The best party or Jol of the year is happening on Saturday when local bands the Ghost Riders and On the Rocks take to the stage at the Cape St Francis Resort as our local Cowboys and Cowgirls rev it up whilst enjoying some fine western fare all for a good cause (FOSTER). Come and join the fun, come rain or shine, for just R300 per person or R150 for the young uns from 18h00 onwards. Tickets are available through Quicket or at the Cape St Francis Resort’s reception and at the door for latecomers.
We will also have tables set up in the hall for those wanting to make up tables in a more relaxed environment. This is one event of the year you don’t want to miss out on.
FOSTER – Our Story
The Friends of the St Francis Nature Areas – FOSTER – was established 35 years ago. This voluntary organisation shoulders the bulk of the management role for the Seal Bay, Cape St Francis, Irma Booysen & Seal Point Nature Areas. These wonderful green gems offer a choice of hiking trails through various coastal habitats from rocky shores, beaches, and salt-stunted vegetation to dune fynbos, thickets, and small patches of true dune forests.
A brief history:
Mid 1980s: “Friends” group started under leadership of Gwen and Henry Brown with guidance by Richard and Shirley Cowling.
In the late 1980s, Dave Bowmer initiated alien clearance in the Irma Booysen reserve.
Mid 1990s: Lawrence Kruger and Richard Cowling produced a report to guide the establishment of the St Francis Coastal Open Space System, an interlinked system of conservation-worthy state land in the Greater St Francis region. This initiative was championed by Des Green and has remained the FOSTER blueprint since then. Des made excellent progress with the proclamation of the Irma Booysen reserve.
2000s: Considerable investment in alien plant clearance, trail establishment and signage, all implemented by Dave Bowmer and his team. Much progress has been made in proclaiming the reserves in the past five years, thanks to the superb effort of Wentzel Coetzer of Conservation Outcomes.
The use of natural areas has grown steadily over the years. It is no exaggeration to say that over the past 35 years, FOSTER has created a 330-hectare network of natural areas that is now the pride and joy of residents and visitors alike.
Vision
To conserve, maintain, protect, and provide access to the biodiversity of the FOSTER–managed nature areas whilst promoting active stewardship of the environment and heritage.
Mission
FOSTER’s primary role is to nurture (foster) and preserve the biodiversity in the Irma Booysen, Seal Point, Seal Bay and Cape St Francis Nature Areas. Its secondary role is to ensure that the nature areas are accessible to the greater community and visitors.
FOSTER aims to achieve this mission through the following:
The FOSTER-managed nature areas will be proclaimed and legally protected.
The trails will be properly maintained, with interpretative features, i.e. mapping and signage.
There will be few seed-bearing alien woody plants in the nature areas.
Our membership numbers will support our annual maintenance costs. Other funding will be sourced for ad hoc projects through appeals and events.
The nature areas management includes:
Trail maintenance & management – erosion control, clearing of paths & erecting signage
The control of alien vegetation to reduce fire risks
Management & maintenance of fire breaks around the village
Monitor animal movements & numbers through a system of trail cameras
Marketing & public awareness campaigns about the importance of these areas of critical biodiversity
Liaising with authorities
How do we fund our reserve management program?
The only source of funding for FOSTER is the contributions made by residents, property owners , and conservation-minded people.
Operational costs are about R100 000 per annum, amounting to R330 per hectare.
How do these costs compare to those incurred by government-run reserves with similar management challenges and objectives?
The annual management costs per hectare for a similar-sized, dune veld reserve situated in a major metropolitan area with large visitor volumes is approximately R7 000. This is 28 TIMES more per hectare than the FOSTER-managed reserves.
Another candidate reserve for comparison, also in dune veld and within a major metropolitan area but having visitation rates like the FOSTER reserves, costs – at approximately R1 750 per hectare – SEVEN TIMES more to manage despite being about three times bigger than our combined reserves (costs per hectare decline with increasing reserve size).
* We have excluded salaries from these operational cost comparisons as FOSTER is supported by volunteers and pays only for contracted services. Salaries comprise between 30% and 50% of operational costs for government-managed reserves.
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