“We welcome public involvement in projects and initiatives hosted by our citizen volunteers in the Friends Groups, Honorary Rangers and Fire-fighting teams…and we invite the public to join these groups to assist us in conserving our natural heritage.”
Eighteen months have passed since the potentially devastating Muizenberg Fire that inspired The Cape Aflame – Cape Town’s Dance with Fire.
Rehabilitation of the Tokai section of Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) has now reached a stage where South African National Parks (SANParks) is able to secure the surrounding city from wildfire rampaging through alien commercial pine plantations.
The danger posed to TMNP and its adjacent suburbs by uncontrollable wildfires burning ten times as hot as naturally occurring fynbos fires cannot be overstated.
All informed Capetonians, especially those living in close proximity to the ever-present threat of cataclysm, must surely be relieved and grateful that this mammoth task is moving to a close conducive to preserving our world-renowned park and its unique biodiversity.
SANParks’ detailed Table Mountain National Park Position Statement: Tokai and Cecilia Plantations, released on 30 August 2016, is most welcome. So too is its invitation to Capetonians (and, more particularly, residents living in Zwaanswyk, Tokai, Westlake and Constantia) to volunteer their time and skills to “projects and initiatives…conserving our natural heritage”.
Our volunteers in the SANParks Honorary Rangers, Cape Peninsula Fire Protection Association, Volunteer Wildfire Services and other organisations where South Africans, freely or for limited remuneration, dedicate their lives and time to ensuring the safety of our biodiversity and our city’s residents should be supported in every possible way.
If, as a resident living in the area affected by felling operations, you find yourself unable to volunteer time or resources to meaningful conservation efforts beyond protecting your own defensible space, we urge you to visit a bookshop or Wizardz Print & Design outlet near you to acquire a copy of The Cape Aflame – Cape Town’s Dance with Fire.
The full cover price goes directly to The Cape Aflame Project’s partners (mentioned above and including the Cape of Good Hope SPCA’s Wildlife and Horse Care Units), who unstintingly support SANParks in its efforts to preserve Table Mountain National Park for all our people and the world.
Show them you care and support their selfless efforts.
