Where should we put up the Board?  
The Overstrand Municipality are putting up baboon information boards in all the Central Businees districts of villages coexisting with baboons in the area.  

The signboard will be 1 m x 1.5 m  and we expect to get delivery late August.  

We are required to put up these signs.  But we are able to decide where to put them in collaboration with the Overstrand Municipality.  We would like to make them easy for visitors to read but we also want to avoid visual pollution of our natural environment.  Please share your ideas.

Current Suggestions:
1.  Near the new camera pole -- but need to be sure there is sufficient room for people to stand and read without going into the road.   See the photo above - between the bollards there.

2.  Directly opposite the Village Shop - set back a little in front of the rather barren section that was cleared of fynbos.  It may get blocked  time to time by a delivery truck.  But it would give room for people to stand and look at it.  A small sign on RESA office wall with Snapscan could also direct people to the board opposite?

3.  Approach Gossip Corner about putting it where the old Village sign board was.  Would need to probably remove some of the plants to allow room for people to stand.

In addition to having this Board in the CBD, there is also the suggestion that we request a similar Board to go up on the wall of the Men's toilet at the Slipway to reach people that are picnicking on the beach

Tracy Cronje has developed some preliminary drafts of Education Boards which you can see below -- we are looking for comments, suggestions and feedback. Please send to [email protected]
The idea is to put up some boards at the Rooiels Village centre and at the Slipway.  Discussions are ongoing with the OM Dept of Environment on style, content and placement.
Download the Files below to get an idea of what they could look like.  See the early ideas on the kind of text that could be included. Original drafts in the Word files you can download.  Please provide feedback and suggestions

 Board 1 Draft
Biodiversity & Conservation
A biosphere reserve is a unique protected area which aims to conserve our resources, species & ecosystems, monitor ecosystems, allow for scientific research, and promote sustainable development in communities of the surrounding region.  It has a Core for pure conservation, a Buffer area with very limited impact and a transition zone where people live in harmony with the nature around them.  The Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve is 103,629 hectares, mostly mountains but with some riparian, wetland and coastal plain ecosystems with a marine area of about 24,500 hectares. It is at the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom, designated a World Heritage site, it is one of the world’s ʻhottest hotspotsʼ for its diversity of endemic and threatened plants, and contains outstanding examples of significant ongoing ecological, biological and evolutionary processes. It is the smallest and most biodiverse of the world's recognised floral kingdoms.
 
Biodiversity represents everything that lives on earth. It is the fruit of billions of years of evolution, shaped by natural processes and the influence of humans.   Biodiversity is life and heals us. More than 70 000 plant and tree species are used in medicine. It gives us shelter. It feeds and clothes us. The consumption patterns of people in rich countries are the principal cause of biodiversity loss. Human activity, population growth and climate change has greatly reduced biodiversity in ecosystems around the world. One way each of us can contribute to biodiversity is to choose a more sustainable lifestyle.  We need to understand that we are all part of the web of life.  When one species disappears, others are at risk of disappearing as well.  We are all interconnected.
 
Protecting our planet is in our hands. We may not be able to change the world, but we can protect the space we live in.  Here you are in the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve, the first in South Africaa UNESCO World Heritage Site and part of the . Protecting wildlife and preserving it for future generations  means that the animals and plants we love don't become a distant memory. And we can maintain a healthy and functional ecosystem.
 
QUOTATION in here from a South African

​ Map
1880 plant species 77 are endemic (found only within the KBR).   (PUT Snapscan here to their website) 

Visit: www.rooiels.weebly.com for more information and Snapscan to our webpage 
Put the Rooiels Vision at the bottom of that information side by side -- suggest we also get it translated into Xhosa and include that.   OR OR ib the Rooiels History Page?

ROOI ELS IS 'N BEWARINGSGEMEENSKAP
​ wat Vandag saam sorg ... vir Môre.
​
ONS WAARDES
Ons streef daarna om 'n gemeenskap te wees wat omgee, verenig in ons passie om die natuurlike prag van Rooiels te bewaar en ywerig om ons waardering vir die omgewing met ander te deel.

