A bonfire for nature puts Swellendam in the spotlight

A hacking group in Swellendam gave Bonfire Night a whole new meaning – transforming it into a bonfire for nature. While people around the world celebrate Guy Fawkes Day on 5 November, last year this group of nature lovers made a little bit of history – by bringing partners together, including the local municipality, to undertake a controlled burn. WILLEMINA DE WET explains.

PHOTOS BY WILLEMINA DE WET AND HELEN CROUS

The Swellendam Hackers and concerned conservationists stepped out of their comfort zone, to benefit both nature and people. While this hacking group meets once a week on a Friday afternoon to cut down invasive alien trees in the Overberg town, this time they took on a new role: to burn a stack of biomass of invasive trees that had been cut down.  

Much invasive alien clearing work had taken place on the Swellendam Municipal Commonage – with a 3000m² area cleared of these plants. As a result of all the hacking activities by this committed group, biomass from the trees started building up. The hacking group had removed, debarked and sawed down invasive species such as black wattle (Acacia mearnsii), hakea (Hakea sericea), Port Jackson (Acacia saligna), beefwood (Casuarina cunninghamiana), pine trees, as well as exotic garden ‘escapees’ – all done to promote rewilding of the veld.  

This already lends a helping hand to nature – removing these trees that overrun our natural vegetation and are a major fire hazard. But the cut biomass not only becomes a bit of an eyesore, but it also inhibits the follow-up clearing activities of the hacking group, where saplings are pulled out and resprouters are dealt with. And while many Swellendam residents collect the biomass for firewood and even for fencing, the wood that isn’t collected lies rotting on the commonage. 

That’s why something needed to be done – and all partners needed to get involved.  

Enter the Swellendam Municipality and the Working on Fire team, funded by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. The hacking team met up with the municipality, burn consultants and authorities, and together planned the controlled burn. A public announcement was issued regarding the fire and the necessary permits were obtained.  

Then the day of the burn became a reality – coincidentally on Guy Fawkes Day. The Working on Fire team (who trained in the local Marloth Nature Reserve) joined the Swellendam Hackers on the day to help manage the fire, accompanied by landowners and Swellendam residents who had fire-fighting skid units available (known as bakkie sakkies).  

In the cleared area on the commonage, at least eight stacks had to be dismantled by hand and thrown on a single fire. Activities started at 07h00 to beat any wind that could develop later in the day, but the weather remained perfect with cloud cover and even a few drops of rain. 

The burn took four hours of hard work. The Working on Fire team, suitably dressed in fireproof gear, could get close to the flames to feed it with wood carried closer by the rest of the burn team. By lunchtime, another stack had been made and set alight. By 14h00, the dousing team got involved to extinguish the flames and the biochar was raked to ensure that no cinders were left. 

Now we watch to see the fynbos recover  

The commonage includes a recreational public area called Masbiekers Valley, where a local artist and volunteers have created a lovely park featuring art work, where indigenous trees have been established. It also includes a safe walking area for local Swellendam residents and their dogs to enjoy.  

Now that the invasives have been removed and the biomass has been burnt in this valley, we look forward to seeing the fynbos restore itself. After fire, indigenous bulbs like wild orchids, gladioli and ixias return to bloom in profusion. After that, pioneer plants such as grasses, restios, bietou and indigenous trees like the tree fuchsia and various others reappear, and natural biodiversity is restored with mammals, insects and birds returning. 

Our sincere thanks to the Swellendam Hackers team, the Working on Fire team, the Swellendam Municipality Community Service Department and everybody who helped make this a success. This shows how partners can work together – and how Swellendam can serve as a worthwhile example to other towns across South Africa on how to effectively manage invasive alien plants.  

Willemina de Wet is Chairperson of the Southern Overberg Botanical Society and is a member of the Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers.