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ALTERATION TO HACK LOCATION SATURDAY 5 MAY
Due to a shortage of 4 x 4/bakkie type vehicles the Hack in the Smallholdings area is hereby cancelled and instead we will hack locally. Please therefore meet at Camp Road opposite Wonderlings B & B at 0830 where I will issue equipment and discuss tasks. Sorry about this late change but it is unavoidable. No change to tea arrangements which remains at erf 231 Ocean View Road , the home of Gail and Herbert Voigt at 1030. See you on Saturday Kind regards Dick R.E.H.(DICK) LOCKLEY & JILL LOCKLEY P.O. BOX 465 PRINGLE BAY 7196 TEL: 028 273 8852 CELL: 083 454 3964 EMAIL: [email protected] HACK NOTICE FOR SATURDAY 5 MAY 2018
This month we will continue to hack in the area of Porter Drive continuation towards Pringle Bay. Winter timings now apply so the Hack will commence at 0830 and tea will now follow at 1030. Arrangements for this hack will be as follows:
I look forward to seeing you all on Saturday 5 May at the Porter Drive gate at 0830 Kind regards Dick Lockley Convenor of the Rooiels Hack 028 273 8852 083 454 3964 Email: [email protected] HACK NEWSLETTER: REPORT ON APRIL HACK
The April hack took place on Saturday 7 April. This month we did something different and moved down Porter Drive into the small holdings area to assist our friends and neighbours the Pringle Bay Hack team. They are struggling to contain the growth of aliens after the fire a year ago. In particular the area is threatened by spider gum growth, an abundance of new myrtle shoots and the spread of pines. The work they have already done is amazing and they are to be commended on what they have achieved in the last few months. We had a very good turnout considering that we were venturing into new territory. Attending were: Mark and Linda Butler, Diarmuid Baigrie, Wessie van der Westhuizen, Riel Buys, Duncan and Linda Hiles, Margie Ellis, Anuta Scholtz, Mike Robinson, Geoff Harris, and Dick & Jill Lockley. Amongst us we had 4 chainsaws which all worked flat out for the full hack period, the new hand saws which being so sharp made a great difference and the large new loppers. The area allocated was cleared of myrtle, pines and the new growth of spider gums; plus there was considerable weeding of myrtle seedlings. But we have just scratched the surface and appreciate that there is an enormous amount of work still to be done in that area. We have agreed therefore to return to the area for the next few hacks to attempt to make a difference. We would appreciate a few more volunteer hackers to join us please at the next hack on the first Saturday of May i.e. Saturday 5th May. Thanks go to all who participated for their contribution to this hack. It was hard work as the terrain is rocky and undulating making hacking difficult but all the hackers coped admirably. We would also like to thank Hilgard Muller who kindly came up to the Porter Drive gate to open it to let us all through and later in the morning returned to let us out of the small holdings. After the hack we all enjoyed a magnificent tea hosted by Stephanie and Ian Milne. Our thanks are expressed to them both for going out of their way to provide such a good spread. Please note that we will not be issuing any more of the blue dye/poison in squirty bottles but will be using the new poison “Kaput” which is a blue gel substance already containing dye. For this we need to paint it onto freshly cut stumps. Please therefore bring, or give to me before the hack, old paint brushes that you can no longer use for painting and also small glass bottles (mustard pots with tops are ideal) for use with this new gel. Until the next hack on Saturday 5th May! Kind regards Dick Lockley Convenor of the Rooiels Hack Tel: 0282738852 Cell: 0834543964 Email: [email protected] REPORT ON 3 MARCH 2018 HACK
A most successful hack was held on Saturday 3 March in the Klein Rooiels area. Despite the strong SE blowing all morning we had a very good turnout. The following attended the hack and achieved a great deal: Geoff Titley (nice to have you with us Geoff!), David van der Merwe, Wolfgang Steinbach, Riel Buys, Mark and Linda Butler, Duncan and Linda Hiles, Margie Ellis, Kay Lereche, John and Alison Charalambous, David Blake, Koos Smit, and Jill and Dick Lockley. We removed rooikrans seedlings and cut down a number of larger rooikrans in the Municipal land at erfs 10 and 11 plus the continuous weeding needed to keep those areas free of seedlings that we have already weeded. It is very noticeable how quickly new seedlings appear and it is a warning to us all that we need to continually check areas which have been burnt to ensure that the rooikrans and Port Jackson do not establish a threatening presence. We thank Shelley Blake for hosting the tea at short notice this past Saturday. I am pleased to announce that the Convenor of the Pringle Bay Hack, Mr. Chris Geldenhuys, presented the Rooiels Hack with a new large lopper last week. He had received a sizeable donation from the Kogelberg Botanical Society for the purchase of hack equipment and kindly thought that we needed to benefit from this donation as well. I believe that as a gesture of appreciation we should participate in the Pringle Bay Hack as they are