END OF YEAR REPORT

1. SUMMARY

Where things stand, and what we need going forward

Overall, the Westlake River in Orchard Village appears in relatively good health. We have recently spotted fish, as well as clear evidence of otters (first week of November 2025), while frogs, ducks and birds seem to be doing well. The pollution situation is being managed, although the invasive water plants are now starting to spread quite rapidly on the river.

Our ultimate goal is to help create an ecosystem which can thrive by itself, with minimal management and resources. We are however still far from that point, and in the meanwhile, our aim is to manage things as best possible. We believe that this requires more frequent removal of invasive plants – by us, and with support from the City of Cape Town, as our resources, especially manpower, is limited. Regular attention to invasive plants will result in less disruption and potential destruction to the river and wildlife habitat, as well as the wildlife itself.

Waiting until the river is completely overgrown with invasive plants before either coming in with machinery, or large teams of manual labourers, is expensive, and potentially destructive and disruptive. If the City of Cape Town were able to help complement the work we are doing by sending in a small team of workers (5-10 people), once every two to three months (especially in spring and summer), we believe this would save money and be far more beneficial to the river and related ecosystem.

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