Friends of BCA
News & Picture gallery
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Horse outride in BCA 14 November 2009
On Saturday 14 November 19 equestrians enjoyed an outride in the BCA.   »» Read the story.  
Nature Conservation Branch Sports Day 13 November 2009
On the 13 November 2009 was a sports day organised for the Nature Conservation Brach at Parow Sports Grounds. The weather conditions were conducive to undertake quite a number of outdoor sporting codes. This included: Big Walk,  Soccer, Tug-of-war, Wheelbarrow Race, Three legged Race, Egg Race, Pillow Fighting, and Dominos
Participants came from the nature reserves in the South, Central and Northern Districts of the city as well as the Head Office staff, i.e. Maitland Office. The day started with a 5 km big walk in the morning which had a finishing point inside the playing grounds. This was followed by a hot cricket clash that entertained everyone. Soccer was the highlight, but did not overshadow the tag-of-war that had every participating including nature conservation top management. Wheelbarrow race, egg race and the three legged race were the darlings of the day, while the dominos game was taking everybody to cool, calm and collected midday of the sporting event. The South District won major games, i.e. soccer and tug-of-war male section, while female section from North District stole the limelight n this category. The cherry on top for the day was the presentation of the trophies by Julia Wood (Head: Environmental Resource Management Branch) to the winning teams and individuals who did their best for the event.
Not forgetting the man of the moment Elvis O’Connell from BCA, who scooped up the trophies for the sportsman of the day. This was a day where new staff members had an opportunity to meet other members in the unit and also showed a highest level of team building exercise.
  »» Click here to view the pictures.
BCA Activities in September 2009 September 2009
September 2009 was a busy month and several activities, both educational and fun, were organised by the ever-keen BCA staff. View the pictures of these by clicking on the title below:
  »» First Table View Scouts & Cubs hike - 12 September 2009
  »» BCA Fun Run - 19 September 2009
  »» Vaatjie Primary School - 21 September 2009
  »» Heritage Day outing - 24 September 2009
  »» Melkbosstrand Care Centre - 25 September 2009
  »» Parkinsons Support Group - 29 September 2009
The August 1 Hack 1 August 2009
On Saturday 1st August a number of members, pupils from the Elkanah House School, and others joined us for a hack on the eastern slopes of Blaauwberg Hill.    »» Read more.
Winter Planting at BCA 6 June 2009
On Saturday 6 June a small group of members joined staff of the BCA to plant 100 milkwood trees in the conservation area.    »» Read more.
Open Day Walk 21 March 2009
On Saturday 21 March an open day walk to the top of Blaauwberg Hill was attended by a number of people.
»» View the pictures.
Friends of BCA Membership Drive 14 March 2009
On Saturday 14 March we had a membership drive at Seaside Village Shopping Centre. ....... read more.
Heritage Walk 21 February 2009
Several people joined the BCA staff for a Heritage walk to the top of Blaauwberg Hill.      »» View the pictures.
BCA - 2008 in pictures 2008
A few pictures of BCA staff at work in 2008.      »» View the pictures.
Elkanah Helps to Improve BCA 2008
A section of the Blaauwberg Conservation Area, bordering the coastal road between Blouberg and Melkbos, is currently rich in biodiversity and improving all the time, thanks to efforts by pupils from Elkanah House High School. ....... read more.
Strange visitor to BCA August 2008
A strange visitor came ashore in the BCA. ....... read more.
Mountain bikers climb Blouberg Hill 2 August 2008
Members of a local cycling club enjoyed a climb up Blouberg Hill. ....... read more.
Big revamp planned for Eerste Steen May 2008
Eerste Steen, the southern coastal gateway to the Blaauwberg Conservation Area (BCA), is to be redeveloped into a multi-functional facility worthy of a conservation area of international significance.  ...... read more.
Casual coastal walk in BCA 16 March 2008
On Sunday afternoon a few of us had a very pleasant walk in the coastal part of the reserve. ....... read more.
Elkanah House goes back to Nature 2 February 2008
Elkanah House School has become actively involved with the BCA. On Saturday 2 February a group of learners assisted in clearing alien vegetation on the reserve. ....... read more.
Sunday afternoon walk 9 September 2007
A few people joined us for a pleasant walk in the reserve near Eerste Steen.  Although it was a bit cloudy, spring flowers were out in abundance. ....... read more.
Melkbos membership drive 8 September 2007
Friends of BCA had a successful membership drive at Melkbosstrand on Saturday 8 September. ........ read more.
World Biodiversity Day 22 May 2007
The City of Cape Town and the Provincial Government of the Western Cape jointly celebrated World Biodiversity Day on 22 May 2007 at the Blaauwberg Conservation Area (BCA). ...... read more.
BCA Hack 6 May 2007
On Sunday 6 May a small group of BCA members and their friends gathered to pull out seedlings of alien Port Jackson and rooikrans in the area that was ravaged by fire in December 2005. ...... read more.
Flora of the BCA April/May 2007
Bruce Sutherland, Principal Photographer with the City of Cape Town, has kindly allowed us to publish photographs of plants in the BCA he took during autumn.      »» View the pictures.
Clearing woody alien vegetation in BCA May 2005
Invasive alien vegetation is a major problem in the BCA and teams are virtually continuously at work clearing these.
»» View the pictures.
BCA Workers
Capacity-building and training, as part of a poverty alleviation programme, is taking place with 15 labourers who have been recruited from DuNoon, which is 13 km from the BCA. Training is taking place for two days each month. The draft curriculum, which has taken into account the BCA management needs and the aspirations of the trainees includes: local flora and fauna, tourism and hospitality links to the BCA, fire fighting, First Aid and Primary Health Care, use of herbicides, bank accounts and basic budgeting, literacy and numeracy in the workplace, as well as the appropriate use and maintenance of tools. These labourers also be work on the ground in the reserve.       »» View the pictures.
WESSA: Western Cape Friends Group Get-together 20 November 2004
On Saturday 20 November 2004 WESSA: Western Cape held its annual Friends Group Get-together at the BCA. After presentations by Adele Pretorius, BCA nature conservator, and Roy Fuller-Gee, FoBCA, we headed off to Blouberg Hill for an interesting 'tour' and a picnic.        »» View the pictures.
BCA Partnerships Promotion Event 4 August 2004
An important aspect of the BCA-CEPF Project is the establishment of partnerships and the facilitation of civil society involvement in the BCA. Various organisations were invited to attend an event held at the Eerstesteen EE Centre on 4 August 2004 to learn more about the BCA and explore the wealth of opportunities it has to offer.
There are numerous opportunities for a range of groups and organisations to become involved in the BCA – from using it for recreational and educational purposes to helping provide expertise to enhance and gain further knowledge about this valuable area.      »» View the pictures.
BCA-EE Centre Launch 19 February 2004
The Environmental Education (EE) Centre at Eerstesteen in the BCA was launched on 19 February 2004. A cabin was donated by the broadcast company, ESPN, who used it for broadcasting during the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Part of the capital budget granted by the City to the BCA for 2003/2004, was used to renovate the cabin.       »» View the pictures.
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