on the 3rd of May at 18h00 for a night walk through the Garden Route Botanical Garden On our walk we hope to find a diversity of frogs, the Knysna Dwarf Chameleon and many more interesting insects and animals. You'll need • a flashlight • a camera • a very good ear to track their calls, and lastly • lots of enthusiasm! R30.00 to participate. For more info, contact the GRBG by phone: (044) 874 1558 RECYCLING HAS STARTED IN GEORGE The George Municipality waste reduction programme kicked off on 1 February and is currently been rolled out to neighbourhoods across the municipal area. Two green bags (garden and kitchen waste) and two blue bags (recyclables) will be dropped off to households on their usual refuse removal days, starting the week of 4-8 February 2019. Collection of green and blue bags will start on Monday 11 February 2019 and will be collected on the same day as black bag refuse removal, but by different trucks – before or after the black bag collection and may be hours apart. Each collected full blue or green bag will be replaced with another of the same colour on the same day. Households or businesses that are actively recycling and require additional green or blue bags, can collect from the Interwaste premises at 10 Extension Road, Pacaltsdorp Industrial Area. If you have not received your initial, two-of-each bags, please report to Interwaste 044 878 0688. ENQUIRIES Green and blue bags: Interwaste Physical address: 10 Extension Road, Pacaltsdorp Industrial Area. Phone: 044 878 0688 Black bags: George Municipal Environmental Services Physical address: 82 Meade Street, George. Phone 044 802 2900 GENERAL Households can put out seven bags per week, in any combination of green, blue and black. Additional tied bundles of branches are allowed if they are shorter than a metre in length and can be picked up by one person. BLUE bags are for non-soiled recyclable materials, including plastic, paper, card board, glass etc. GREEN bags are for green waste, including organic kitchen waste such as fruit and vegetable peels, as well as garden waste, including grass cuttings, leaves etc. No soil is allowed in the green bags. BLACK bags are for ‘wet’ waste, things that cannot be recycled. A pack of 26 black bags are distributed to households quarterly. - All refuse bags must be put out by 07:00 on removal day. - Please don’t put bags out the day or night before removal.