Friends, foes and community members alike attended this year’s Friends of the Liesbeek (FOL) Annual General (marathon) Meeting at the Vineyard Hotel on Monday 14 August to reflect on their copious eco-triumphs, challenges and pursuits going forward.
One of the many emphases they made on the importance of conserving the Liesbeek River and its environs was their successes and growing need to involve more and more youth.
On his turn at the podium, the manager of FOL’s Liesbeek Maintenance Project (LMP), Sebelo Memani, expressed the sheer joy of seeing his project’s second year of paid internships, which delivered seven interns in 2022 and ’23.
He said this was a great leap forward from previous years, which saw only about four to six interns support their conservation efforts.
“It was also wonderful to see a whole group of organisations interested in developing young black youths,” he pointed out, as Abax Investments was the main sponsor of the internship programme.
What made this year’s AGM of the Friends so special, was the ovation expressed by attendees when Memani introduced their boots on the ground – the Liesbeek Maintenance Team.
“The LMP team has grown over the past year and represents diversity in its make-up. Currently the team includes eight members, including three females and all classified as youth and from previously disadvantaged communities,” Memani added.
He also touched on key aspects focused on by the team, such as the Litter Runs that saw this year’s volumes so far nearing the total of last year’s 958 bags filled with litter removed from the river canal.
This includes Community Outreaches “which shows a wider Facebook audience of 2 200 and increasing engagements with posts, along with an increase in community projects to around 10 projects.”
The Friends also boasted about their special projects ranging in at least four separate ongoing efforts of interventions and rehabilitation projects which showcased amazing strides, like the N2 ponds wetlands rehabilitation project, better known as the Observatory Project, and the Rosebank Greenbelt Canal Rehabilitation.
But when it came to financial matters other than the basic budget presentations, the Friends highlighted the importance of sponsorships as the lifeline of their efforts.
Nicholas Fordyce, FOL’s chair, emphasised that an easy way for any community member to support them financially was registering for Woolworths’ My School Card.
“It’s a normal rewards card that is free to register and with every swipe at the till proceeds go to organisations like the FOL at no extra costs to you,” Fordyce explained.
Special guests included Cliff Dorse, a biodiversity coordinator for the City of Cape Town, and Mike Buckham, chair of the Cape Bird Club (which is also a main sponsor).
He put up a picturesque presentation of the club’s “Birding Big Year” that took place all over the city, in which “we were blown away by the variety and sheer volumes of different bird species in our urban areas.”
Buckham was also proud to note that this is the Club’s 75th year of existence, whose members and mentors saw vast diversities and beauty of birds and habitats – with a total of 114 365 records of birds over a period of seven months.
On his turn and representing the City, Dorse elaborated in length on the technical side of the City’s overall and financial support for FOL’s initiatives.
Most interestingly, he illustrated on various intricate levels how Mother City is the most biodiverse city in the world.
According to its brand-new website, the aim of the FOL is to create an awareness of the importance of the Liesbeek as a green corridor in an urban setting and to rehabilitate, enhance and conserve it and its environs.
FOL began in 1991 with its first activities comprising river walks and clean-ups, but today the organisation focuses more broadly on public awareness and education of the river environments.
