Recently I visited “Kirstenbosch” Cape Town’s renowned botanical gardens, and my attention was drawn to the bed of signs above. Here’s a stark reminder, whether floral or animal of the serious decline in the rate of species. Our Cape Floral Kingdom has been described as one of the richest of the world’s depositories of life forms – particularly plants and insects, yet it is also among the most threatened. More than 1,400 fynbos plants are featured in the Red Data Book as being critically rare, endangered, threatened or vulnerable.
More chilling is WWF’s Living Planet report for 2014 released on 30 September.
According to studies undertaken by the WWF between 1970 and 2010, the planet’s total wildlife population has halved.
This post is in response to this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge ” Signs”. Pop over to the WordPress site to find other entries relating to this week’s challenge.
Nature on the Edge 
Love this one Liz. We visited the magnificent garden years ago. This really tells a story, doesn’t it?
Thanks for your comment, Tina. Yes, the signs act like gravestones. The stats are dire – 1400 species of fybos are listed in the Red Data Book as critically endangered, threatened….
So glad you posted these signs. We just visited Kirstenbosch about three weeks ago — one of the most spectacular gardens we’ve ever seen — and maybe one of the most spectacular in the world. Gorgeous old trees, pathways, and beds filled with one variety of flowering plants so that there is a profusion of similar blossoms. Lovely. The signs are great reminders that we must be good stewards of the planet. I agree.
Glad you enjoyed your visit, the gardens in spring are at their most showiest, those spring blooms really know how to flaunt their colours. Yes, those signs come with a good visual clout.
Kirstenbosch is such a beautiful place. That red sign is so true, and a very necessary warning.
When will we learn? When it is too late…
Your signs painfully highlight the dreadful statistics.
Yes, it’s dire.
This is great, Liz! 👍
Thanks Dina 🙂
An exceptional garden, one of my world favourites. And a unique response to the challenge. Well done!
That’s a great compliment for Kirstenbosch 🙂 Must admit to being biased, though i see it makes it in some of the Top Ten lists.
DEVASTATING! And what a remarkably powerful use of signs! Breaks my heart but I applaud them for not ignoring the plight of endangered species. Excellent post!
Hi Barbara, thanks for commenting. Yes, that’s true about the visual impact of the signs! And 1400 fynbos plants are listed in the Red Data Book as being critically rare, endangered or threatened….
Liz-
This is another instance of “liking” a post when like does not really mean like…
I just finished reading the Living Planet Report summary and have the full report loaded in my iBooks to read with more detail. No matter which copy… the results are beyond devastating and alarming.
Once again, our Nature consciences are in unison. Ever since seeing this report, ideas have been percolating in the back of my head, and my attitudes toward Nature stewardship have been rattled with even more urgency.
Your post for this theme is spot on…
-Jane
Hi Jane, greetings! Yes the report does highlight the need for urgency and a reaction to make a difference. Reading the case studies in Chapter 4 brings some hope. Such initiates as the Low Carbon City Initiative..and how China is leading the way in that regard. Greening of urban spaces and growing vegetables, recycling waste etc is a growing practise. I see the changes in my city too with the rollout of units for solar power heating, better public transport, and it’s response to the Earth Hour challenge leading to the use of low energy LED’s for street lighting etc. It’s heartning to see communities out there making a change, and i like that phrase: ” There is a better choice”. I wondered if there is a way to set up a blogginng platform in our WordPress community using this thread? Liz.