Blog

Hi Everyone

Munster Conservancy has been going for three years and I thought it is time that I put out a newsletter telling people about what’s been happening.

We have two basic aims in the conservancy — the first is to protect our natural environment and the second is to help others do the same. As far as the first is concerned we have:

• embarked on a tree labelling project in which we are tagging trees in both public and private property
• we are removing huge amounts of alien vegetation from the Admiralty Reserve and planting indigenous vegetation in its stead
• we clean up the beaches after heavy rain
• we have started indigenous gardens at the entrance of Munster as well as at Glenmore Beach next to the Mtamvuna Life Saving Club and the steps going down to the beach.

As far as our second aim is concerned high on our list of priorities is raising awareness and encouraging others to care for our natural environment. Nature Lovers sometimes tend to develop a siege mentality where they withdraw into their world and see everyone else as a threat to the environment and not protectors of it. We have consciously tried to avoid this mentality and have tried, from day one when we started three years ago, to reach out and get on board as many people as possible. This means getting out there and making our presence felt. In the process we have sometimes trod on a few toes and ruffled a few feathers but, in the process, awareness has been raised and a difference has been made. People will think twice about revving up a chainsaw and cutting down a tree, lest they be visited by a concerned member of our community and asked, hopefully with a polite smile (I really have learned what a difference this makes!) whether they have received the required permission to do so. Our outreach programme involves the following initiatives

• We are working with the local estate agent to make first time buyers aware of our presence and are increasingly being called upon by new property owners to give advice on how best they can develop their properties in ways that are not destructive to the environment.
• Some garden services that come into our area contact us before they start their chainsaws to inform us what they are doing so we don’t get too anxious.
• We have a hotline with the Forestry Department who takes seriously all our calls to intervene in situations involving the trimming or cutting down of trees. This has led, in one case, to the prosecution of one property owner who cut down all the trees on his property without permission and after he had been told by a local garden services that it was against the law.
• We have tried to raise awareness of how important the Admiralty Reserve is and that it should not be tampered with in any way except to remove alien vegetation. One of the ways we have done this is through our Admiralty Path Project which documents the six paths going to the beach through the reserve from Munro Drive, highlighting the indigenous vegetation as well as invasive species. Through this information we hope to create greater awareness of the diverse natural heritage in our Admirality Reserve as well as the threat presented by alien invasives and human intervention.
• We have launched a website to inform people about ourselves and make it easy to become members
• We hosted the last quarterly meeting of our mother body, Conservancies KZN, which was well attended and where we had Dr Yvette Ehlers-Smith, Ezemvelo ecologist, give us a talk about the importance of the Admiralty Reserve and Xolani Shaka, lepidopterist extraordinaire and member of our committee, talk to us about the importance of butterflies as an indicator species for the environment
• We have started a WhatsApp group, now consisting of over a hundred participants, where we encourage people to chat about all things natural
• We have started a blog which we will be using to inform and create awareness with stories, events, project descriptions, articles, and discussions
• And the Munster Night Market, started by Dalene Rothman and now ably run by Elize Scott, has become a monthly shindig attended by lots of people on the first Friday of each month at the Munster Bowling Club. Here you can eat some excellent food, buy all sorts of home made goods, and get entertained by the multitalented duo “Nearly Famous” — and the proceeds go the Conservancy!

We have constantly reached out to other community organisations and authorities, including those in Kwanzimakwe, and most importantly the Munster Residents and Ratepayers Association (MRRA). After three years of struggle to make inroads this has finally born fruit and we now have an excellent working relationship with them based on mutual respect and recognition. This has not been without cost — in time, effort, and nervous energy, but it has been, in my opinion, one of our most significant achievements. There is an unprecedented level of respect and cooperation between the two organizations at the time of writing which augurs well for the future because it will provide us with a platform to work together for the benefit of the entire community — both human and other than human. We are humbled by the trust that the MRRA has shown us by its expressed intention to consult us on all matters to do with our natural environment and by the fact that it has given us the responsibility to oversee workers that are in their employ. Not only is there representation at committee level between the organizations but we now have a joint working committee which meets regularly to discuss ways and means of cooperation.

But while a lot has been done there is still so much more to do. Conservation will always be an unfinished project and we need to do much more to ensure that our natural heritage is passed down intact and flourishing to future generations. I am most grateful for all the work that our dedicated committee has done but it is vital that we get new blood onto the committee. Three years ago when we started the conservancy I undertook to chair it for one year. This is now my fourth! I would love someone new to step in and I await a volunteer with eager expectation!

But there are other ways that people can assist us. You can become a member by filling in the membership form that is on our website, you can contribute your ideas, insights, pics and stories on our blog and our WhatsApp group, and you can contribute financially. We are most grateful for the wonderful generosity of people out there who can always be called upon when special needs arise.

Please try to come to our AGM on the 14th of March at the Mtamvuna Surf Life Saving Club at 5pm. If our past experience is anything to go by it is not going to be a boring occasion! And it you can’t make it would you like us to give your apologies?

Best Regards

Tony Balcomb (Chair, Munster Conservancy)