It’s official: 60 hectares are now under conservation. Indigenous plants are returning, and so are the birds.
A Third of Our Farm: Protected and Thriving
Around 60 hectares, or one third of our farm, is dedicated to conservation. This aligns with WWF’s guidance that protecting at least a third of the land is crucial for a livable planet. Our conservation management plan, reviewed every three years, keeps us on track. This year’s review showed encouraging progress, especially in two key areas, alien vegetation control and fire management.
Fighting the Invaders: Alien Plant Management
Alien plants, like Port Jackson and kikuyu grass, were introduced decades ago to stabilise soils but now threaten our indigenous fynbos. Our team tackles these invasives with a mix of careful techniques:
The “tree popper” uproots smaller plants completely, roots and all, preventing regrowth.
Larger plants are chopped down and their stumps treated with herbicide to stop resprouting.
In denser areas, we follow a “rule of three,” chopping one tree, ring barking another to slowly kill it, and leaving one to avoid erosion, then return the next year to continue the work.
It’s ongoing labour, but our efforts are paying off. In some zones, we’ve shifted from active removal to managing only small regrowth.
Fires That Heal
Fynbos depends on fire to maintain its biodiversity. Many fynbos species have adapted to fire and now need it for their reproduction. Certain plants, like most proteas, will only release seeds once they experience smoke. Others, like the fire Erica, take advantage of the extra space and sunlight when all the other plants are burned away, sprouting in the years following a fire. We monitor our natural areas closely and conduct burns when necessary, helping this unique ecosystem thrive. However, invasive species, such as eucalyptus trees, negatively impact this natural process; their oil makes the fires too hot, potentially burning away the newly released protea seeds and scarifying the land. By managing fire responsibly, we support the delicate balance of our fynbos ecosystem.
Tracking Our Progress: Plants, Wildlife, and Visitors
A vital part of our conservation is registering plant and animal life on the farm. Using tools like the iNaturalist app, we’ve documented 834 observations of 425 species unique to Hasher.
Game cameras and expert visits, such as from the Hermanus Birds Club, help us keep a pulse on biodiversity. Their latest visit recorded 47 bird species, a very hopeful sign of recovery and balance returning to our land!
