The Reeds Wetland
We decided to place this cache after we revisited the area we
cleaned during the CITO just 7 days ago, and were
VERY disappointed to find that the stream from the
school was cluttered with junk again. (See Photo we took today,
just 7 days after the CITO).
Tshwane Nature conservation are having a battle to keep the
wetland going but because of the ignorance of people the place gets
burned down (destroying reeds) and continues rubble that enters the
wetland, destroying the function of the wetland. Functions of
wetlands are the physical, chemical, and biological processes
occurring in and making up an ecosystem.
Importance of Wetlands:
In the past, wetlands were mostly considered to be wastelands.
Swamps and marshes were obstructions along the way. Many were
drained to be replaced by farmland, railroads and road
construction. In recent decades many people have come to recognize
the values of wetlands. No longer has the forgotten stepchild of
our environment, some scientists called them nature’s kidneys
because of the natural cleansing functions they perform.
Purpose of Wetlands:
Flood Busters: Wetlands act like giant, shallow bowls. Water
collects in these bowls and slows down as it spreads out. Wetlands
can be the first line of defense against flooding. Like sponges,
wetlands soak up rain and store excess floodwater runoff, and then
slowly release flood waters back into streams, lakes, and
groundwater.
At your own free will, please take a bag and collect some of the
litter around the cache site and help the cleaning process of our
environment.
NOTE:
This cache hide has specific permission from the Tshwane Deputy
Directors of Nature Conservation (Mr Thinus Prinsloo and John
Cooper) for the method of placement, and must NOT be copied or used
in hiding a geocache without proper permission by the land owner or
manager.