Final day of sampling at Raap & Skraap

In the dry river bed. Best viewed in full screen

 A new renewable energy source is under construction halfway between Pofadder and the farm Raap en Skraap. South Africa’s first concentrated solar farm is being built by a Spanish company. The ECO (Environmental Control Officer) JV Smit explained how the impact on the environment is monitored. The choice of the site was important: a terrain with the least biodiversity and smallest carbon footprint was chosen.

Oceans of rocks

The energy capturing is done by a parabolic trough consisting of mirrors. These are imported from Spain and will be assembled locally. The initial 100 megawatt will be transmitted to a nearby sub station and will form part of the local electricity grid.

Quartz field

A second solar power installation is planned for Upington which will consist of a tower 30 meters high with solar mirrors. Presently around 500 workers are employed for the construction phase. The planned completion date is within the next 2 years. When the plant is in operation 70 people will be employed for this venture.

Team sampling by the river (Natalie, Lyn, Johan, Renier & Simon)

The botanists explored the neighbouring farm today. This area is pristine and untouched in many ways. Gemsbok and untamed cattle were encountered. The farm covers some 14 000 hectares and close to 13 kms of the Orange River forms its northern border. This farm is known amongst botanists for the original example of the Gariep Pronkstert. The scientists again found examples of this species today.  Other species found were all special as this area has not yet been sampled intensively. Environmental affairs (Northern Cape) needs data from this area and the Enviro Outreach is filling this gap. Driving through the farm one is often surprised: there are remnants of old mine excavations between the koppies, water sources in this barren country are found many kilometers from the Orange River, between the koppies. The number of new samples collected did not match that of the day before; this is due to the habitat which resembled that of Raap en Skraap and therefore many examples of species already collected were found.

The plant of the day is the boesmanskersbossie (bushman’s candle) Monsonia (=Sarcocaulon ) salmoniflora. The thick stems, covered with spines contain large quantities of resin making them inflammable even when green.

Lize von Staden, Red List Scientist at SANBI’s Threatened Species Programme, surveyed the population of the Gariep-pronkstert (Caesalpinia bracteata), a species Red Listed as Vulnerable and which only occurs on Raap en Skraap and on the adjacent farm. The Outreach has given the Threatened Species Programme a unique opportunity to visit very remote areas of South Africa where we can gather data about threatened species that are otherwise very poorly known. This helps to improve our knowledge of, and ability to effectively conserve, our plant species that are of conservation concern.

Gariep Pronkstert (Caesalpinia)