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PROJECT

The appearance of the ponds has been enhanced by plant material which was harvested and propagated on site.

Cleaning and maintenance
With the approval of the Knysna
Municipality, the ponds were filled with
municipal water using a fire hydrant
running at low volume. The process took
three days and approximately one million
litres of water were required to fill ponds
1,2 and 3.
The shallowness of the water leads to
algae and a permanent staff member of
TurfWorx has been appointed to keep
this under control without disturbing the
natural habitat.
The rehabilitation process involved a
closed recirculating water system. Pond
1 (when seen from above) has two arms
to it, with a fountain in each component.
Water flows from the fountains into the
pond, then cascading underneath a Ducks and other wildlife are the signs of a healthy ecosystem, created by a successful rehabilitation project
bridge into pond 2, then into pond 3 via
pipes beneath the paved road. A pump in SALI Award
pond 3 redirects water back into pond 2, TurfWorx received a gold award in the 2022 SALI Awards of Excellence for
and from there it is pumped up to pond this project, which was entered in the category of Environmental Landscape
1, flowing up through the fountains to Work. The judges commented that the bird sanctuary was “well done under the
begin the process again. circumstances and strict rules of the Home Owners Association. The bird colony
has increased and the ponds in the public domain have attracted wildlife in the
form of birds, frogs and ducks. These are the signs of a healthy ecosystem created
by a successful rehabilitation project”. n
Information and photos supplied courtesy of
TurfWorx n

10 Landscape SA • Issue 120 2022