battling to control the large infestation of spider gums, and pine trees and other aliens sprouting alongside the dirt road between Rooiels and Pringle Bay. I will discuss this with Chris and let you all know what we can do to assist them in the future. Our next Hack takes place on 7th April and the details of the venue etc. will be advised nearer the time. Thank you to all who participated last weekend- your efforts are most appreciated. Dick Lockley Convenor of Rooiels Hack Email: [email protected] (please note change of email address) 6 March 2018 HACK NOTICE FOR MARCH 2018 The next Hack will take place on Saturday 3 March 2018. I have done a bike and foot patrol around the Village and despite my original thoughts that the rooikrans seedlings will have sprouted wherever the fire struck, this has not been borne out by a physical inspection. The only area that seems to have had an infestation is the area of Klein Rooiels where we have been concentrating our efforts thus far. Therefore we will continue to weed and hack in this area again this coming Saturday. In the Municipal land (erf 10/11) we will need a few chainsaws as a number of chest-high rooikrans have appeared. After recent rains the seed banks of rooikrans and Port Jackson continue to thrive and more weeding in areas we thought we had cleared, is required to eliminate the small new seedlings. Many willing hands are thus needed please. Arrangements are:
Kind regards Dick Lockley Hack Convenor: Tel 028 273 8852 or email: [email protected]  Back by popular demand, REC will be hosting the first Wildlife Research Talk of 2018 on March 3rd, 2018 at 5pm! Talks are held at the Harold Porter National Botanical Garden in Betty's Bay. Come have a complimentary glass of wine and enjoy an educational evening! All welcome. Free entry. Complimentary drinks. Donations encouraged. All proceeds go directly to REC's community conservation projects.  HACK NEWS: REPORT ON 3 FEBRUARY HACK
We had a good turnout of 14 hardy souls who braved the strong SE to join the Hack. It was good to have Alison and John Charalambous, Brian Ratcliffe from the UK out on holiday and Kay Leresche helping to boost our numbers. A great deal was achieved and although there is still more to do, some areas are now clear of rooikrans seedlings and Port Jackson ( Acacia Saligna) but we will need to be vigilant as new seedlings emerge from the enormous seed bank that has been left here by generations of rooikrans and Port Jackson trees. The Hack group thanks Ernst Thompson for researching, acquiring and donating a new poison to be used by us in future hacks. This is appropriately named “Kaput” and is a gel that needs to be painted onto freshly cut stumps. It has its own blue dye incorporated into the gel thus doing away with the messy business of having to constantly mix solutions for the hack group to use. Thanks Ernst- we are sure that “Kaput” will make a big difference to the Hack Group. The next hack takes place on the first Saturday of the month i.e. Saturday 3 March and details will be sent out nearer the time. Please continue to remove alien seedlings wherever you find them! Happy Hacking and Weeding! Dick Lockley Hack Convenor 028 273 8853 083 454 3964 Email: [email protected] A very successful hack was held on 13 January when many thousands of Rooikrans seedlings were uprooted by an enthusiastic group of Rooielsers. We had a good turnout of over 20 people including 4 energetic children and all set to work with a will. But the depressing part of this hack was the realization that many more such hacks will be needed if we are to make a significant impression on the number of seedlings that are thriving post-fire. The next hack will again be held in Klein Rooiels at the same venue although we will now be able to move further towards the R 44 and also down to the river frontage. It was a pleasure to welcome new faces at the Hack; Angela Reyneke, David van der Merwe, Ian Milne and “Paul” whose surname I did not catch but he brought the children with him. They all contributed greatly to the success of the hack and we thank them for their attendance. Unfortunately a number of hackers did not attend the excellent tea provided by Margie Ellis- thank you Margie for such an outstanding spread! The Hack Group extends a very special word of thanks to some amazing people who have independently weeded rooikrans in the area. Anuta Scholtz has spent a couple of hours a day for the last two weeks pulling up seedlings; as has Koos Smit and Ian Richter has also pitched in. Please follow their excellent example and weed whenever you can! I would also like to thank Wimpie and Monique in the Village Shop for their assistance in the running of the weeding competition in December. Although the Competition did not achieve all it set out to do we were very pleased with the initial results when many bags of seedlings were handed in to the Shop and rewards issued by Wimpie and Monique. Unfortunately the initial enthusiasm wore off and it was decided to cancel the later part of the competition due to a lack of interest. The next Hack therefore will again be a “weeding” hack. Details are:
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May 2018
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