“Slow and steady wins the race!”
The old proverb was again proven true with the long-term rehabilitation of Papenboom Meadow, a public open space located in Newlands.
Boasting woodland, open grassy areas, a wild meadow and a stream that runs through it, Papenboom Meadow is today described as a little gem of a public open space. But this wasn’t always the case. A few years back, the area was more known for its blemishes than its sparkle.
That is until Newlands Residents Association (NRA) stepped in.
Over the past 10 years, Papenboom Meadow has been developed in a low-key, sustainable manner under the stewardship of the association and in partnership with the City of Cape Town’s Recreation and Parks Department.
Clare Burgess, an NRA committee member, says the initial drive was aimed at turning the once derelict area into a safe space. By installing paths and reintroducing the stream which had been closed off at the Kommetjie Spring some years back, NRA hoped to attract more locals to this part of Newlands.
Burgess explains that some people think the stream arises from a little spring in the pond in the middle of the park, but, she says, the stream is actually an overflow from the real spring under the concrete cover at the top of the park – one of the sources of water for the Newlands Brewery.
“The water has flowed again since 2011, except during the height of the drought in 2018, and the pond has created a beautiful spot for dogs to cool off in summer and water to be collected in buckets to irrigate the new tree planting. The line of the stream is marked by bands of arum lilies which sprung up naturally as soon as the stream started flowing again,” she says.
The stream feeds into the Liesbeek.
“A clean-up team from Friends of the Liesbeek was initially involved with clearing alien invasives such as Canna Lilies and Wattles,” says Burgess.
Over the past decade, the walking routes have been upgraded using low-key interventions such as laterite paths and informal timber steps organised by NRA and partly funded by the City. Today the area is a popular and attractive recreational facility mainly used by dog walkers, joggers, mountain bikers and hikers going up Table Mountain. The area has also been used for film sets and carols by candlelight.
According to Burgess, there are still many issues to deal with.
“But the tree planting and landscape interventions are working well. These include the installation of a timber deck across the seep area which sometimes becomes too wet to walk across in winter.”
The recently constructed Fynbos forest Circle is the latest rehabilitation project undertaken at the public open space. With the first plantings of fynbos species done in June last year, FynbosLife, a wildlife charity and non-profit organisation, has over the past few months gradually transformed the relatively unused lower section of the Meadow into an educational and recreational biodiversity garden.
According to a Facebook post on the NPO’s Facebook page, the circular garden aims to showcase locally indigenous, shade-loving forest and fynbos understorey species and local tree species found in Newlands Forest.
“The reintroduction of these plants and trees to the park will support local biodiversity; improve connectivity for wildlife to move between the park, Table Mountain and local gardens, and provide a peaceful space to learn how to support Cape Town’s unique biodiversity,” the post reads.
Burgess says the intervention has received some criticism for having changed the “natural un-designed” look and feel of the space.
“But, overall, I think it was worthwhile introducing this more structured and educational landscape,” she says.
As for what is next, Burgess says NRA hopes to continue the planting of local indigenous trees in the popular forest area.
“A tree planting event will take place this coming winter. In addition, the aim is to transform the open sunny slopes from the mono-culture of acanthus plants to a mix of indigenous ground cover species using more of the understory plants found in the forest circle.
