The National Association of Conservancies of South Africa (Nacsa) is selling advertising on highways to help pay for clear-up operations to remove alien plants, the organisation said on Wednesday.
The ”adopt a highway” project is run in much the same way as ”adopt an animal” programmes in zoos, said project coordinator Dave Peters.
Companies and individuals sponsor signs along sections of highway, which provide enough money to keep those particular stretches of road clear of invasive foreign weeds.
Peters said the programme is up and running along the M13 in KwaZulu-Natal.
”It is a very busy roadway, so sponsors get good exposure and they are seen to be ‘green’.
”If we get more sponsors, we will be able to extend our project further along the highway and keep more of the roadway clear.”
The project is one of many approaches conservancies are trying to get the public more involved in the fight against alien weeds, Nacsa said.
One approach includes the provision of a service to gardeners wanting information and advice about suspected ”alien invaders” on their properties.
Nacsa is also encouraging an ”adopt a street” programme, where individuals take on the challenge of persuading their neighbours to keep their street free of alien plants.
”It becomes rather a shocking experience as one is confronted with the reality of how much of our flora is being taken over by foreign invader plants,” said Nacsa spokesperson Nici Moore. — Sapa
People living in the greater Durban area can contact Helen Terblanche for advice on aliens and how to maintain an alien-free garden at Tel: (031) 763 4435. For more information on Nacsa programmes, call (031) 705 5448