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Tel: 031 764 8640 E-mail: info@thomasmore.co.za |
THOMAS MORE COLLEGE AIMS TO LOVE & DEVELOP THE WHOLE CHILD IN A NURTURING ENVIRONMENT
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Thomas More College CONSERVANCY The Thomas More College campus was declared a conservancy in September 2001. This was initiated after a staff member and some enthusiastic students started tackling the daunting process of clearing the rampant alien growth. The school grounds cover an area of 20 hectares and apart from the buildings and fields, are fortunate to have the source of the Palmiet River, a running stream, forest areas, grasslands, rock faces and several species of small animals such as dassies and genets. There is a wonderful selection of birds - view list, not to mention trees and other fauna. Bird and tree lists have been compiled over the years. Tree labelling is ongoing at present An alien eradication programme has been in place since 1996. Initially this was funded from recycling but the service providers now provide the labour for this project. Trails, paths and a few picnic areas have been developed and these are regularly maintained by the service providers of the school. An information lapa can be found near the entrance of the conservancy. The conservancy falls under the Environmental portfolio within the Board of Trustees of the school. There is a Chairperson and a Secretary and a small but dedicated band of enthusiasts. The educators have unlimited access to the area and so do the pupils. Biology and Geography pupils do research and little ones can walk and just observe something as exciting as seeing a spring for the first time. Arbour days are also observed. Thomas More College has a Board-approved environmental policy and before any development takes place an Environmental Impact Assessment has to be done. In our school gardens we strive to have a 30%/70% exotic/indigenous ratio for planting. The gardens also strive to be environmentally friendly. We have planted at least 250-300 indigenous trees in the grounds in the last 10 years. CONSERVANCY SIGHTING LISTS Over the years, unique groups of enthusiasts have documented the Thomas More College Conservancy. We now have the opportunity to offer updated lists. We are publishing the sighting lists in both Microsoft Word format and in Adobe PDF format. If you do not have Microsoft Word or Adobe Reader, please download Adobe Reader.
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