Students remove invasive species from Klapperkop Nature Reserve

On the morning of February 18, Pretoria’s Klapperkop Nature Reserve was full of energetic young people gathering to protect biodiversity.

Trevor Malgas, spokesperson for the World Mission Society Church of God, said 100 student members of the society along with their families and friends rolled up their sleeves to remove alien pompom weeds.

The Agricultural Research Council says the pompom weed (Campuloclinium macrocephalum) is a South American herb belonging to the daisy family, Asteraceae. It is rapidly becoming the most serious threat to the conservation of grasslands in South Africa. Infestations become conspicuous when the plants are in flower between December and March, transforming the veld from green to pink.

The students are members of a group in the church called “Save the Earth from A to Z”.

This is the third time the group has removed invasive plants from Klapperkop Nature Reserve.

Malgas said it is part of the group’s ethos to look to action projects preserving terrestrial ecosystems such as trees, forests, and tropical rainforests.

“Unlike previous work where wattle trees were removed, on this day the invasive pompom weed was cut down and cleaned up, and measures were taken to prevent it from growing further,” said Malgas.

He explained exotic plant species have strong self-reliance and reproductive capacity, so if left unattended, they destroy the balance of the ecosystem. Thus these activities to remove them are necessary to protect biodiversity.

Friends of Klapperkop Nature Reserve and the Tshwane metro assisted volunteers by providing work tools, bottled water and snacks.

Local volunteer Sanette Zietsman from the Friends of the Reserve said: “I am so glad to see everybody involved and for giving their time and energy doing what God wants; preserving the earth and making it a beautiful place for everybody. Thank you so much for helping us, you are doing a great job.”

Student Nokulunga Thobile Khuzwayo of Tshwane University of Technology said they were there as volunteers to remove alien plants that absorb a lot of water from the ground and thus also affect endemic plants.

“We are here to joyfully participate all together in unity so that we can make Klapperkop Nature Reserve a better place,” said Khuzwayo.

The group has been carrying out projects since last year in places such as Hennops River, Walkerspruit and Roodepoort Rowing Club in Gauteng.

Since 2018, activities to continuously clean up CBD areas with water features frequently visited by visitors have also been ongoing.

Save the Earth from A to Z received a certificate of appreciation from the Tshwane mayor and a certificate of appreciation from the Tshwane City Council members for its activities to actively protect the environment.

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