Picture by Dan Hugo

At the celebration of the two oldest Stellenbosch oak trees in Ryneveld Street, the Mayor, Councillor Conrad Sidego, announced a resolve to plant a million trees in Stellenbosch during his tenure. On the same occasion, the deputy mayor, Councillor Martin Smuts, confirmed his own resolve to ensure that visits to the town centre would be safe, accessible and convenient social occasions with more activities and public art in the public spaces. Professor Brian Bredenkamp spoke about the history of the oaks in Stellenbosch. Hannes van Zyl considered the layered meanings embedded in that history. Dave Pepler regretted our lost gardens, and proposed ways to enrich Stellenbosch with new types of gardens.

• Brian Bredenkamp: “Early botanists, among them Thunberg, Lichtenstein and Burchell, wrote about the shady avenues in their journals… We are the trees’ worst enemies! I implore counsellors to enforce the rules regarding tree protection… ” Read more.
• Hannes van Zyl:  “The Stellenbosch oaks have become heritage because we endow them as such with a history and with our ways of seeing (to borrow a term from John Berger)… At best they should remind us of an inclusive history and help us to remain aware of our capacity to be tolerant and caring in our dealings with one another…” Read full text.
• Dave Pepler: “Nog na die Tweede Wêreld-oorlog het die meeste dorpstuine families van bykans al hul groente en vrugte voorsien… Met beplanning en koordinering kan ons Stellenbosch mateloos verryk met daktuine, muurtuine en klein straatakkers… saamtuinmaak is ‘n gelykmaker en dit skep sosiale vesel.“  Lees volle teks en skakels.