PopularMechanics082017

HOW YOUR WORLD WORKS

16 http://www.popularmechanics.co.za _ AUGUST 2017

THINGS I DIDN’T KNOW when scaling the

heights of Vergelegen farm on the banks

of the Lourensford river:

 It was the last Cape Colony farm owned

by a Dutch East india Company employee.

 Willem Adriaan van der Stel’s extrava-

gance on the estate is what got Adam Tas

locked in the Castle of Good Hope’s “Black

Hole”.

 The farm is the unofficial genesis of Cape

Dutch architecture.

But none of that matters right now.

My only current concern is the contrast

between the destruction caused by the

2017 #CapeFires at Vergelegen versus the

charred remains of Lourensford, its neigh-

bour on the west bank of the Lourensford

river. While the vegetation is recovering

nicely on the slopes of Vergelegen,

Lourensford is mostly scorched pine trees.

The difference? Vergelegen has been clear-

ing alien vegetation.

“Not only do alien trees consume 60 per

cent more water than indigenous vegetation,

they also burn more intensely,” explains

Jacques van Rensburg, the estate’s envi-

ronmental project manager. The estate

started clearing alien vegetation in 2004,

with 2 200 hectares originally earmarked.

So far, around 2 000 hectares have been

cleared, a practice said to have created 230

jobs. Whereas the project has its roots as

a successful play for the Biodiversity and

Wine Initiative (a World Wildlife Fund

initiative to stimulate the adoption of bio-

diversity-friendly farming methods) hon-

ours, it is now fertile ground for various

Cape ecological case studies.

“For the Cape in general, more than 70

per cent of the natural vegetation has been

lost since the the 1900s because of agricul-

tural and urban development. The 30 per

cent that remains has now become heavily

invaded. In wetter areas, it is predominantly

acacia species (wattle, bluegum) and further

up the mountains you get more pines. In

2004, we reviewed the farm after the large

fire in 1997 which covered almost 1 700

UNDERSTANDING ALIENS

One wine farm in Somerset West is on a mission to turn back the

Cape ecological clock and unlock the potential for indigenous plants

and animals to thrive. LINDSEY SCHUTTERS REPORTS.

Outside of the alien vegetation clearing,

Vergelegen also monitors the estate’s

Cape leopard population with motion-

sensitive night vision cameras. The farm

is experimenting with strategically

placed catnip to attract the cats.