Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, in Cape Town is a great place, not just for tourists, but also for the locals, as a place where generational memories are shared. The mountain, the streams have been a perennial witness to centuries of change that took place on the slopes of the great Table Mountain.
From the days of the San people to where we are now the mountain has been a mute witness to many an upheaval. The Rhodes takeover and the subsequent development of the forests resulted in contained and well-managed gardens - Nature well-trained.
For some of us, reluctant city dwellers like myself, the mountain and the gardens have been a silent refuge, a place where I could arrive anytime of the day. It was one place where I felt I could replenish my energies. Here I could sustain my breath of life, bring up my children to imagine bigger and wilder forests. Forests untamed, unmanaged, where nature’s awesome power made humans small and at its mercy.
Kirstenbosch is one place where my children ran barefoot as toddlers, I walked barefoot, we drank the water, splashed around, dunked our heads in the rivers.
Kirstenbosch for me and for thousands of Capetonians continue to provide a breath of life.
But it all started changing.
One early sunny morning, on my usual barefoot walk, I encountered a few garden staff- a couple of men with their gear. I did not pay too much attention and continued walking. One of the men, looked at my feet as I walked along and said, “ I would not walk barefoot here”. Without thinking too much, I replied that if I cannot walk barefoot in Kirstenbosch, where else can I… He said that they spray the garden…to keep the weeds under control.
Months later my daughter walking in the gardens with her friends encountered a man spraying a bed. She saw the can was labeled “Roundup”. She was shocked. As an 18 year old, she has been exposed to the GMO discourse from a very young age. She knew well what Roundup was all about.
Roundup is a product of Monsanto-a broad spectrum herbicide with the active ingredient glysphosphate. Globally it is accepted by commercial agrochemical sectors as the safest of all the chemical herbicides. The few studies that suggest Roundup is completely safe have all been affiliated directly or indirectly with Monsanto.
Activists & small farmers fight against Roundup
But environmental activists and small farmers around the world have been fighting against Round Up and other Monsanto products.
Roundup has not been proven 100% safe for humans or our environment. There have been severe health impacts on the environments and people who repetitively come in close contact with the chemical.
So what would happen to those who habitually walk barefoot through the gardens? The workers, the visitors, the children?
I took up the issue with SANBI-South African National Botanical Institute- through networks and friends of mine. SANBI responded. Yes they do use Roundup in the gardens. Yes they have to keep the estate weed free.
And, most importantly, the estate manager insisted Roundup is safe.
I requested that SANBI inform the visitors to the gardens that Roundup is being used at Kirstenbosch. The information is important so that the visitors can decide whether they want their children to walk barefoot, or drink and play in the water.
I believe as a public heritage property, citizens have a right to walk barefoot without fear of toxic accumulation plaguing their system. I believe the least SANBI can offer us, public citizens is our right to information, so we can make informed decision.
Thank you to the film maker, Reneé Scheltema, for filming this and sharing with us. Read more about her work here.
Text by Nirmala Nair. Source: Zubeida Jaffer
- Nirmala runs the School of Practical Sustainability.
Photo:
Skeleton Stream runs through Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, and is a favourite playing and paddling place for children. Three other streams run through the gardens; three from the mountain and one from the spring in the Dell. Image: SANBI
Lorraine Jenks says
Bravo! It is time we stopped trusting the chemical manufacturers. It is time for citizens to take a stand. It is time for South Africa to wake up. Governments and the huge agricultural/chemical companies are most certainly not going to look after us. In fact, nor is nature. Think of our front gardens. Think of our children’s sports fields. All poisoned. Whether or not to use these toxic chemicals is a personal choice, but how dare anyone contaminate my water system and even the air. How dare they spray our maize with tons of the stuff and kill everything, except the maize, because it is genetically modified to withstand Roundup. Instantly, I hear you say man has cross pollinated seed for aeons. GM seed is not a hybrid. It is a completely unnatural creation where two entirely different species are forced together by scientists; a foreign gene spliced into the DNA of a seed. Genes from other plants, but - get this - genes from fish, insects, fungi or bacteria. Nature can’t do that. Round up is similar to Agent Orange that was used in Vietnam. Thank you, Nirmala!
