Page 6 - Landscape130

PROJECT

SANDOWN

FYNBOS

CORRIDOR

We find ourselves on
a planet with finite

resources, fluctuating
climate patterns and
ecosystems that have
evolved to cope with
and flourish under these

conditions, where gradual
adaptations provide
resilience and diversity.
Watsonia meriana

umans accelerate the rate of change as part of the development approvals Corridor was narrowed down to establish
due to their ability to transform the process required by the City of Cape Town. the boundaries of the conservation site.
Hworld we live in to suit our short- Once this had taken place, restoration could
term objectives, at the cost of permanent Botanical assessments begin, commencing with alien clearing.
degradation to natural systems such as After a comprehensive process that involved The remnant Cape Flats Sand Fynbos
Lowland Fynbos. Thanks to relatively new the client, authorities, town planning, (FFd5) fragments occurred in several isolated
legislation and the evolving science of botanical and restoration consultants, it was stands amidst very high density Acacia
restoration ecology, as well as greater agreed that a 35 hectare conservation offset, saligna (Port Jackson) and Myrsine africana
public awareness, “greenfields” are no identified based on old and new botanical (Myrtle) that required labour intensive hand
longer developed without a measure of assessments, would be declared. The clearing so as not to damage the valuable
compensation to the environment. significance of this area had already been undergrowth, as several threatened and
The Sandown development forms the established in a botanical assessment done near-threatened species were found during
current northern boundary of the Cape by Barrie Louw in 2000, a subsequent one by the botanical assessment. This raised the
Town urban edge. One of the developers Nick Helme in 2009, and a re-sampling of the hope that the soil seed source might still
in the area, Milnerton Estates, has through site by Deon van Eeden in 2015. It became contain longer lived seeds from indigenous
engagement with several role players, clear that the area needed to be conserved, plant species, and that these would be
established the Sandown Fynbos Corridor and the placement of the Sandown Fynbos stimulated by the removal of the alien

Seasonal flowering of Dimorthoteca sp., Pelargonium capitatum,
Ursinia sp., and Senecio elegans Jordaaniella dubia Ruschia macowanii

4 Landscape SA • Issue 130 2023