The annual Zandvlei Trust Spring Talks starts this week and will be presented on three consecutive Thursday evenings throughout September.

All talks will take place at The Lookout hall on Promenade Road, Lakeside, at 6pm for 6.30pm.

Tomorrow, Thursday September 12, Dr Tess Gridley will do a presentation on “Out of the Blue,” a discussion on what is causing the increasingly abnormal and aggressive behaviour among the local Cape fur seal population.

On Thursday, September 19, Andrea Schnetler-Niddrie of Volunteer Wildfire Services will discuss wildfires at the natural fynbos-urban development interface. The audience will get to hear and see what it is like to work for Volunteer Wildfire Services.

The last talk, on Thursday September 26 will be by Professor Justin O’Riain on otters and how the oceans provide a vital habitat for Cape clawless otters to survive in the face of deteriorating natural river systems, how they are able to exist right along the urban edge, and what perils they face there.

The Zandvlei Trust, which aims to safeguard the beauty and biodiversity of the Zandvlei for future generations, was established in 1988.

Trust chairman David Bristow said in the past 26 years the Trust has continuously pushed for better management of the vlei and its surrounding environs.

He said various scientific tests have been conducted on many different biological aspects of the vlei including water salinity and weed growth, which are all important factors that contribute to a healthy water system and have an important role to play in encouraging biodiversity and maintaining the Zandvlei Nature Reserve.

To find out more about the trust, visit https://zandvleitrust.org.za/ and to sign up for the talks, click here.

Andrea Schnetler-Niddrie of Volunteer Wildfire Services.

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Zandvlei Trust presents spring talks