Kirstenbosch (@KirstenboschNBG) says
Kirstenbosch uses Kleen-up made by Enviro to control weeds in paved areas. It is registered in South Africa for agricultural, municipal and garden use and is widely recognised as one of the least toxic herbicides available.
Kleen-up contains 41% glyphosate?
Pam Hart says
Why not use 10% acidic Vinegar ? cheaper than any registered product sold. Kleep-up Contains 41% Glyphosate plus Surfactant
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clinton says
Hi there, do you have links to studies that show the effects of coming into contact with roundup please?
hi Clinton, we are happy to devote some research to this issue, as there is much evidence. So look out for our next issue. Here is but one link for you to start with http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/25/roundup-health-study-idUSL2N0DC22F20130425
We also experience the detrimental effects yearly when the City sprays this stuff on the curbs in the Helderberg, when a whole lot of people get very ill. Myself included, my dog too. Time to stop this.
Peter says
MORE than enough info to make me not want to go back to Kirstenbosch!
http://www.gmoseralini.org/roundup-is-more-toxic-than-declared-new-criigen-study/
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/weed-whacking-herbicide-p/
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/06/09/monsanto-roundup-herbicide.aspx
http://www.beyondpesticides.org/pesticides/factsheets/Glyphosate.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23756170
http://www.rag.org.au/modifiedfoods/rounduphealthissues.htm
Nor walk in your neighbourhood, nor harvest weeds in your area. Thank you Peter.
shared http://aristonorganic.wordpress.com/2014/09/02/kirstenbosch-and-roundup/
Kirstenbosch should know better. I am an organic fruit farmer in the Klein Swartberg near Laingsburg. Kikuyu is a real problem in my trees but using any form of toxic glyphosate is simply not an option. I discovered that the most potent grass and weed killer is 100% non-toxic and leaves no residue. Amazingly it is just orange peel oil or d-Limonene. Mixed with water and a suitable surfactant (makes oil and water mix) it turns the leaves black within an hour. So there never was any need for these deadly Monsanto concoctions. Can one buy a d-Limonene weed-killer in SA? No you have to make your own which Kirstenbosch could very easily do.
Thank you Geoffrey for a very constructive reply. I am sure the City of Cape Town can also switch to this natural solution for our curbs? Send us your news.
Here is a step-by-step on how to make it, seems one can use it for cleaning, cooking and even as as a body lotion too! http://www.wikihow.com/Extract-Oil-from-Orange-Peels. The mind boggles as to why anyone would rather use an expensive, possibly toxic, groundwater compromiser like RoundUp. Let’s consider also the all the dogs walking in these sprayed neighbourhoods, with their noses down in the worst muck known to man.. ;(
christinalynnrock says
Hi, we are petitioning Kirstenbosh and SANBI to stop using Roundup. Sign and share!
http://www.change.org/p/kirstenbosch-national-botanical-garden-stop-using-roundup-herbicide-at-kirstenbosch-botanical-garden?utm_medium=email&utm_source=notification&utm_campaign=new_petition_recruit
Read this - like so many similar experiences around the world: http://permaculturenews.org/2014/09/18/roundup-poisoned-nature-reserve/
Kirstenbosch has no idea what the effects of using Roundup are - they are playing Russian roulette with our precious heritage - and our children too.
akismet-19d692aa93a60f1d3a5055745f7ac929 says
Thanks for informing us. I’m not that surprised to be honest, but the times are changing and there is a great opportunity for Institutions like Kirstenbosch to lead the way and move to more nature (and people) friendly methods of weed control, the options are opening up.
Clem Gutsche says
I believe you can drink Roundup - it’s quite safe.
hi Clem
If the spray drift alone makes me and my dog sick, I cannot believe this at all. Have you tried?
Andrew says
It’s disgusting that Kirstenbosch, who propose to be protecting our biodiversity, are potentially polluting downstream water. They are thereby potentially harming people who use this water and our children who play in it.