With harvest behind us and the winter rains moving in, it is an ideal time to safely provide fynbos with a critical element of its survival: fire.
Despite making up less than 1% of Africa, the Cape Floral Kingdom makes up over 20% of the continents flora species. There are over 9600 plant species here with 70% of them being found nowhere else in the world.
The slopes of Ben Lomond mountain, the peak the farm was named after, are home to the critically endangered Elim Ferricrete Fynbos and Overberg Sandstone Fynbos.
The 18 hectares just above our Sugarbush and Pincushion Sauvignon Blanc vineyards was the first parcel of land from a South African wine farm to ever be entered into a Conservation Servitude with Fauna and Flora International. Because of this, even if Lomond was sold tomorrow this piece of land and the very rare fynbos within it would still be safe from development.
However, simply protecting from agricultural expansion is not enough.
Most fynbos is fire-dependent. This means it requires fire to be able to release its seeds and reproduce. Fires that are too frequent can prevent plants from reaching maturity and therefore germination. Whereas a lack of fire can also deplete seed reserves as the plants eventually succumb to old age.
Therefore, the best reproductive and genetic success for fynbos can be aided by a fire every 10-15 years.
With the help of the Walker Bay Fynbos Conservation, the first controlled burn on the Lomond Conservation Servitude has just taken place. All 18 hectares were carefully ignited with teams surrounding every edge of the burn.
And with the help of winter rains, the scorched patch is already bursting with green new life just days later.
One of the things that makes fynbos so special is that it does not exist anywhere else in the world. This same fact is why it is so important for us to cherish and conserve this beautiful place.