As has been discussed at the FBEP Steering Committee meetings, Birdlife South Africa (BLSA) and the Cape Bird Club, together with the City, are hosting a fun walk at the FBEP. This is to take place on 4 May 2013, with registration starting from 08h00, and the walk commencing at 10h00.
It would be greatly appreciated if you could spread the word of this event via your various organisations and networks, put it on your websites etc., as well as bring your family and participate.
Regards
Joanne
Joanne Jackson Pr.Sci.Nat.
Head: Project and Partnership Development
Environmental Resource Management Department
City of Cape Town
P O Box 16548,
Vlaeberg
8018
7th floor,
44 Wale Street,
Cape Town
tel: +27 – (0)21 – 487-2184
fax: +27 – (0)21 – 487-2578
mobile: +27 (0)84 220 0039
e-maill: joanne.jackson@capetown.gov.za
website: www.capetown.gov.za/environment
Media Release – 19th April
Family Fun Walk at False Bay Nature Reserve
A fun family walk and Birdathon will be held at the False Bay Nature Reserve on Saturday 4th May 2013, starting at 10h00.
The event will be hosted by Birdlife South Africa (BLSA) and the Cape Bird Club (CBC), together with the City of Cape Town, to celebrate wetlands, and especially the birdlife they support.
Wetlands are important natural areas as they play a critical role in the environment and provide many key ecological functions, not to mention being home to numerous bird and animal species.
This Fun Walk will be a walk through the Strandfontein Birding Area of the False Bay Nature Reserve, which is an Important Bird Area of Africa, and home to almost as many wetland birds as the famous Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park (now called iSimangaliso Wetland Park). However the Fun Walk will have a twist in that the event will focus on birds, even allowing participants do some bird watching while walking, hence the name Birdathon.
The Fun Walk is a family event, with a choice between an approximately 3,8km, 4,4km and 5,5km routes, none of which are strenuous.
Participants will receive a short account of why the area is important and a chart of some of the more common birds to be seen. These will inform the answers to questions participants will be invited to answer along the way. Answer sheets will be entered into a lucky draw at the end of the route with great prizes on offer for lucky participants.
The first 500 participants to register and complete the event will also receive a free fish and chip lunch courtesy of John Dorys, which can be enjoyed at the newly upgraded facilities at Zeekoevlei. Eagle-Encounters raptor group will also be at the event, enabling participants to learn about and see live birds-of-prey close-up.
Entry fee is R5 per person (maximum R20/family). All profits will go towards conservation activities at the site.
Registration will take place on the day, Saturday 4th May 2013, from 08h30, at the Headquarters Building of the False Bay Nature Reserve, which is on the southern shore of Zeekoevlei. This will be signposted from the entrance gate to the Park. A map to the venue can be found at: http://capebirdclub.org.za/art-Strandfontein%20index.html
If you don’t have access to a computer:
From the South, Strandfontein Road can be reached via Baden Powell Drive (R310),
from the North: via Jan Smuts Drive or Lansdowne Road.
To get to the False Bay Nature Reserve, turn into Zeekoevlei Road from Strandfontein Road (M17).
There are prominent brown tourism signs to Zeekoevlei and the False Bay Ecology Park Environmental Centre on Strandfontein Road.
For more information, please contact: Dale Wright (BLSA) (westerncape@birdlife.org.za) or David Whitelaw (CBC) (davesue@mweb.co.za or 021-671-3714)
End
Issued by: David Whitelaw, Cape Bird Club and Dale Wright, BirdLife South Africa
Media enquiries: Dave Whitelaw
davesue@mweb.co.za
021-671-3714
Or Dale Wright
westerncape@birdlife.org.za