My first exposure to this tree was in my final year of Archaeology at UCT. The reason it is important to archaeologists is because the Clanwilliam Cedar has been around for a while. A long while. The largest specimens ring circumference was 11 metres. That massive! Useless fact, that the Cederberg is actually named after this tree.
It was some years later at Bushmanskloof that I met Bruce, and in the Cederberg itself where my passion for all things Fynbos really kicked off. A lot of gin and a few years later, Bruce is still a good friend and we use his handy work with Carl and the team from Just Trees…which brings me back to this weeks Fynbos Friday. When I received the invite to go and put the Cedar back into the Cederberg, wild horses could not keep me away from the chance to actually go and plant a Clanwilliam Cedar tree. And then swing into Cederberg wines and clean out the cellar, managed to pick up a few bottles of Dawid’s 2006 Chardonnay; heaven! And the 2010 Bukketrabe is something to watch out for, very delicious wine.
Just Trees plant the seedlings, which, once they are size wise able to handle the Cederberg climate; they go to CNC and on weekends such as this one, you get to walk out to the middle of the brilliant Cederberg and plant back one of our critically endangered tree species.
The following from the Red Cedar project here on Red Espresso “Whilst there were forests of these beautiful trees, there are now hardly any to be seen. Conversion of large tracts of land for agriculture, fires and indiscriminate felling for furniture and telephone poles have almost wiped out the Cedars entirely – to the extent that the species is classified as endangered on the global Red Data List and faces high risk of extinction. In 1987 Cape Nature started an initiative to restore the Cedar Tree by replanting nursery-grown seedlings into the wild and, to date, they have replanted over 500 Cedar Trees back into the Cederberg.
We became aware of the plight of the Cedar on one of our visits to the Cederberg and decided to do something with our sister company Just Trees, a wholesale nursery, we have partnered with Cape Nature, and through our Red Cedar Project, have committed to planting 1 000 Cedars into the Cederberg every year, which is three times the number of trees planted since 1987. Every year we will replant our Cedar trees back into the wild, where they will be cared for by Cape Nature in an effort to restore the Clanwilliam Cedar- and the Cederberg- to its original glory. “
We have planted a lot of Just Trees’s trees here on the farm, and there are going to be a lot more planted over the years. Planting trees has to be one of the greatest boosts a local eco system can get. Trees are at the peak of the pyramid, they provide so much food and shelter and great vibes. And nothing beats planting a tree then having a stiff shot of the good red stuff. Good times. Thanks to Carl and Bruce and everyone involved, and a special thanks to Rika from Cape Nature Conservation, without people like her we would be in a worse state environmentally worldwide. If you would like to read more about the project please read right here: Partnership puts the Cedar back into the Cederberg
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