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Ordinary citizens across
the world are becoming increasingly involved in a wide range of
environmental activities in and around the places in which they live. The potential for local residents to make a lasting and meaningful contribution to conservation is vast. This group has achieved this by staying focused constistant and dedicated towhat they set out to achieve.
Matthew Field opened the evening with guitar playing and singing his own compositions about the citizens of the world and the environment.
He was warmly applauded. Then onto Timms talk and presentation as below.
The opening screen.
Professor Timm Hoffman gave us a very interesting talk with plenty of background information to help explain the importance of this project and giving a duplicated half of the collection to the future genearations. This collection will be kept at the Zandvlei Nature Reserve for students reference.
Timm showed the variety
of flowers grouped in colours, to illustrate for the meeting, not David Muller thanked Timm on behalf of all those present with the "traditional ZVT gift".
Then it was the turn of Els Dorrat-Haaksma Robin and Pat Burnett to describe to the audience, the processes that take place, collecting, pressing, describing and documenting each plant. The group have to be issued with annually renewable permits to collect the specimens.
Robin and Pat demonstrating how the plant is secured in the paper layers for pressing. The full plant is pressed. This includes the roots, stem, leaves, flowers and seeds where applicable.
Robin describing the precise notes which have to be recorded for each plant collected. This is done under the guidence and sometimes supervision of the Bolus Herbarium at the University of Cape Town.
Some of the enthralled audience.
More listening to the methodical processes which has to take place.
Terry Trinder Smith from the Bolus Herbarium UCT, explaining some of the standards the international herberiums work too and why. He also answered some of the questions asked by members of the audience. He commented very favourably on the standard of the work which the ZIMP Botany Group has achieved.
A member of the Friends of Silvermine telling the audience of the work they have put onto CD for sale. They are mainly digital photographs of the flowers and plants on their side of the Peninsula. Well done.
Handing over the cabinets for the Student Reference Collection. Then on the 23rd July 2011 the handing over of the cabinets at the Zandvlei Nature Reserve took place on the Open Day for the public to attend between 08h00 and 13h00. The 2 lockable cabinets have the Student Collection in them, for reference by appointment. The contents as can be seen labelled have catagories of Fungi, Pteridophyta, Monocotyledons and Dicotyledons.
The open cabinets for public viewing on the day of the hand over. It is a work in progress and as new material is found and processed it will be added to the collection. For example Timm found a new species last week, not yet documented along the Main Road in Lakeside.
Some of the interested visitors on Saturday.
Pat and Els looking at an example of a pressing.
Cassandra Sheasby, the
Manager of the Zandvlei Reserve with Mark Arendse, A remarkable achievement by a few dedicated citizen scientists. Robin and Pat knew very little about plants when they started. It is an inspiration of what can be achieved with a passion, staying focussed and remaining consistant in your interest. A challenge - Has any other community, volunteer group, achieved anything comparable in South Africa?
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