Fire checks

In the mornings we must do a fire check. We must check all the vehicles and equipment. On the vehicles we need to check tires, lights, water, petrol and oil and if the battery is working. We also need to check the water level of  the tanks as well as the nossles of the spray.
The equipment we check if all the things are neat and easily reachable. We also check if all the backpack sprays are working and if all the equipment are there and in place.
We write a report on all these things everyday. If something is not working, we report it to maintenance so they can fix it as quick as possible.

These checks are done, so that if there is a fire all the equipment and vehicles are ready to go and fight the fire.

Lickblocks and duncan applicators

Today we put out phosphate lick blocks out, and filled up all the Duncan applicators and pressure plates with Amipor. a duncan applicator is a place where animals eat boskos or mollasse out while their necks rub against a pole with Amipor (pesticide)  on. A pressure plate is a plate that the animals step when they go to the water hole, then they get sprayed with Amipor. We put these lickblocks out at some of the houses on Sondela so that the people who stay there can see the animals that come and eat it.

Sheet Mulching

Today we "built" a garden using the sheet mulching method.
Firstly we got a shape the garden must be in, it was 's' shaped, then we started putting the layers. The layers consisted of: compost, a cut cactus, cardboard, green plants, grass, Queen of the night and lastly old dry leaves.

After each layer we made sure the shape is kept and we watered it the whole time so it was sopping wet.

To plant things in there you make a hole in that goes through the cardboard. The plant must then be planted and the roots must be covered with top soil.
The reason we used this method is because it is very quick and effective, it gives the plant an optimum place to grow.

Harvesting of flora

Yesterday we went to the hunting camp to see where they cut wood for firewood. We saw they cut mostly silver cluster and sickle bush, but they also cut wild siring. They didn't dab with a herbicide. We walked in a straight line formation and counted all the cut trees on our left. Some were cut dry and others were wet.

Fire breaks

We drove on the van Rensburg Avenue, where they are going to do fire breaks and bulldoze everything along the side of the roads (taking away all the vegetation and combustible material). Fire breaks are done so if there is a fire it will slow the fire down, and if you want to make another fire to stop that one, it is made there. It can also stop a fire. We looked to see if there are any trees that is endangered or needed to be kept for ecstatic value, that may not be bulldozed. There was places with turf soil and other places with red soil, we looked and saw that the field looked different with the different soil.

We saw the violet tree, that is an endangered species and is on the red data list. It is marked with a white cardboard and red string so that the bulldozer won’t ruin it. If it was to be bulldozed Sondela could get a huge fine.

On the service road they already bulldozed on the left side they used 2 blades, and on the right they used 1 blade.

The problem accuring with this bulldozing is erosion. They make a big open space where water can come down and take all the good soil away.

All the things they cut off, they put on the side next to the open space that will grow extra thick, so they just shifted the problem. The solution for that is that the people would harvest that wood for fire wood.