The large open space between Long St. and Jimmy Smith St. near the Sandbaai Hall is known as Jacksons Park. It is a crucial habitat for much of the remaining wildlife in Sandbaai. During the winter a large portion of it becomes a seasonal wetland and a haven for rare birds. Proteas and fynbos used to cover the park, but now Jacksons Park is under immediate threat.
Part of this land in Sandbaai was cleared and began being used as a soccer field for residents of another suburb. This vegetation became grass and now is nothing but sand. Litter increased and our security teams began confiscating tortoises from people catching them to take out of Sandbaai. Security has found people attempting to sleep in the bush. A few years ago illegal fires burned the bush, set by an unknown arsonist on at least two separate occasions. Snares have been found and last week a pit meant as a trap for tortoises was discovered.
Recently it was observed that a section on the east side of the park had been sprayed with a chemical that kills all vegetation. Nothing living remained and it was now a strip of grey in what used to be lush vegetation. Once the toxins have seeped into our groundwater and killed off the animals, invasive kikuyu grass and Port Jacksons will be all that can live there, which will mean more spraying of toxic chemicals.
On 21 August morning, the SCVID met with officials from the Overstrand Municipality Environmental division for a site visit to the Sandbaai coastal strip and Jacksons Park. They were shocked to see the destruction in Sandbaai. But that same afternoon we received a report that a group of men were spraying toxic chemicals in Jacksons Park. Several concerned residents showed up to protest and the sprayers left. The next morning at 8:00am they were back at it.
Christopher Reid (SCVID chairperson), Leentjie van Schalkwyk (Hermanus Hackers), and Roy Groenewald (Sandbaai Ratepayers Association chairperson) rushed to the scene. Chris and Leentjie got the sprayers to stop and made urgent phone calls. Soon Tyte Security was on the scene, OM Environmental and Parks divisions sent officials, and began to figure out what was going on.
Because Sandbaai is improperly zoned as Zone 2, areas that should be protected fall under Parks instead of environmental. Parks wanted to remove Port Jacksons but was not aware that their subcontractor was sending untrained workers with no supervision to spray everything. Parks had not intended for them to kill everything in their path. They were supposed to only cut port jackson and then apply the poison only to the port jackson, not spray it all over the few remaining pincushion protea bushes and other vegetation. But the workers did not have any equipment with them other than the sprayers and had just been instructed to spray the fields.
Chris got the officials to walk into the field to see the results from recent spraying. Upon seeing the total destruction, the Parks official apologised, said it was not what they had wanted and said it would not happen again. Chris requested that Parks not send their workers anymore and that SCVID would organise with Hermanus Hackers and other volunteers to clear the port jackson without them. It was agreed and everyone left.
The responsibility for our environment is ours. Biodiverse ecosystems turned into wastelands do not recover quickly, if at all. We cannot expect untrained workers subcontracted to clear port jackson to care about our green spaces. We must do it.
The SCVID in coordination with the Hermanus Hackers is calling on volunteers to join us in clearing the Port Jackson from Jacksons Park on Wednesday 3 September 2025. We will meet at the park and pull up as much as possible by hand. Trained workers will remove the larger plants.
Hermanus Hackers offers periodic training and SCVID is organising an environmental training seminar for the entire Overstrand for October.
Many hands make light work. We need as many volunteers as we can get. Join us in defending Sandbaai’s environment. Email or WhatsApp us to volunteer.
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