Bennies gets owls
St Benedict’s College has joined hands with the conservation group EcoSolutions, which is involved in urban ecological planning and urban ecology.
This includes owl releases at St Benedict’s College.
Owls provide an efficient means of pest control.
While poisons do provide one solution, they can be wxtremely harmful to the environment and will ultimately lead to the death of owls.
The two most common species in Gauteng are the Barn Owl and the Spotted-Eagle Owl.
The owls are tagged and monitored by the University of Cape Town and the process is strictly governed as they need to be monitored and fed in such a way that they can then become free creatures again with minimum risk inflicted on them.
St Benedict’s College has installed four owl boxes in and around the school. The owl release pen is located at the far corner of the school where boys are allowed to quietly view the owls, known as the mating pair Naan and Rydi.
“We encourage all our parents and community members to become more environmentally conscious. It is a privilege to be part of this owl release programme, which is exciting, but we must continue to contribute to our environment on an ongoing basis by recycling, picking up litter, and conserving electricity, not polluting our water or air unnecessarily,” said the school’s head of marketing, Ms Chantelle Burgin.
