Invasive Alien Pull-out *Extravaganza* - 12 December 2021
"'It is a question of discipline,' said the little prince to me later on. 'When you have finished your toilet in the morning, it is time to attend to the planet's toilet with great care. One must pull out the baobabs very regularly as soon as they can be distinguished from the rosebushes they resemble so closely when they are very young. It is very tedious work, but also very easy'" from The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, first published 1943
Those of you who have read The Little Prince will remember that he came from a very small planet which held his favourite flower, a very vain little rose, but that the soil was infested with baobab seeds which, if left unattended, would spread across the entire planet, its roots boring clear through it, causing it to explode.. therefor, his daily tasks included pulling out baby baobabs!
Well, Assegaaiboskloof certainly won't 'explode' if the invasive aliens are left unattended, but that they are a real threat to the spectacular fynbos and Blushing Brides (Serruria Florida) occurring in the valley, is a reality that shouldn't be underestimated. 12 December 2021 therefor once again saw a dedicated team of 11 hackers, mostly MCSA* members from various branches, returning to the valley, this time with the specific goal to tackle as many of the baby wattle and baby stink bean plants as possible, easy to pull out whilst still young.
We entered the valley at 8am, drove to the drif from where we split up into the wattle and the stink bean teams. I am still taken by everyone's energy and excitement for tackling this tedious task this late in the year of 2021.. but Assegaaiboskloof did not disappoint. One month after the previous hack, the veld has changed completely.. large stands of comb irises (mycranthus), blue ladies hands' (cyanella) crown lobelia and pseudoselago... purple flowers dominating inamongst the tall grass and rocky slopes. The wattle stand occurs close to the drif, and the wattle pullers really performed. Andries Louw counted 1310 baby wattles he pulled out!!.. For the slightly larger wattles, http://treepopper.co.za lent us some of their handy tree poppers, thank you guys! It works well, but it is still slow, hard work. The stink bean covers an area of about 50 ha, occurring roughly 3km into the valley. There are thousands, if not hundred thousands of baby plants threatening to completely smother the blushing brides occurring on the same steep slope. Liesbet Malan single-handedly pulled out 520 stink bean babies!! Well done Liesbet! The rest of the team worked equally hard, and the tea break spot at a stunning little waterfall provided great opportunity to refresh halfway through. A successful day for sure!
There are thousands more left.. but the spirits are high and our 'planet', Assegaaiboskloof, has our commitment of care, discipline and attendance... one hack at a time, one baby stink bean, baby wattle or canary island pine at a time.. we WILL overcome.
*MCSA - Mountain Club of South Africa
