The invasive alien tree Hakea sericea remains one of the greatest threats to the magnificent Klein Swartberg Mountains. As part of a bigger coordinated effort to control hakea in these mountains, MCSA members Gary Cundill, Hugh Sussen and I, together with Michael Moller, took on some hakeas on the Elandsberg Mountain above Ladismith. We began on the eastern side of Oom Stan se Liggie Trail. Hugh and Gary then headed straight for the main dense infestation of hakea on the mountain’s southern slopes. Michael and I began with follow-up clearing in a low infestation area of about 40 ha nearby, before joining Hugh and Gary in the thick of things.
Our Chair leads by example. Gary demonstrates hacking for maximum efficiency and pleasure: get close to the tree, sit comfortably and relax your shoulders before sawing 😊
In the end, a great hack was had by all, and we cleared about 500 trees, including some sizable oldies who didn’t go down easily! But our sharp pull saws sponsored by GCBR were a big help.
After action satisfaction
As before, it was very encouraging to see that after returning to an area where we cut hakea a few years ago, the growth of young hakea plants has been extremely limited. The rodents are likely doing an excellent job of eating most of the (tasty) hakea seeds shed shortly after the trees were felled. I posted our day’s clearing on the iNaturalist Project “The Ten Thousand Tree Mountain Fynbos Challenge” (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/310690233) where some other invasive alien plant clearing from the Klein Swartberg and further afield can also be seen.
Meet Leader ~ Donovan Kotze