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08 Dec 2017

Learn about our coastline with the Leisure Bay Conservancy

Judi Davis (South Coast Herald) Picture: Ugu South Coast Tourism representative Martie Bothma unveils the new marine posters.

The posters can be removed from the frames and shuffled around the various beach access points.

Aware that education is a vital component of conservation, members of the Leisure Bay Conservancy have worked hard on a project to highlight the marine protection message in their area.

Last week, their hard work was rewarded when they were able to unveil a series of bright and informative sign boards, mounted in sturdy, environmentally-friendly recycled plastic frames, at various access points to their beaches.

The conservancy has come up with the clever idea of making the mounted posters – and a couple of spares – inter-changeable so that there will constantly be new and interesting marine-related information available for regular visitors to the beach to read.

Ugu South Coast Tourism area committee representative, Martie Bothma, was invited to perform the unveiling ceremony. Leisure Bay Conservancy committee member Libby Goodall said Martie had played a key role in ensuring that the project had been a success.

“Ours is a small conservancy and we have a tight budget. We were slowly and patiently accumulating the funds to pay for the project when Martie and the tourism area committee stepped in with a donation of R13 000 towards our costs, enabling us to proceed,” she said.

She thanked Jenny Koen and the other conservancy members for steering the project.

Also thanked for their contributions, the physical work they’d put into the project and their consistent, loyal support were members of the Joan Smith Tree walking group, various local businesses and individuals from the community.

According to Libby the posters depicted natural life in Leisure Bay and would hopefully make residents and visitors more aware of what they needed to protect. “Conservancy is not about protecting the environment for today. It is about protecting it for the generations to come.”

She added that the success of the project showed that dreams did come true. You just needed to keep on plodding forward.
The conservancy might be small but members have some ambitious projects in the pipeline. They have started the environmental impact assessment process for the rehabilitation of Leisure Bay’s Drake Dune System and Mamba Kop.

“It is an important but extremely long-term project. We will probably have to pass it on to new generations to complete, but we are very excited about making a start,” said Jenny.

If you are visiting the Leisure Bay area these holidays, take a look at the new posters and learn something about the dynamic and amazing environment that is our coastline.