Pledge Nature Reserve is a declared nature reserve located in the town of

Knysna Knysna (; ) is a town with 76,150 inhabitants (2019 mid-year estimates) in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is one of the destinations on the loosely defined Garden Route tourist route. It is situated 60 kilometres east of the c ...

in the

Garden Route The Garden Route (Afrikaans: ''Tuinroete'') is a stretch of the south-eastern coast of South Africa which extends from Witsand in the Western Cape to the border of Tsitsikamma Storms River in the Eastern Cape. The name comes from the verdant ...

district of the

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

province in southwestern

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The reserve covers ten hectares adjacent to the town center and is accessible via Fitchat Street, parallel to the N2 highway. The area which is now Pledge Nature Reserve has a long history of use by the townspeople and Knysna division of the

Girl Guides South Africa The Girl Guides South Africa is a girls-only organisation and is recognised by the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). As of 2003 it has 20,466 members. Program and ideals The programme of the Girl Guides South Africa cat ...

, and the Brownie movement. However, the area was only established as a Local Nature Reserve in the

Government Gazette of South Africa The ''Government Gazette'' () is the gazette of record of South Africa. It is the "official organ of Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the ...

Notice 726 on 11 October 1991. The reserve is administered by a voluntary trust, the Pledge Nature Reserve Trust, and an appointed voluntary management committee, who were granted a 99-year lease by the

Knysna Local Municipality Knysna Municipality (; ) is a local municipality within the Garden Route District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. As of 2022, its population is 96,055. Its municipal code is WC048. Geography The municipality covers ...

. The reserve is surrounded by urban development but the area has historically been left undeveloped due to its steep hills and valleys, even since the inception of Knysna town during the times of

George Rex George Rex (29 August 1765 – 3 April 1839) was a United Kingdom, British-born entrepreneur who spent most of his adult life in the Cape Colony. He founded the town of Knysna, Cape Colony and played a key role in its development. Rex filled a nu ...

. The vegetation in the reserve consists of an endangered

Fynbos Fynbos (; , ) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. The area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate. The fynbos ...

vegetation type Vegetation classification is the process of classifying and mapping the vegetation over an area of the Earth's surface. Vegetation classification is often performed by state based agencies as part of land use, resource and environmental management ...

, with remnants of

Knysna–Amatole montane forests The Knysna–Amatole montane forests ecoregion, of the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, is in South Africa. It covers an Afromontane area of in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces. Setting The ecoregion, which ...

. Natural streams flow from the hills into two artificial ponds, created after the area's establishment as a nature reserve. The reserve maintains many short walking trails which are accessible to visitors, as well as picnic tables, benches, and a viewpoint of the Knysna Heads. The Fynbos vegetation burned during the Knysna fires of June 2017. The vegetation has since recovered and regenerated. Knysna Turacos

The reserve has well over 350 documented plant species, and over 100 bird species have been sighted. The

Knysna turaco The Knysna turaco (''Tauraco corythaix''), or, in South Africa, Knysna loerie, is a large turaco, one of a group of African musophagidae birds. It is a resident breeder in the mature evergreen forests of southern and eastern South Africa, and Esw ...

can be sighted most days, and the near threatened

Knysna woodpecker The Knysna woodpecker (''Campethera notata'') is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is endemic to South Africa, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, moist savanna, and subtropical or tropical mois ...

has been sighted on occasion. The reserve has been host to many special events, notably the 2018 Eden Festival of Action tree planting campaign created by the

social enterprise A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners. Social enterprises ha ...

Greenpop.

References

Nature reserves in South Africa {{Improve categories, date=June 2023 Protected areas of the Western Cape Fynbos ecosystems