2009/05/13
Guy Rogers ENVIRONMENT & TOURISM EDITOR
HONOURED ... Little fund-raisers from Newton Park Pre-Primary – including (from left) Kyle Carter, 4, Kirsty Kivedo, 5, and Dylan Billet, 4 – have earned themselves a space on the Wall of Honour at the SA Marine Rehabilitation and Education Centre where they met up with some models of the real thing. With them is Samrec volunteer Jennifer Mitchell. Picture: BRIAN WITBOOI
THE long-awaited Cape Recife seabird rehabilitation centre is complete and nearly ready to launch operations.
The Port Elizabeth centre has not started operating and is not yet open to visitors – but a group of youngsters who raised funds for it were given a sneak preview last week.
Newton Park Pre-Primary pupils raised R2000, earning themselves a place on the Wall of Honour and the right to tell their kids that “we helped save the African penguin”.
Libby Sharwood, co-founder of the SA Marine Rehabilitation and Education Centre (Samrec), said time was rapidly running out for Algoa Bay‘s flagship bird species due to over- fishing, pollution and now also climate change.
“We‘ve got maybe 10 years to stop the African penguin from going extinct.”
In 2003, Samrec was awarded R8,1-million by Lotto, enabling Sharwood and her team – including seabird experts like Dr Norbert Klages – to fulfil their dream of building a rehabilitation centre at Cape Recife. The aim was to save birds from the Algoa Bay islands which were being hit by perennial oil pollution from passing ships.
The intention was also to prepare the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality to take on any oil spill catastrophe related to the expected increase in shipping and industry at Coega.
The project was delayed for several years due to problems related to the land Samrec had to lease from the municipality.
The buying power of the Lotto award subsequently dwindled and the envisaged building had to be scaled down, but the Samrec team was still excited about it and the possibility that it would make a real difference to the penguins, Sharwood said.
Sponsors for a pool and appliances like chest freezers to store the birds‘ food are still being sought.
The funds raised by the pre-primary school, and others who are still busy with their projects, will be used to buy medication for the recovering birds. It costs about R800 to rehabilitate one oiled penguin.
The last two tranches of Lotto money are due to arrive soon. Sharwood said she hoped the centre would be able to launch operations in June.
Source:
http://www.weekendpost.co.za/article.aspx?id=421132
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