Quiet Waters is a conservation project run by
Falcon College
Falcon College (or simply Falcon) is an independent boarding school for boys and girls aged 12–18 in the southern Matabeleland region of Zimbabwe. It was founded in 1954 near Essexvale, Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (now Esigodini, Zimba ...
in
Zimbabwe
file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
. The founding committee of Quiet Waters met for the first time on 24 October 1985. It was at this meeting that the initial ideas of the development of Quiet Waters were born.
History
The project began in 1986, and it was officially opened in 1988. It consists of a nature reserve and wilderness area, which covered an area of 8.1 km
2 in all. Quiet Waters aims to conserve indigenous fauna and flora, to further the educational pursuits of the college, and to serve as a base for conservation education in other schools. It is also used for scientific research, providing recreational facilities for the college community and visitors.
Key facts about the Quiet Waters Conservation Scheme
*The conservancy, which lies in the attractive hilly country to the north of the college, consists of two parts: The western game-fenced nature reserve of approximately 320 hectares, and the wilderness area of 490 hectares in the east.
*It has a very diverse range of fauna and flora. There are 12 recorded mammal species ranging from the
giraffe
The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...
to the minute
spiny mouse. Other species, such as
baboon
Baboons are primates comprising the biology, genus ''Papio'', one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys, in the family Cercopithecidae. There are six species of baboon: the hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the olive baboon, the yellow ba ...
,
vervet monkey
The vervet monkey (''Chlorocebus pygerythrus''), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus '' Chlorocebus''. The five distin ...
,
banded mongoose
The banded mongoose (''Mungos mungo'') is a mongoose species native from the Sahel to Southern Africa. It lives in savannas, open forests and grasslands and feeds primarily on beetles and millipedes. Mongooses use various types of dens for shelt ...
,
hyrax
Hyraxes (), also called dassies, are small, stout, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the family Procaviidae within the order Hyracoidea. Hyraxes are well-furred, rotund animals with short tails. Modern hyraxes are typically between in length a ...
,
warthog
''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly cons ...
,
klipspringer
The klipspringer (; ''Oreotragus oreotragus'') is a small antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The sole member of its genus and subfamily/tribe, the klipspringer was first described by German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zi ...
,
duiker
A duiker is a small to medium-sized brown antelope native to sub-Saharan Africa, found in heavily wooded areas. The 22 extant species, including three sometimes considered to be subspecies of the other species, form the subfamily Cephalophinae ...
,
impala
The impala or rooibok (''Aepyceros melampus'', lit. 'black-footed high-horn' in Ancient Greek) is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus '' Aepyceros'', and tribe Aepycerotini, it ...
,
kudu
The kudus are two species of antelope of the genus '' Tragelaphus'':
* Lesser kudu, ''Tragelaphus imberbis'', of eastern Africa
* Greater kudu, ''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'', of eastern and southern Africa
The two species look similar, th ...
,
reedbuck
Reedbuck is a common name for Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Ea ...
,
bushbuck Bushbuck is a common name that may refer to one of the following African antelopes:
*Cape bushbuck
The Cape bushbuck (''Tragelaphus sylvaticus''), also known as imbabala is a common, medium-sized bushland-dwelling, and a widespread species of ant ...
,
eland,
tsessebe
The common tsessebe or sassaby (''Damaliscus lunatus lunatus'') is the southern, nominate subspecies of ''Damaliscus lunatus'', although some authorities have recognised it as an independent species. It is most closely related to the Bangweulu t ...
, and
zebra
Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. ...
are often seen. The last four have been introduced. Also, over 300 bird species have been identified.
*There are also over 100 species of trees. 50 grass species have been recorded.
*Other recorded fauna are 25 different snakes and 30 butterfly species.
*Research continues on other forms of animal and plant life.
*The game-fenced nature reserve has an impressive list of facilities, which are available to the Falcon community, which includes parents and friends of the college, as well as other educational institutions. These include nature trails, picnic sites, a campsite with four well-equipped A-framed chalets, viewing points and hides and artificial game pans.
*The new Mbonisa weir, which was recently officially opened, by Jimmy and Jenny Goddard has been stocked with bream and bass.
*It is a biology, geography and environmental management O and A level classes for fieldwork exercises extensively use the area.
*There are Junior and Senior Natural History Societies; the Angling Club and Junior Forms' Adventure Courses also make regular use of the facilities.
*In the past, schools such as Girls' College, Carmel and Whitestone from Bulawayo and Murray McDougal from Chiredzi, have utilised Quiet Waters for educational purposes. In the case of Carmel and Whitestone, ecology courses have been designed and run by Falcon staff, assisted by schoolboys.
There are six picnic sites which are available to parents who visit Quiet Waters. They all have a thatched shelter, toilet facilities and braai sites with wood provided. These are regularly used by the boys who camp there overnight during weekends.
External links
Quiet Waters- Falcon Old Boys
{{coord missing, Zimbabwe
Parks in Zimbabwe
Geography of Matabeleland South Province