The Cape Town Section offers many meaningful opportunities for members to get outdoors, enjoy our mountains and make a difference at the same time. Here are some of the ways you can contribute to your Club and the broader community of greater Cape Town.
To volunteer for any of these initiatives, contact the appropriate General Committee member or Sub-Committee Convenor listed here.
These take place up to 200 times a year, and range from day walks or rock climbs to trips of several days. The Club always needs more meet leaders to share their knowledge of the mountains and its routes with less experienced members.
These meets usually take place on weekends, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
If you’re an experienced rock climber or mountaineer, or a knowledgeable hiker willing to take groups of different levels into the mountains safely, please contact the Convenor of the Meets Sub-Committee.
This programme has been running since 2002, taking children from disadvantaged communities on hikes several times a month. The programme works with schools, youth groups and children’s homes to help nurture the next generation of nature lovers.
It is run by volunteers, mostly MCSA members, but non-members are also very welcome. New volunteers are always needed to assist with the planning and execution of activities.
Hikes occur almost every weekend for 4-5 hours on Saturday or Sunday mornings. We also run overnight camps and hikes and have added a climbing programme.
Volunteers must adhere to the club’s safeguarding policy and sometimes have to provide a police clearance certificate to take part in activities.
The Cape Town Section’s MSAR (Mountain Search and Rescue) team works closely with other Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) organisations to keep people safe on the mountain, and they are always looking for new recruits.
Specialist fields of expertise are technical rock-face rescues and mountain searches. If you’re an active mountaineer and rock climber wanting to adapt your existing skills to become a safe and competent rescuer, here’s your opportunity.
Our Plant Conservation Programme arranges regular hack meets to get rid of alien vegetation on our properties and others, and helps with various conservation initiatives.
Check the Calendar for these meets – roughly one a quarter – during which we visit a Club property over a weekend. The Club has a range of tools available, including several chainsaws. We also engage in the considered use of bio controls where appropriate to deal with larger scale alien infestations.
The Cape Town Section relies on various sub-committees to keep things running and maintain what we do. There are numerous ways to play a part, whether it’s helping to manage the various properties, provide IT and editorial support, run the Section’s finances or marketing, or help with arranging regular speakers. Committee members are all volunteers juggling jobs and other commitments, so help is always welcome. If you’d like to be involved in the running of the Club in any way, please contact the Chairman.
