Pearly Beach Conservancy

The Pearly Beach Conservancy is a non-profit organisation dedicated to protecting and restoring the natural habitat. In addition to its environmental efforts, Pearly Beach Conservancy aims to uplift the local community. Operated by volunteers, Pearly Beach Conservancy collaborates closely with the Overstrand Municipality, CapeNature, and neighbouring conservancies. Key projects include removing invasive alien plants, encouraging Indigenous water-wise gardening, and reducing light pollution in the Pearly Beach area. Pearly Beach Conservancy educates youth through its community initiatives, to foster a deeper appreciation for the environment.

About

Founded as the Pearly Beach Conservation Society in 1991, the organisation became officially registered with CapeNature in 2006.

Aims and Objectives

To promote nature conservation on private land and public open spaces
To protect indigenous fynbos, its fauna, insects, pollinators and birds.
To preserve the terrestrial biodiversity and ecological infrastructure of the frontal dune system and inland support areas
To cooperate with local government and present options for achieving conservation and development goals
To rid fynbos areas of invader trees and plants
To evaluate and give feedback to authorities on new developments in the area
To nurture, educate and work together with all communities to enjoy the splendour nature has to offer

Projects

The Pearly Beach Conservancy spearheads various projects that include, but are not limited to:

Maintaining the herbarium and fynbos garden in Pearly Beach
Clearing alien vegetation around Pearly Beach
Cleaning beaches
Encouraging water-wise, Indigenous gardening
Preserving dark skies without light pollution

Promoting the Pearly Beach Meander and coastal benches
Protection of the black oystercatcher
Managing an EcoKids program in Eluxolweni
Organising of fund-raising markets

Herbarium and Fynbos Garden

The Pearly Beach Conservancy is the custodian of a Herbarium established in the early 1990s by the Pearly Beach Conservation Society in conjunction with the local Municipality, CapeNature, Grootbos Private Nature Reserve and Fernkloof Nature Reserve.

Initially, the plant collection was kept in a temporary wooden structure, now the Marine Kiosk at the entrance of Pearly Beach. Today, the collection is housed in a purpose-built brick building in the Fynbos Centre. The plants were collected by Heilie Mostert, a dedicated amateur botanist and resident of Pearly Beach.

Heilie Mostert

Heilie Mostert recorded the GPS coordinates of every plant she picked and identified using research books. She would press the plant on a specimen card which she numbered and filed. As a result, 316 indigenous plants have been identified.

Although Heilie left Pearly Beach, her legacy lives on. Every week a group of fynbos enthusiasts pick flowers in Pearly Beach with the permission of CapeNature (you need a permit to pick fynbos). They meticulously record and display their floral beauties in the Herbarium.

Everyone is invited to come and have a look!

Indigenous Gardening

The Pearly Beach Conservancy promotes Indigenous gardening and is always available to give sound advice when establishing yours.

Tips To Grow Your Indigenous Garden

Clear only the footprint of your house and the minimum of your planned lawn area when preparing to build on your plot of land. Don’t clear your plot of all its vegetation. Keep the topsoil which is full of fynbos bulbs, corms and seeds. By doing this, all fynbos species will be preserved when used in your future garden. Sand and wind erosion will also be reduced.
Advise builders to tread lightly to protect the natural indigenous landscape.
Consider planting Strandveld shrubs as hedges instead of building walls along the perimeter of your plot. Hedges are permeable and create open corridors for small fauna to move through.
Plant buffalo grass (it requires the least watering and mowing).
Refrain from foraging young plants in the veld (no matter how tempting, this is illegal and carries a heavy fine).
Buy plants indigenous to the Pearly Beach area when shopping at nurseries.
Avoid digging around Indigenous plants. Digging will damage the small surface-feeding roots and kill the plants If it is necessary to remove weeds, pull them out by hand.
Learn how to identify and control invasive alien plants, some of the plants you think are fynbos could be invasive.
Join or form hacking teams to remove invasive plants from your area.

Category 1b Plant Invaders

Category 1b Plant Invaders are invasive species that must be controlled and, whenever possible, removed and destroyed. Selling and planting these plants is strictly prohibited.

Deemed Category 1b:

Rooikrans (Acacia cyclops)
Port Jackson (Acacia saligna)
Long-leaved wattle (Acacia longifolia)
Bloekom (Eucalyptus)

Category 2 Plant Invaders

Category 2 Plant Invaders are deemed to be potentially invasive. A permit is required to carry out a restricted trade.

Deemed Category 2:

Black wattle (Acacia mearsnii)

- The Conservancy recommends that it not be planted and be removed.

