RESTORATION EFFORTS BACK ON TRACK WITH COMMUNITY BOOST

The Friends of Orchard Village Waterways had a very productive Saturday morning, clearing a large section of invasive plants.

There was a great turn-out, with around 10 people in total throughout the morning, including a few from Muizenberg and Marina da Gama.

In addition to clearing a large patch of water lettuce, some of the group did some much-needed weeding in our riverside garden.

Snacks and refreshments were provided by some of the volunteers and our ward councillor also brought a speaker to help keep us energised with music.

In terms of clearing the water lettuce, we devised an effective system, with three of us in the river with waders, and a few people above the bridge and on the river bank who used ropes, shade-cloth and plastic crates to pull the plants out and stack them up for removal.

The growth of invasive plants has been especially bad over the period December - March. See before and after photos in the gallery below

It's also been a positive week in terms of making connections with like-minded people and groups within our neighbouring suburbs.