FoBCA Newsletter 2020 No. 2
We are living in uncertain and sad times indeed. Hibernating within the confines of our homes, and being overrun with news, information, statistics and graphs, I am sure many of you also take time to reflect about the world we live in, how it is being exploited, and how we can change it for the better.
We asked Roy Fuller-Gee our previous Chairman of the FoBCA, and well known to most of our members, to give his thoughts during this time. Please read his thought-provoking message by clicking HERE
Here is an important message from Patrick Dowling, including take away thoughts for Wessa Members, Friends and Affiliates in his article entitled ENVIRONMENTAL LESSONS FROM A VIRUS
Sue Bellinger, a member of the FoBCA who was previously on the committee and now has the portfolio of Climate Change at the U3A, has some suggestions for positive action, TV programmes to watch, etc in her regular email on the topic.
FoBCA Newsletter 2020 No. 1
A not-so-new year anymore, and many natural events which have had substantial impact are occurring everywhere: the bush fires in Australia; the floods in other parts of our country; the extensive drought in areas like the Northern Cape and the Karoo - all to make us continually aware of the important role that nature and climate change plays in our economy and the well-being of our country.
Albeit slightly late for New Year's wishes, we do wish you a prosperous and successful 2020.
Here at the FoBCA, the year started with a bang!
FoBCA Newsletter 2019 No. 7
It is the end of the year, and we are all doing our best to finish tasks, commitments and goals before we go on holiday. Christmas is around the corner, and I am sure you are also looking forward to a well-deserved break. Looking for the ideal Christmas gift?
Why not give someone our FoBCA Flower Guide as a Christmas present? This colour-coded light-weight booklet at R100 only, is handy not just when walking on the Coastal Dune Trail, but all over the Western Cape. It contains beautiful pictures of the fynbos species, while highlighting important characteristics of each plant. At the back of the book is a Quick Guide, so get your copy, look up what is flowering at this time of the year and go find it!
FoBCA Newsletter 2019 No. 6
Spring has sprung and the veld around us is abundant with flowers. This is evident right on our doorstep in the Blaauwberg Nature Reserve. Please take time during the day to walk the Coastal Dune Trail starting at Eerste Steen, using our handy Flower Guide that is for sale at Eerste Steen (or at selected nurseries in Table View) – you will not be disappointed. As Walt Whitman wrote: ‘After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on - have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear - what remains? Nature remains.‘
Heritage Day celebration
The FoBCA is pleased to announce that Willem Hutten will be giving a talk on Heritage Day (Tue 24 Sep). Willem has completed his Masters degree on the Battle of Blaauwberg, and will give a detailed perspective of his findings.
FoBCA Newsletter 2019 No. 5
Accommodation
Good news! Montispectus, the accommodation facility on the Blaauwberg Nature Reserve is available for bookings again. The chalet offers beautiful views down fynbos slopes, across the city, to seven kilometres of rocky and sandy coastline and the ocean and beyond. It is the only place in the world from where you can see two proclaimed world heritage sites, namely Table Mountain and Robben Island. To book, visit the BCA website’s Accommodation page.
FloraDoc App for iPhone now available
The CREW group is happy to announce that the long-awaited FloraDoc app has been released for iPhone – though we do still need to wait a little longer for the Android version which is still in the development phase.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/floradoc/id1467080851?ign-mpt=uo%3D2
FoBCA Newsletter 2019 No. 4
iNaturalist Global City Nature Challenge
You will recall that in the last Newsletter we urged you to participate in the iNaturalist challenge on 26-29 April 2019. Well, some very good news! Cape Town won the competition on the categories that (we think) count:
- the most number of species – an amazing tally of 4 145 – nearly 1 000 more than our closest rivals, Hong Kong!
- the most observations - an astounding 6 787 - more than La Paz, our closest competitor, from super biodiverse South America.
Gigi Laidler from SANBI (Kirstenbosch) thanked everyone involved in her email:
‘A huge thank you to every one of you who made this achievement possible by participating in the Challenge of taking pictures and uploading them on iNaturalist, and then tackling the mammoth task of doing all the identifications.