Category 3 Plant Invaders

Category 3 Plant Invaders can remain in prescribed areas. However, further planting, propagating and trade are prohibited.

Deemed Category 3:

Manatoka (Myoporum tenuifolium subsp. monatum)
Felicia echinata (observed as invasive)

- The Conservancy recommends that it not be planted and be removed.

Indigenous Strandveld Hedges and Windbreakers for Windy Coastal Gardens

Euclea racemosa (sea guarri - 3.5m)
Morella cordifolia (wasbessie / waxberry - 1.5m)
Searsia crenata (rosyntjiebos / crowberry - 3m)
Searsia glauca (blou koeniebos - 1.5m)
Searsia leavigata (duine taaibos / dune currant - 1.5m)
Olea exasperata (slanghout - 2m)

Indigenous Strandveld and Limestone Fynbos for Windy Coastal Gardens

Protected Strandveld Tree:
- Sideroxylon inerme (white milkwood)

Strandveld Shrubs (can be pruned into small trees):
- Cassine peragua (lepelhout)
- Colpoon compressum (basbessie))
- Euclea racemosa (sea guarri)
- Pterocelastrus tricuspidatus (kershout)

Spring to Summer Flower Shrublets:
- Agathosma cerefolium (anys buchu)
- Anisodontea scabrosa (sand rose)
- Felicia amoena
- Geranium incanum (vroue bossie)
- Otholobium bracteolatum (skaapbos tee)
- Pelargonium betulinum (kanferblaar)
- Helichrysum crispum (kooigoed)
- Zaluzianskya villosa (drumsticks)
- Gazania pectinata (ogies gousblom)
- Lampranthus (dew plants)
- Drosanthemum intermedium
- Senecio elegans (strandblommetjie)

Autumn to Winter Flower Shrublets:
- Coleonema album (cape may)
- Metalasia muricata (wit blombos, 2m)
- Osteospermum moniliferum (bietou 1.5m)
- Phylica ericoides
- Polygala myrtifolia (Augustus bossie 1.5m)
- Pteronia uncinata (strand-gombos)

Wild Herbs:
- Aloe arborescens, kransaalwyn (leaf sap for burns, wounds, eczema)
- Bulbinella nutans, geel katstert (leaf sap to treat itches)
- Carpobrotus acinaciformis, sourfig (leaf sap for sore throat, wounds, eczema)
- Eriocephalus paniculatus, wild rosemary (leaf tea for colds)
- Lessertia frutescens, cancer bush (leaf tea for tonic)
- Salvia africana-lutea, brown sage (leaf tea for coughs)

Winter Geophytes:
- Brunsvigia orientalis (candelabra)
- Chasmanthe aethiopica (suurpypie)
- Haemanthus coccineus (paintbrush lily)
- Lachanalia bulbifera (rooi viooltjie)

Proteaceae (only suitable for areas with limestone soil):
- Protea obtusifolia (limestone sugarbush)
- Leucospermum patersonii (silver edge pincushion)

Waterwise Turf:
- Stenotaphrum secondatum (buffelskweek/buffalo grass)

Local Plant Nurseries (stock selections of recommended species)

Municipality Policy of Intent

The Pearly Beach Conservancy wishes to make you aware of the Municipality Policy of Intent for clearing vegetation to maintain fire-wise privately-owned vacant land within residential areas that must comply with the following prescribed standards:

Clear deadwood and other combustible material
Cut down all invasive alien vegetation and remove it from the plot. The remaining stumps must be treated with herbicides under the direction of the landowner or municipal-appointed contractor
Maintain Indigenous vegetation and grass at a height of 0.5m
Retain desired trees, but clear / prune from ground level to 1.5m below the canopy
Thin out Indigenous vegetation by 50% to 50mm below the top level of walls around plots of land that have boundary walls reaching up to 1.8m
Create fire breaks on plots of land larger than the standard size
Clearing must not contribute to soil erosion
Remove all vegetation refuse within three days

Dark Sky Policy

The Pearly Beach Conservancy promotes a dark sky policy for Pearly Beach.

Light pollution is classified as artificial light after dark that negatively affects the environment by disrupting the natural light cycles that species are cued into. Plants and animals depend on Earth’s daily rhythm of light and dark to govern life-sustaining behaviours such as reproduction, nourishment, sleep and protection from predators.

One collective goal is to avoid the introduction of light to previously dark areas with the following goals:

• Reduce sky-glow
• Increase night sky visibility
• Reduce the impacts of outdoor lighting on people and wildlife
• Conserve energy and reduce the consumption of electricity