Green Coast Status!
The Blaauwberg Nature Reserve was awarded the first WESSA Green Coast award in South Africa in September 2018. The Friends of BCA and the City of Cape Town are the implementing partners and have ensured that the Blaauwberg Nature Reserve have met all the WESSA Green Coast criteria.
Blaauwberg Nature Reserve was proclaimed a local and provincial nature reserve in 2007. The Reserve has a spectacular view down fynbos slopes, across the city, to seven kilometres of rocky and sandy coastline and the ocean and beyond. The Reserve presents itself as one of the few viewpoints in the world from where you can see two proclaimed world heritage sites, namely Table Mountain and Robben Island. The Reserve effectively conserves critically endangered fauna and flora species, one of which is the African Black Oyster catcher.
FoBCA Member Newsletter – August 2018
Launch of the Blaauwberg Green Coast site on Fri 14 Sep:
Friday 14 Sep is the official launch of the Blaauwberg Nature Reserve (BBNR) coastal strip as a Green Coast – the first in the country!
Friends of BCA (FoBCA) members are invited to come and hear all about the project and the benefits it will have for tourism and the environment. Come and join us for a Bring & Braai. Please bring your own meat, salads, eating utensils (everything except fire and grid!). Hope to see you there!
Place: Eerste Steen
Date and Time: Fri 14 Sep from 14h00 onwards.
Remember - members of FoBCA pay no entrance fee to Eerste Steen.
FoBCA Member Newsletter – July 2018
1. Friends' matters
•Being the eyes and ears: People often mention that Friends’ members are the eyes and ears that alert authorities about conservation matters. A good example of this is a recent event where a member of the public saw road kill on the R27 between Melkbosstrand and Bloubergstrand and thought it looked like ‘an animal with a fluffy tail’. It was reported to the Chairman of the Friends of BCA, who in turn reported it to the Conservation officer of the Blaauwberg Nature Reserve. It turned out to be the carcass of a Black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas). This is a sad, but a very interesting sighting, as the last confirmed sighting of a Black-backed jackal in BBNR was in April 2013 on the Cape Flats Sand Fynbos restoration site, east of Blaauwberg Hill.
FoBCA Member Newsletter – June 2018
Feedback from recent events
The first post-AGM FoBCA committee meeting was held, and your new FoBCA committee was established to serve for the next financial year. With the exception of Roy Fuller-Gee, most of the previous committee members carried over their current portfolios. Our long-standing chairman has finally chosen to step down as chairman in order to focus on other areas of conservation. Stephanie Muller, whom many of you have met on walks, has been elected as chairwoman in Roy's place.
FoBCA Member Newsletter – May 2018
• The AGM of the Friends of BCA was held on Sat 26 May 2018. Attendees heartily greeted each other, taking their coffee and rusks in the wonderfully warm winter sunshine prior to the meeting.
Rob Slater from WESSA gave an excellent talk on the Green Coast initiative, what it entails and what will be required from responsible parties in order to retain this status. The Blaauwberg beach within the BBNR is the first pilot site in South Africa. Big Bay beach, Bloubergstrand lost its Blue Flag status a while ago, and it is imperative that we succeed with this initiative.
FoBCA Member Newsletter – April 2018
~ The WESSA BFG (‘Big Friends Group’) event that we advertised in our last newsletter, was held on Saturday, 17 February, and well attended by FoBCA members. Below is an overview of the event that appeared in the Argus 26 February. It was a great opportunity to meet members of all the different Friends groups across the Peninsula, all with a common purpose – to protect and conserve. The speakers were all well received. Get your hands on a copy of Cormac Cullinan's book "Wild Law" - it's highly recommended reading. The next BFG will be held on Saturday, 4 August – please diarise it so that you can be sure not to miss out on this very informative and entertaining social event.