COMMUNITY-DRIVEN NPO, Love Toti, landed at the naturally beautiful Amanzimtoti Bird Sanctuary for its year-long restoration project. The NPO called on the community to volunteer on June 20 to begin the project in earnest.

The sanctuary was chosen to be restored to its former glory as a popular tourist destination for families, bird watchers and photographers.

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While the simple trail offers an opportunity to see 150 beautiful bird species housed by the sanctuary, including Spurwing Geese, Giant Kingfishers, White Faced Ducks or Greenback Herons, some visitors echoed sentiments of feeling unsafe, and complained of poor maintenance or pollution.

Love Toti’s Marion Opperman started the project.

She said, “We wanted a project that would have a huge impact and contribute towards our town’s tourism. The sanctuary is a place that has deep roots in the hearts of anyone who has lived in Amanzimtoti for more than 20 years. It was a place where children explored freely and grandparents connected with their families over tea and scones. We want to bring locals back to this special place and show them that with a little bit of love and care, we have the power to rebuild the places that matter to us most and create safe spaces for our children and grandchildren. The turn-out was extremely surprising, with support coming from Tetelestai Recovery Centre, 1st Amanzimtoti Scouts, eThekwini Municipality grounds keepers and folks of all ages who saw our call for volunteers over Facebook and WhatsApp. We are already in talks with the Endangered Wildlife Trust to assist with ecological issues that they are trained to deal with.”

Kathy Sinclair of Love Toti explained that the project, being long-term from around six months to a year, is divided into different stages.

“We are still in the planning stages and changes will come as we go along. We will be having a project at the bird park each month,” said Sinclair.

Love Toti is looking for corporate sponsors who can help with painting supplies for the bathroom renovations and new umbrellas to make the café area comfortable and beautiful again. Volunteers who would like to help can join its WhatsApp group for more details by messaging 062 686 0712.

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