Dear Member,
We are already into March of 2024 and so far it has been a busy year for the Kromme Enviro Trust. Below find an update of some of the recent and upcoming events.
AGM
Thanks to everyone who came to support the Annual General Meeting which took place on the 31st January at The St Francis United Church Hall and was well attended by members of the community.
Presentations were provided by a number of committee members as well as one of our volunteers, Denys Rothero who is the co-ordinator for the Fishing Line Bins. By the way, should you live in the vicinity of Shore Road and be interested in assisting in emptying the bins every couple of months, then please contact Denys on 073-282-1475.
Our thanks to everyone who was able to attend the AGM and also to the United Church for kindly allowing us to use the Church Hall for the event.
The Chairman’s Report and minutes from the meeting are accessible on our website and the link is attached below.
https://stfranciskrommetrust.co.za/news/
The Woodpecker Mystery Book Launch
We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who attended the talk with Nick Norman and Prof Richard Cowling at The St Francis United Church on the 7th February.
Nick discussed with Richard and the audience ideas from his latest publication ‘The Woodpecker Mystery’, which was both interesting and fascinating.
Following the talk, there was a book-signing session and refreshments were available.
Nick kindly donated R1,000 to the Kromme Enviro-Trust from his book sales on the day and also gifted a copy of ‘The Woodpecker Mystery’ to the St Francis Community Library. Our sincere thanks to him for both of these generous donations.
Finally, our thanks also to the St Francis United Church for the use of their venue for the afternoon and to the attendees who kindly made donations to the Church in the total sum of R1,840.
ECO -Kids
A fun-filled day was had by the Eco-Kids and parents alike at the first Eco-Kids of the year, where everyone participated in learning about plants, compost and recycling.
It was a wonderful session of fun and games while highlighting the important aspects of the subjects which the younger generation are able to take away and build upon.
Eco-Kids is really taking off with a boom in 2024 with an annual membership of R300 for the sessions throughout the year. Kids receive an ‘Eco-Kids’ T- Shirt and cap.
Our thanks to Clint Carstens of The Farm Yard & Nursery for hosting the session and for his awesome contribution, also to St Francis Rotary for their support and sponsoring of the Eco-Kids shirts and caps.
The next session is on 23 March at The Links Trails where we will be learning all about bees and beekeeping. More details are in the poster below.
Romanzini Community Project
THE UNSUNG HEROES OF ROMAZINI VALLEY
David Conradie, as a concerned resident of Santareme, has been working with Cecile Holmes on rehabilitating a small dam in the Romazini Valley, about 300m above the Two Harbours Walk.
The dam, which used to be a haven for small creatures and bird life, was overgrown and silted up. They are currently removing the overgrowth and siltation, then they will replace the lining of the dam, fix the water feed pipe, fill it up and give the natural vegetation room to grow. The creatures will return naturally in a few weeks and a small oasis will be back.
Our thanks to them and to Darius Katz of Crossfire Home Improvements who has provided equipment and labour.
The main pond reconstruction has been completed and filled with water to check levels.
When the pond is “settled”, the overflow and unsightly plastic will be removed and cleaned up pending the return of natural vegetation and wildlife residing in the area.
We request that dog walkers don’t allow the dogs to swim yet, as their nails might hole the plastic base and we want to establish pond plants to grow. Donations of frogs and water plant samples would be appreciated.
Any input, suggestions or advice are welcome in order to improve on this regeneration. This is our natural environment for future generations to enjoy.
On behalf of us all from the Kromme Enviro-Trust we extend our thanks to everyone involved who has contributed to making this a wonderful, natural and living environment for both animal and plant life. An awesome project.
Ocean Clean-Up – Sunday 21st April
Our first Ocean Clean-Up for 2024 has been set for Sunday 21 April. Please put the date in your diaries and calendars and support us in this necessary event. We will send out further details closer to the time.
Kromme Enviro-Trust Golf Day 2024
Our annual event is scheduled for World Environmental Day on Saturday 8 June at The St Francis Links. This year the proceeds will be used to help us save two unique species that we are fortunate to have in our area.
The first is the world’s most endangered raptor, the Black Harrier. This beautiful bird of prey is found nowhere in the world except South Africa and we are extremely fortunate that there is a small breeding population here in Kouga. The second is a type of fynbos, Humansdorp Shale Renosterveld, found nowhere on earth except in this area. It provides breeding habitat for the Black Harrier but it is shrinking fast as it is cleared for agriculture and development.
If there are any business owners who would like to sponsor a hole at this great event please let us know at [email protected] and we will send you all of the relevant details.
Thanks again for all of your support and participation in our different initiatives, we can only do these things with support from our amazing community.