Umdloti community sows positivity and beauty
Dune aloes and milkwood trees were iconic in Umdloti and played a key role in the Smart Village’s vision of placemaking, a plan aimed at creating a sense of place, authenticity and character that is unique to the town.
Residential complexes and the Umdloti Smart Village have joined hands to buy around 200 dune aloes (Aloe thraskii) to help restore the coastal enclave to its former glory.
Epitomising strength and resilience, Isikhulu, the beachfront complex most severely affected by the April 2022 floods, was the first to order and plant a batch of aloes on their verge, creating three gardens named Love, Hope and Peace.
They challenged other complexes to follow suit.
Body corporate chairman Daleen Voges who owns one of the eight Isikhulu flats that were destroyed and whose furniture was spewed onto the beach by a torrent of mud, said nobody thought that the building would be saved.
But, 17 months later, restoration is nearing completion and the building and its verge has a new lease of life.
“Aloe thraskii being bought in numbers by north beach complexes is a breakthrough for our placemaking vision and for unity between the north and the south,” said Umdloti Smart Village committee member, Tracy Simkiss.
She said dune aloes and milkwood trees were iconic in Umdloti and played a key role in the Smart Village’s vision of placemaking, a plan aimed at creating a sense of place, authenticity and character that is unique to Umdloti.
“Big and sculptural, aloe thraskii create a dramatic look with their beautiful orange flowers in winter when the whales and sardines arrive,” said Simkiss.
Endemic to the KZN and Eastern Cape coast between Mtunzini and Port St Johns, Simkiss said the dune aloe was the only aloe that naturally grew on dunes in this area.
Unfortunately, due to habitat loss and degradation caused by coastal development, the species was in 2019 declared near threatened in its natural habitat.
Simkiss said dune aloes were essential in stabilising dune systems, making them more robust in the face of severe storms.
The donated dune aloes will therefore not only help to restore the village’s beauty but also help protect it from future severe weather events.
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