Page 16 - Waterfall City Issue 4 April 2025

Waterfall City Sustainability

Eradication of these and other City, we encourage all residents to
invasive alien plants is not always visit Kloofendal and support their
straightforward. An integrated reservation efforts.”
approach is required in dealing
with infestations on a large scale. In “We received some positive feedback
Waterfall City, the landscaping team from the participating residents, and
uses environmentally responsible it was good to see a couple of the
herbicides in an attempt to minimise younger generation in attendance,”
any collateral damage. At times, Ruan shared. “We even had a request
manual removal is viable, tracing the for YouTube tutorials on how to
root of the plant and pulling it out. effectively eradicate certain invasive
flora species.”
The success of the walk wasn’t just
about plant identification, though. The walk highlighted a crucial message:
It was about connection. It fostered participation in awareness events
a sense of community, giving is essential to foster collaboration
residents a glimpse into the efforts and education. The walk bridged
of the landscaping team and an the gap between residents and the
understanding of the vital role they environment, proving that a little
play in supporting the estate’s fight hands-on learning can go a long way.
against invader plants. “The fact that
we were joined by Mark McClue “We appreciate community support
from NGO Armour, which serves as a and involvement, as it strengthens
community voice for water regarding what we can achieve together with
the state of our rivers, added yet efforts that are aligned. This extends Tree poppers
another dimension. beyond invasive plants where other
biodiversity aspects such as erosion possible future activities and if there
“The whole experience was enhanced control in conjunction with factors are residents who would like to
by the team from Kloofendal Nature such as energy, water and waste, need contribute, they welcome exploring
Reserve, and I want to share a special to be equally important,” added Ruan. further collaborations in conjunction
thanks to them for taking the time to with organisations like Kloofendal
give their perspective and experience And yes, they hope to schedule more Nature Reserve and Armour.
on the problem of invasive species. such events! Ruan and the team have
Only half an hour from Waterfall a couple of ideas when it comes to Nature’s calling, so watch this space.

References:
¹ The costs and benefits of biological control of invasive alien plants in South Africa, B.W. van Wilgen & W.J. De Lange, Centre for Invasion
Biology, CSIR Natural Resources and the Environment, P.O. Box 320, Stellenbosch, 7599 South Africa: https://researchspace.csir.co.za/server/
api/core/bitstreams/e9250906-c5e7-49a3-910a-51dc962a6213/content

14 Waterfall City Issue 4 2025