Recently, I had the opportunity through the biomedical engineering department to volunteer with a local group that supports conservation efforts. Our group traveled to Blouberg, about a 30 minute drive from Cape Town, where we participated in taking down some alien plant life.
The species we targeted is called the Port Jackson, and it is native to Australia. It arrived in South Africa in the mid-1800s and was planted to stabilize some of the loose sand in areas where roads were to be built. It ended up spreading and threatening native plants to the area, which it still does to this day. Conservation efforts such as the one we participated in aim to eradicate the plant to support native plant growth.
I also had the opportunity to take a road trip from Cape Town to the town of George. George is a town in the Western Cape about a 5 hour drive from Cape Town. It is part of the Garden Route, which consists of beautiful mountain and plant views showcasing the diversity of the Western Cape.
One thing I found interesting on our drive to George were the bright canola fields. There are miles of canola flowers, the seeds of which are processed to make canola oil. The fields bloom in the spring, which is fast approaching here in the southern hemisphere. The canola crop was introduced to this area in 1993, and has since become a staple crop of the region.
Plant life is one of the things that makes the Western Cape province and Cape Town so unique and beautiful, and I'm lucky to be able to learn so much about both familiar and new plants here!