[Image: Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews / Facebook]
The first reforestation effort to restore biodiversity in the city’s southern suburbs has begun in Newlands following the devastating invasion of polyphagous shot-hole borer beetles.
On Monday, the City of Cape Town launched its first replanting project in the southern suburbs, aiming to restore biodiversity and ecological balance to an area once shaded by majestic box elder trees, which were removed after falling victim to the beetle infestation.
The culprit, the polyphagous shot-hole borer beetle from Vietnam, has spread rapidly through Cape Town, necessitating the removal of mature box elders (Acer negundo) and several other long-standing tree species that once offered a vital habitat to urban wildlife.
The loss was deeply felt by both residents and environmental groups, but now, in partnership with the Newlands City Improvement District, TreeKeepers, and other organisations, the City is planting mature water oaks (Quercus nigra)—a hardy, beetle-resistant species chosen for its ecological value and resilience.
Clare Burgess, chair of TreeKeepers, emphasised the urgency to Daily Maverick: “Every month that there isn’t a tree where there once was one, we’re losing the ecological function that the tree was providing for the city.”
Burgess has called for a citywide campaign, extending beyond leafy suburbs to areas like the Cape Flats and northern suburbs, supported by long-term management and maintenance.
Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews echoed this commitment, saying this was just the beginning of a broader campaign to replace every tree lost to the beetle, ensuring Cape Town’s urban forest can thrive for generations to come.
