Vandals torch educational centre
The centre established in 1989 and housed a mini museum, artifacts, and newspaper clippings from the 1960s.
VANDALS have burnt down the Beachwood Mangroves education centre in what police believe was an arson attack on Thursday evening. The centre, established in 1989, was recently refurbished and KZN Ezemvelo officials have estimated the damage to be in the region of R200 000. The men’s and women’s toilet windows of the reserve (separate to the education centre) were also smashed in with bricks.
The education centre housed a mini museum with artifacts and newspaper clippings dating back to the 1960s. Even the jawbone of a sperm whale which washed up near Beachwood a few years ago was destroyed in the blaze. Some of the artifacts from the education centre were going to feature at the upcoming Durban Land, Sea and Air Festival, set to take place in March. The 76 hectare reserve also recently featured on SABC’s 50/50 nature show.
Basil Pather, conservation manager at the reserve, said his team was devastated by the news. He added that the reserve would honour all the tours scheduled for the coming weeks. “We can’t turn people away. The point of the education centre was to teach school pupils about conservation and we intend to fulfill that obligation,” he said.
Shelly Neilson, regular visitor to the reserve and member of the Rotaract Club of Durban, said she was devastated by the news.
“Our club recently began a project to raise awareness and celebrate the diversity of the reserve and this is so upsetting. The artifacts that were lost do not hold any monetary value, they had been collected from the reserve over many years. It saddens me that we have lost such a valuable resource centre that aids in educating the youth about sustaining our environment.
“The mangroves are an integral part of our ecosystems and the resource centre held all the information that was essential in educating people about the mangroves. This attack was malicious and it has impacted many more lives than most people would anticipate,” she said.
Lt Raymond Deokaran, spokesman for the Durban North SAPS said he believes the fire was started intentionally. He added the police believed the suspected arsonists were part of a group of vagrants who were forcibly removed from the mangroves recently.
Deokaran said the vagrants had been living in the protected mangroves illegally.
