The Kogelberg Branch of the Botanical Society of South Africa goes from strength to strength and our efforts in the field of Flora Conservation has just been recognized. We have received an award of R100 000 from the Roland and Leta Hill Trust to assist us with our work in the Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens (HPG) and in hacking alien vegetation in the Kogelberg. This very welcome award will be used to buy essential equipment for Friends of the Harold Porter Gardens and the four hack groups. This award is in recognition of all the hard work these volunteers put into conserving the flora in the Kogelberg Biosphere.
WEATHER
The winter so far has been a very average winter albeit a little bit colder than the long-term average. As a retired fruit farmer, we measure cold in what is known as Utah Units – that is very roughly the number of hours between 2°C and 10°C from mid-April to the end of August. Most apple varieties require approximately 1000 Utah Units to break rest naturally without any man-made intervention. We never have enough units in the Western Cape, but this winter has been the second coldest winter over the past ten years with 650 Utah Units recorded up until 10 August 2025. The hormone that makes the red or yellow colour in most plants is called Anthocyanin and plants need cold to trigger its manufacture. I think one can see it in Leucadendrons this year – in the tremendous colour that all the Leucadendrons have shown, especially the Leucadendron salignum which is bright yellow in the mountains of the Kogelberg Biosphere at present.
The rainfall for the past 10 years up until the 11 August 2025 is set out on the table below:
HAROLD PORTER BOOK AND CRAFT SHOP
Congratulations to Janet Nel who has just completed her first half year in the shop. I hope she has enjoyed it as much as we have enjoyed having her in the shop.
June and July are very depressing months in our shop with sales about 1/5th of what we turnover in December and January. I suppose the good news is that for the months of June and July we are 20% up on the previous year, which means as long as we keep on improving it will be okay.
As mentioned in the previous newsletter: by joining SANBI’s Loyalty Programme, pensioners who sign up for…
Membership: Region 2 Gardens can have access to all botanical gardens in South Africa except Kirstenbosch.
Adults: R500/year
Pensioners: R375/year
Couples for R800/year.
We urge all residents to take out the loyalty programme and visit the gardens and visit the shop as often as possible.
FRIENDS OF THE HAROLD PORTER GARDENS
Viv von der Heyden and Jenni Pattinson continue to do a great job and the numbers volunteering to work in the Gardens are growing, albeit very slowly. We urge keen gardeners to join Viv and Jenni on either a Tuesday or a Thursday alternating weekly, from 08h30 to 11h30. It is amazing what a difference this volunteer group is making to the gardens, and it really does boost the morale of the SANBI Staff.
KOGELBERG GARDEN CIRCLE holds enjoyable outings monthly to various gardens in the Kogelberg, but this month enjoyed a session of weeding in the HPG together with members of the Friends of HPG. We hope that some of the members of the Garden Circle have been inspired to join the Friends!
The Kogelberg Garden Circle and Fighting for Fynbos do a great job in plant rescue. They are very active in rescuing plants from building sites where houses are to be erected. The biggest problem is that they learn about these building activities when it is almost too late. If they could be told a week in advance of the front-end loader arriving on the plot it would be most useful! Convenor: Galia Manicom 082 963 3804
HACKS
The Betty’s Bay Hack takes place on the first Saturday morning of each month. Convenor: Rob Boyd 082 567 8858
Hangklip Hardcore Hackers: These hardcore hackers continue to do great work every Monday and Wednesday morning as the weather allows. Convenor: Chris Geldenhuys 082 900 8299
The Pringle Bay Hack takes place on the last Saturday morning of each month. Convenor: Chris Geldenhuys 082 900 8299
The Rooi Els Hack takes place on the second Saturday morning of every month, led by Mike Christelis: 082 467 2795
MONTHLY TALKS
On Saturday 16 August our guest speaker was Mark Dixon who gave a fascinating talk titled “Whispers though the Forest”.
“Forests, including the Afro-temperate Forest, have a complex system of communication that regulates seed dispersal, pollination, pest management and nutrient dispersal. Integral to the holistic wellbeing of a forest is the complex mycelium network which plays a major function in the recycling of dead organic material and the distribution of resources throughout the forest.” We all left the talk much the wiser and more in awe of the wonders of nature.
CREW
The Kogelberg CREW Team continues to do wonderful work in searching for endangered or near endangered species, recording the numbers and locations and in doing so furthering the conservation of the fynbos in the Kogelberg Biosphere. To Adele Scheepers and the other CREW members, a heartfelt thanks for the most valuable work that you do.
KLEINMOND NATURE CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION
We were very honoured to be asked to participate in the Kleinmond Nature Conservation’s 50th birthday celebration and be part of The Fynbos Festival from 3 to 10 October.
We will be selling fynbos plants outside the Kleinmond Library and all the profits generated from these sales will be accrued to the Kogelberg Branch of the Botanical Society. We will also be manning an information table in the Kleinmond Town Hall. We look forward to increased cooperation between the two associations, both having the same aim of conserving the fynbos of the Kogelberg Biosphere.
As spring approaches, the new life generated in the Kogelberg Biosphere is not only a joy to see but also gives one renewed energy to get out there and conserve our precious fynbos.
Peter Dall
082 784 4326