Princess Vlei in Grassy Park has been undergoing some serious rehabilitation over the past few months to help reduce the number of alien plants in the area and to boost local biodiversity.
Grassy Park, South Africa (20 June 2022) – Princess Vlei is getting a makeover thanks to contributions from the City of Cape Town, Princess Vlei Forum members and community volunteers. The area is a wetland which was once destined to become a shopping mall until the community stepped in.
Through community involvement, the vlei, which was home to a Khoisan Princess, is making a recovery and being rehabilitated back into a beautiful space for the public to enjoy. The project was launched in 2008 and has been ongoing, with changes made every year.
In 2018, the Forum launched a five-year restoration plan. The plan proposes to fully restore 5 to 10 hectares of vegetation, revitalise habitats and biodiversity, involve community members in mass planting, and reintroduce 17 threatened species.
The area is now being restored so that critically endangered plant species and animals can have a safe haven in the forever-growing urban world.
Recently, city staff members, members of the Princess Vlei Forum and community volunteers rolled up their sleeves on Thursday, 16 June 2022, to get the remedial rehabilitation plan for Princess Vlei underway.
The group planted 760 plants, graciously donated by the City’s Biodiversity Management Unit, to restore riparian Cape Flats Sand Fynbos plants species that were damaged during an unfortunate incident in 2021.
Following extensive community engagement and educational awareness for contractors working for different departments, the Recreation and Parks Department and the Princess Vlei Forum were able to finalise a rehabilitation plan, which is now in full swing.
The planting event was explicitly planned for June, as the predicted good rains will help promote plant growth.
You can find out more about the history of the vlei and the plan to rehabilitate it here.
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