ONS ONDERNEMING
Verenig in ons passie vir die natuurprag van Rooiels
Onderneem ons dat hier:
Die natuur Gekoester sal word...
Plante, diere en seelewe Beskerm sal word...
Elke impak van ons op hierdie gebied, Beperk sal wees…
Ons voogdyskap oor ons omgewing Gerespekteer sal word…
Ons gemeenskapsgees Versterk sal word...
Sodat ons lewens en die toekomstige geslagte
Verryk sal word deur ons Sorg!


ROOIELS IS A CONSERVATION COMMUNITY
Caring together Today … for Tomorrow.

OUR VALUES
We  strive to be a community united by our passion to conserve the natural splendour of Rooiels and keen to share our appreciation of the environment with others.
​
OUR PLEDGE
United by our passion for Rooiels, 
​We pledge that here:
Nature will be Nurtured…
Flora, Fauna and Marine life, Protected…
Our every Impact on the area, Limited…
Our Custodianship of the Environment, Respected…
Our Community Spirit, Strengthened…
So that our Lives, and those of Generations to come,
Will be enriched by our Care!​

​

DRAFT Board 2 - The History of Rooels
​THIS Board is just very preliminary - and will need more information
​MAP of Rooiels prominent.
Rooiels (Afrikaans for the red alder tree) was declared a township in June 1948 named after the farm and river by this name. Located within the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve, Rooiels is a registered conservancy with some permanent remote workers, retirees and holiday homes. The town roads are narrow, un-tarred and without street lights. Klein-Hangklip mountain dominates the village. Here the local fynbos is along the roads making a good home for many animals and insects and providing seedbanks for the future.   Rooiels is also well recognised as a birding hotspot.

The local baboons roam the area frequently and should not be fed.  Rooiels is a seaside wonderland - a safe beach with a river feeding the lagoon and fascinating rock pools.  Sea temperatures range between 12 and 23 degrees celsius (55-70F).  The north wind brings the rain and also a warmer current for swimming.  The south-easter cleans the air and brings in the cold currents reflected in the azure blue seas of summer.
The town is quite exposed to the south east wind in summer, which can be unpleasantly strong, but ikeeps the place cool. Winter can be beautiful, if the wind is light and the weather sunny, and when the wind and waves are up, the surf pounds on the rocky shoreline and throws spray high into the air. 
(Visit: http://rooiels.weebly.com)

DRAFT Board 3 - Flora, Fauna and Marine Life  ---- THIS still needs to change style so that it is not story style
Flora - need to insert here a little about the Flora -- AND perhaps also put in a Snapscan to Dave de Klerk indigenous plants of Rooiels book
Fauna & Sea Life
Rooiels has a wealth of avifauna.  It attracts birders from across the world for sightings of the Cape Rockjumper which is endemic to the Cape mountain fynbos.  We also have several pairs of breeding Black Oystercatchers, and in some years Verreaux’s (Black) Eagles are seen nesting on Klein Hangklip.

In Rooiels we live very closely with baboons, dassies, and mongoose, to mention a few.
From time-to-time we have visiting rooikat (Caracal). At night if a shadow passes your door, sniffing out your braai, it is the small-spotted genet and there may be the larger Genetta tigrina nearer the river.  We also have leopards and even the occasional honey badger/ratel and some small cats that have been photographed on camera traps in the nearby mountains.
Klipspringer live on Klein Hangklip but are so well camouflaged that although fairly common you only occasionally spot them when they are standing up on the rocks. Cape grysbok are rarely seen but are known to browse in gardens and the nature reserve. Smaller mammals include the Cape golden mole, the Cape dune molerat and a range of rodents including the little four-striped mouse and the quaint elephant shrews.  We also have some alien larger mice and rat species that are a nuisance if our snakes and mongoose are not patrolling well. ​Tortoises are found all over Rooiels.  This is the rooipens or duineskilpad, or angulate tortoise  in the photograph.
The scorpions in Rooiels are mainly the brown variety with large pincers and a small tail.  They can give you a nasty sting but are not fatal.

