Chairperson's Report 2024/25 – Keurboom Park Association
A comprehensive report from our chairperson covering the achievements, challenges, and future plans for Keurboom Park during the 2024/25 year.
Chairperson's Report 2024/25 – Keurboom Park Association
Keurboom Park Association
(A City of Cape Town Ward 58 community initiative)
Chairperson's Report for the 2024/25 year
A big welcome to all of you — now our 14th AGM.
For the benefit of those of you who don't think they are members of the association — you probably are. We count you as a member simply because you are on our database. If you are not then please let us know.
Most of you already know our committee but for those who don't I'll introduce them once more.
Please stand up and take a bow.
YOUR CURRENT COMMITTEE
I'm Phil Flockton. I chair our quarterly meetings. I involve myself mostly in park projects, park maintenance and fund raising.
Justine Thornton – she deals with park daily management including park staff, feeding them and paying them. She liaises with park users and is involved with everything park.
Fay Linder — her botanical knowledge and interests is invaluable.
Gill Grose — undertakes the awful task of recording our meeting minutes as well as being in charge of tree identification and labels.
Jonathan Sydow – Jonathan is very much younger than the rest of us – a local resident (it doesn't get more local than Fairfield) and gives us balance, ideas and excellent opinions.
Wendy Goddard – please stand up Wendy – you do so much for the park. We, and park users, need to be very grateful to you for your calendar work, work on the Association accounts, and for your introduction to funding sources.
We are always keen to have new blood and enthusiasm on the committee and if you would like to become involved please speak to Justine or me.
Central Area
Our ex Councillor, Kate Christie, awarded us funds for the not happening borehole and so the City, with our agreement, used the funds to pave the central path bringing our vision for the central area a step closer – not that our City share the vision. Kate Christie did.
Small cities in Europe and many in North and South America have a central park or square where townspeople spend an hour or two in the evenings over a coffee, an ice cream or donut whilst children run around or kick a ball.
Where in the mornings older people meet and play chess or simply sit and talk or read a paper.
Where on weekends and holidays mums and children make new friends.
An inclusive place where the wheelchair bound OF ALL AGES are catered for.
A meeting place where there is no need to be lonely.
Why can't our park be more like this?
IN CAPE TOWN OUR COUNCIL EMPLOYEES (AFTER EIGHT YEARS OF US TRYING), ARE UNABLE TO APPROVE COFFEE AND ICE CREAM SALES. THIS FROM A CITY THAT IMAGINES IT CAN RUN A RAIL NETWORK!
But we are making a little progress. Baby steps. Thanks to the vision of Lions Club, and of Wendy Goddard and Newlands Rotary (plus Nuhraan from the City), the central playground is to have equipment designed for younger children in wheelchairs. The first (donated by Rotarians) is to be a special swing which takes a wheelchair. Together with Rotary we are also, right now, planning internal paved access paths to other wheelchair friendly equipment and to wheelchair friendly picnic benches.
Of course none of that helps the older wheelchair bound (meaning older children, adolescents, young adults and the elderly). Nor does it help the lonely of all ages.
Whilst on the subject we also thank City Parks for upgrading the rubber cushioning under play equipment. This is much appreciated.
Our Ponds
Especially after the rain of a week ago filled some ponds and brought memories of last winter I know many park users who want to know where we are with the ponds. Especially as the prospect of a drought becomes more likely.
Firstly a borehole update. It took up a huge amount of time and energy in attempting to persuade City Parks to allow a borehole in the park. A year ago it seemed that Parks had become an enthusiastic supporter of our ponds and would be paying to install the borehole! Amazing! It would top up pond water, provide general park irrigation and possibly even non-drinking water for local people.
Smoke and mirrors! It wasn't true. City Parks were deceiving Kate Christie (and us).
A year on and City Parks are doing all they can to block the borehole and the pond. Firstly they claimed that a geotechnical survey was needed – but they didn't have funding. When we found donor funding and appointed a survey team they magically found their own funds and just a day before our donor team they moved their rig into the park. City Parks had used ratepayer funds simply to block our survey. And borehole...
The name for this is "wasteful and fruitless expenditure." Parks now claim there is not groundwater below the park to justify a borehole. Yet they refuse to allow us sight of the survey results.
This topic raises blood pressures so moving on –
The reed and restio garden (the donation from Newlands Rotary) is still on hold pending the pond shell.
In the other ponds and streams, last year's sandbags (that we filled with removed silt and a little cement), have stood up very well and are achieving their purpose.
Trees
We are very conscious of the borer beetle and have a regular inspection regimen. The bad news is we do have the beetle in some trees. BUT the thinking amongst arborists has recently changed. Infested trees are no longer automatically felled, instead they are mapped and regularly inspected. Badly infested limbs are removed rather than the entire tree.
