The Cape Bird Club

MINUTES OF THE CAPE BIRD CLUB CONSERVATION COMMITTEE

Minutes of the meeting held on Mon 19 January 2009.

1. Strandfontein – John Hoskins has more or less agreed to build an island in S3 but Barloworld has put a moratorium on non profit making activities.

• Dave has gone through the management plan and given more details for each project. Dave is seeing Joannne on Wed. Cliff will go with Dave to see Onno.
• Information Centre – no definite plans to secure the centre. False Bay Ecology Park is thinking of putting cameras up – maybe should put it on hold until other Strandfontein developments occur.
• Dave suggested monitoring nutrient levels in some pans. First need a question to be answered. Dave thought of talking to Graeme Cummings. Doug will find articles on this sort of work. Then we will meet with Graeme.
• Victoria Day is the new Conservation Manager at Strandfontein. She has been employed through Nature Care. She has already mapped the hyacinth and other alien plants, started clearing hyacinth.

2. Paarden Eiland – Cape Town municipality is not helping manage the area – Frank is doing all the work. The vegetation is growing over the paths and the Bulrushes are growing back.

• There is no more money from Total. They (total) owe Frank personally money – that money is available they just haven’t got organised to give it to him.
• The Ratepayers have organised cleanups of the area. Frank is going to meet with representatives from various organisations from Brooklyn area. He is going to allocate them each an area to look after.
• No conservation students have been coming to help Frank – he is supposed to have access to Rietvlei’s students.
• The business manager from Brooklyn Chest Hospital is meant to be coming to discuss rent with Frank. They are wanting much more money. Bernadette le Roux is talking about sharing the Bayview soccer club with Frank. It wont be as big as the place he is in now.

3. Raapenberg – There was a meeting on Friday. Maya was there. The Friends of the Liesbeek have money for an intern to work on Raapenberg, Pallotti Wetlands and Rondebosch Common.

• Maya spoke to the owners of the horses that were in the water at the Pallotti wetlands last year. They will try and keep the horses out of the ater.
• The new owners of the River Club are interviewing people to do the EIA’s.

4. Edith Stephens – Doug will contact Stacy-Ann. She was meant to contact him about bird ringing at Edith Stephens for the Cape Flats Bird Club.

• Doug is doing an outing for CBC in August at Edith Stephens.

5. Flaminkvlei – Piet Badenhost said that our comments were on page 42 of the document.

• Dave has been trying to find out more about the proposal to move the urban edge to the south bank of the Berg River. Suretha spoke to the case officer – there was a meeting about it.
• Need to talk to Pierre de Villiers about it and ask Keith Harrison what they are doing about it.

6. Toll Road – Province didn’t block it. Toll roads are going to happen.

7. Bantams Klip – Not going to happen.

8. House Crow - There are now 9000 to 10 000 birds in the Western Cape. The NSPCA still want starlicide registered.

•  The project is going ahead.

9. Dassenberg Development – Suretha will ask Joy Garmen about it.

• SANParks is opposed to it

NEXT MEETING – Mon 9 March 2009.