Seals - are they Marine Life or land animals?  We do have a colony living on Roman Rocks peninsular.
Cape Clawless otters --  eat crayfish in the sea and live in the river.  You see their footprints, smell their scat, hear their high-pitched whistle at night, and occasionally you might even see them on the beach or in the Nature Reserve
​​
The Rooiels seashore is a delight to roam - so rich in rock pools, seaweeds, mussels, clams, and all kinds of shells and sea life.  The kelp forests under water make for very rewarding snorkeling, exploring and foraging (with a licence you can collect mussels, bait and seaweed and in season fish and kreef (rock lobster).  The rich coral gardens,a little deeper, are magical to explore - especially at night!   You can occasionally spot Bryde's whales, dolphins and even possibly Orcas not far off-shore.  From June to November the visiting Southern Right and Humpback whales are here.  We have seals living out on the Roman Rocks. .
(For more detailed information, visit: https://rooiels.weebly.com/nature.html)

ALTERNATIVELY -- we could put up the Guidelines to Coexistence that came out of the Babco??
Guidelines for Coexisting with Baboons in Rooiels 
extracted from the Baboon Indaba Discussion Document


Minimizing and managing waste 
Baboons are attracted by food. Unsecured public and private waste bins in Rooiels continue to be a problem.  
Options for action for home owners for effective wase management include the following:

• Ensure outside bins are baboon proof or take your waste elsewhere.
• Ensure baboon-proof bin is firmly attached, cannot be overturned and is baboon proof.  Baboon proof bins are obtainable from [information to be added].
• Consider separating waste and take recyclables (plastic, glass, metal and paper) and other waste to Pringle Bay. Overstrand Municipality is expected to start a recycle waste collection system from Rooiels again but no dates have been given.
• Support the new initiative for a 3 Villages organic waste collection service [add link].
• If waste is stored the container needs to be sealed and in a safe place (e.g. inside a garage and not outside).

Baboon-proofing homes
Options for action for builders, home owners and residents to baboon proof homes include:.
Building measures

• Add clear bars to windows with spacing less than 7 cm.
• Limit window openings using commercially available devices/locks.
• Ensure that Trellidoors are baboon proof with gaps  <7cm  (same for shutters).
• Use extra-strength mesh-sliding doors to allow light and air come through while keeping baboon and other wild animals (e.g. snakes) out.
• If building a new house, consider providing internal access from your garage to unload your car.
• Take into account vulnerability of external features that can be damaged (e.g. roofs, gutters).

Behavioural measures

• Keep unprotected doors and windows closed and locked.
• Store food in closed places where the baboons cannot see it.
• When eating outside, it is better to serve inside to reduce the food on display.
• Lock car doors as baboons can open doors and climb into the car to search for food.  

Guidance when encountering baboons in nature, on the property, or at home 
Encountering baboons in nature

• Don’t walk around carrying food. If walking with food from the shop, or to the beach, put it into a backpack.
• Remain calm – provided you have no food on you the baboons will just ignore you.
• Don’t purposefully get too close.
• It is not good for the baboons or for coexistence if baboons access human food.  But if you are in that situation – then you must let the food drop and move away.
• If walking with your dog (dogs have to be on leashes at all times) provided the dogs do not chase them, they will be ignored by the baboons.  

Dealing with baboons on your property

• Remain calm.  Be sure that the doors/windows are secure to prevent entry.
• If you are sitting out there and the baboons come, provided the doors into the house are secure, just sit quietly.  They will move away when they don’t see food.
• If you have food outside with you – take the food inside.
• Lift and display a walking stick, before they reach the door or even the veranda.
• If you are having a meal, throw a cloth over the food to conceal it.

Dealing with baboons within the home

• Stay calm and allow the baboon to keep whatever food is in its hands. If you panic, you may panic the baboon and it may defecate.
• Remove your dogs and keep them calm.
• Allow the baboon to take whatever it may have, then raise your arms and chase it out but don’t scream.
• Provide an exit route for the baboon (preferably the way they came in). Firmly encourage it to leave. No!
• Be seen to be in control. Baboons read body language and react accordingly.
• If the baboon bares its teeth (” fear grimace”), it is scared. Continue to chase it out.
• If the troop is in your house and you become nervous, call someone to assist.

Respecting what is illegal

• Under no circumstance should baboons be harmed in any way, including firing crackers at them. They are a protected species in the Western Cape and harm of any kind is illegal.