Now I want to repeat the rationale behind our need of a financial donation as well when we receive a tree donation.
Park users often wish to donate memorial trees or to simply gift trees to the park that they have somehow acquired. When we ask for a money donation as well some people are annoyed. What they should understand is that our staff nurture new trees for the first 3 to 5 years, in addition to the ongoing expense of compost and fertiliser. The direct cost to your Association of maintaining a young tree from planting until strong enough to survive is at least R2500.00. So please, if you wish to donate a young tree, do not be upset with us when we ask for a financial contribution.
The City will soon be felling dead trees and dead branches. We work closely with the felling team. We arrange where the tree must fall and be left in place for children to enjoy and for it to rot down and improve the soil.
Wilding the Park
For some this may be contentious — but those people will be on the wrong side of history.
We produced a large-scale plan of the park showing which areas to mow and which are to be "wild." Some 50% of the park area is to be regularly mown. Three times a year. In early autumn, in late winter and in late November. Additionally, our own staff mow the brick paved path verges as far as the tree lines to keep the park looking as good as possible.
Right now the park is looking neat and tidy. But the mow has been environmentally and ecologically very bad news. Neat and tidy is bad news for insects, butterflies and moths that have laid their eggs on the grasses. Bad news for small mammals. Bad news for our raptors. Bad news for "weeds."
My own observation is that park users mainly stick to walking the paved paths. They like the look of "neat and tidy" but very few even walk across the mowed meadows. My own opinion is that the park can afford a little more "wild" than we have left. I should like to hear your views.
Our staff try to keep the path paving and kerbs weed free. It is arduous. For years we shun chemicals for natural control. But as I see the futility I am tempted to use the shortcut of herbicide, pesticide, insecticide. But when I no longer see butterflies I know who and what is my enemy.
Mobile Trading
Last year we announced that mobile trading in the park had finally been approved by the City. That approval has now been rescinded. We started asking in 2018. Our City spent many months and many millions inspecting Council properties throughout the entire City. Then they planned where mobile sales could go. But they didn't ask for anyone's input. They didn't ask for ours.
We would not have suggested four mobile trading bays on the Squirrels Road verge – where people park and directly opposite house driveways. PURE IDIOCY.
Seth and Zac's coffee van continues to be busy. Always a queue in the mornings. We count this as one of our job creation successes. We continue to be grateful to the school for allowing us to use their land – when City Parks wouldn't.
Toilets
The state of the toilets is as disgusting as ever. For too many years I have been attempting to get City Parks to properly renovate and to keep them open for longer. A year ago, in desperation, I took pics and was about to go to the press with the story. Then I had my mind changed on that approach. Wrong decision. I hope to soon regain my mental strength and face this problem once more.
In the meantime, the new wheelchair friendly policy may be the prompt for a toilet upgrade. Wheelchair accessible toilets will become a necessity!
Other Matters
The canal side is an obvious area for improvement. Or maybe not. Having opened up the rough canal-side path I'm not convinced that we should improve the surfacing – what do others think?
As with everything involving bureaucracy our long-term canal plans are progressing painfully slowly. The plan is to demolish sections of the canal wall and create two new ponds in amongst our trees. Our discussions with City continue. At the pace of a sleepy snail.
Odds and Ends
The hugely popular evening frog walks with the enthusiastic and vibrant Tania Morkel will start again soon. Once the rains come. Book your place. It's great fun.
Our hawks are not yet back. It may be that the geese have chased them away. After the awful death of an owl from secondary poisoning we half expected another death. But the one adult and the young one are still alive and in the park every day. It is now time for the young one to leave home (or would be if the remaining lonely adult had found a new mate).
I really hope that none of our park users have rat poison at home and that they encourage their friends to get rid of it.
There are a few young chameleons; in spite of children (and others) removing them. A young child of a friend, upon hearing of chameleons in the park responded "oh good can I take one?". That is what we (and the chameleons) are up against. Chameleons are not only threatened by children, domestic cats and birds but as insectivores they mostly die from secondary poisoning.
The 2025 calendar was again a huge success. Thanks to Wendy Goddard for organising it and to the sellers who gave generously of their time – we couldn't have done without you. Should any of you here be willing to spare a few hours to sit at the notice board during November please tell Justine. Thanks also to the photographers who created the lovely calendar pics.
Thanks also to Peter Taylor, Roy Cheeseman, Malcolm Riley and Tania Morkel whose time and interest is much valued and appreciated.
This report represents our commitment to transparency and community engagement. Thank you for your continued support of Keurboom Park.