Despite severe water restrictions, Capetonians are not doing enough to save water. In fact, in the week that Level 3B water restrictions were introduced, we consumed an average of 808 million litres per day, one million litres more than the previous week. Western Cape dam levels
On 1 December 2016, the Monwabisi Resort in Mitchell’s Plain was abuzz as participants and partners turned up to attend the celebratory close out event of the Cape Flats Nature Partners’ Fund (CFNPF). Despite the busy time of the month the event saw a turnout
There are over 4000 species of cockroach known to science, and only one has the ability to jump. While every other cockroach scuttles across the ground in regular roach fashion, one eccentric relation spends much of its day hurtling nearly 50 times its body length
After another spate of fires consumed the Western Cape last week, our fire protection services have once again had their work cut out for them. While the teams on the ground tackled blaze after blaze, what we (the general public) see and hear via the
In November 2016, the TMF Board of Trustees visited the Groenlandberg Conservancy in the Elgin Valley. The visiting delegation was hosted by Alison Green, the Chair of the Groenlandberg Conservancy, Nature Guide Evan Kortje and local farmer Mike Du Toit. The day was filled with
I’m in search of an arum lily frog. What could be more perfect than a tiny, buttercup-coloured amphibian curled up on the crisp, white spathe of an arum lily? Arum lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica) are some of the most unusual and spectacular flowers around (sadly, their pervasiveness
I stirred from early morning sleep, struck by those initial thoughts your brain uses to jumpstart your body into gear – where am I and what day is it? It didn’t take me long to recall. I opened the door, met by a stiff mountain breeze. We
It’s that time of the year when we start to feel the energetic buzz of holidays, family time and festive cheer. What is quite saddening to think, though, is that many of our engrained festive season habits are doing the planet no favours. Global consumption culture
As Cape Town residents ‘feel the pinch’ of the current drought and water restrictions, demand for backyard boreholes is on the increase (1). While Western Cape surface water levels continue to drop and the future of municipal water supply becomes progressively uncertain, the opportunity for
The Table Mountain Beauty (Aeropetes tulbaghia), otherwise known as the Mountain Pride butterfly, is a proudly South African resident that we should all know more about. An exquisite picture of natural beauty with blue ‘eye’ spots on its nutty brown wings, this butterfly is not