Page 22 - Silver Lakes July Issue 2024

ESTATE NEWS

IN APPRECIATION OF OUR

ENVIRONMENTAL TEAM

n a cold winter’s day, I ask myself: I am now retired and am not on the estate warmly and took him to Onderstepoort. He
What is the most constant part of all the time as I do some travelling. So these was treated and came back to the estate
OSilver Lakes besides our properties days, I can only greet the team and see a month later. So, if you see a Cape Otter
and the amazing golf course and Clubhouse what they do instead of being fully involved hanging around the 10th or 17th, say hello
facilities? Residents come and go, but not like I was before. Still, it is awesome coming to Rory – he is so named by the young golf
the Environmental Team – some of them back home and seeing that someone is course staff who helped save him.
have been around “forever”! looking after the estate.
There are many such tales to be told, but
In the nearly 28 years that I have lived at An incident I remember well is the time maybe a few photos of the men doing their
Silver Lakes, I have been an environmental we had a blesbok scared and hurt after jobs will tell the story better. I still have
director of the estate, on an on-off basis, being chased and attacked by a dog. We these photos in my archives. I’m sure you
for about 10 years. This is what I meant approached it quietly, chatting softly to the can recognise the men still on the team.
about my use of “forever” above. Some scared animal. We placed a hood carefully Godfrey is in some of these older photos –
members of the Environmental Team have over its head to transport it to the vet. you’ll know him as one of our shuttle drivers.
been on the estate for just as long as I have, Godfrey now has his name on a shuttle and
and I have worked closely with them for The images below show some work being drives our gardeners and domestic staff
many years. done in our amazing game reserve, my between the gates and our homes.
favourite place. There are benches next to
Some of the many projects I’ve seen the dams and along the hiking route; some The team do everything from painting our
this team work on include the following: plaques to tell you more about the veld; Clubhouse and entrances to repairing our
planting gardens around the new buildings, and little hoof marks to show you the way HOA offices and bridges to doing electrical
thereby enhancing the look and feel of the on a child-friendly hike. The centre photo work, and more. They do all the setting-up
old Clubhouse; planting pots together on shows the team loading a sable – this for our fun days; they start this while we
the patio after the pond was fixed, after refers to the time when three sable males are still in bed. They, together with Daleen
several years of it being empty; building were on loan to the estate and had to be at the club who organises all our events for
up and maintaining the children’s play returned to bigger pastures. us, get up early to have everything ready
areas; and setting out the hiking trail in the when we arrive – and afterwards they clean
game reserve, marking it and maintaining up to make sure that the next day at Silver
it to ensure that it is easy to hike. These Lakes, all is back to normal!
projects, and so many more, have been
undertaken by this special team.

Here are some of the people making up the
Environmental Team, along with the date
they started working at Silver Lakes.

We made a bit of a hoo-ha about Rory, our
resident Cape Otter, when he got his foot
Vincent (1999); Bernardo (1999); stuck under a rock in one of the irrigation
Geoffrey (2003); Sinus (2010); Frank (2011);
Piet (2011); Prince (2013); Johannes (2013); dams. Luckily, the level of the dam was
Koot (2013); Porporwane (2016); near to empty and we could rescue him.
Bellycan (2017); Rusta (2018); Tshako (2023); The little otter was so cold that we could
Nicko (2023); and Jimmy (2023). catch him quite easily. We wrapped him

20 | INTRAMUROS JULY 2024