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Mosselbank River team turns attention to Dune Thicket at Northridge

Members of the Mosselbank River Conservation team responsible for the remarkable rehabilitation progress over the past five years in Greenville Garden City, recently turned their attention to the private Dune Thicket conservation area at Northridge Coastal Estate (NCE), Africa’s first four star sustainable precinct, in Sunningdale.

The team, employed by contractors VULA Environmental Services, incorporates volunteers from the Mosselbank River project, and is currently attending to the maintenance phase of the rehabilitation project at NCE. The work includes weeding, clearing of woody alien vegetation and planting of bare spaces in the conservation area. The team is also ensuring that the underpasses are maintained for use by small animals, and members are keeping a look out for antelope or honey badger spoor.

The Cape Flats Dune Strandveld (beach scrub) is an endangered vegetation type that is unique to the Cape Strandveld, and endemic to the coastal areas around Cape Town and the Cape Flats. It covers and stabilises dunes, and is vibrantly colourful in spring when it bursts into flower. It supports a variety of browsing animals, and in the past, it was grazed by large herds. Garden Cities donated 462ha of the Blaauwberg Nature Conservation Area of which the Strandveld is a component.

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(Left to right): Charmaine Plaatjies, Xolela Sivile, Sannie Lesch, Buseka Jiya, Jannie Groenewald, Mivarne Apple, Andisiwe Jiya and Christopher Jackson 
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Team planting the bare areas as part of the rehabilitation plan 
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Angulate tortoise, one of the species to be found in the area