- The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sanccob) recently inaugurated its new Education and Visitor Centre in Table View.
- This facility features interactive educational spaces, a souvenir shop, and a cafeteria.
- The opening event highlighted the collaborative effort from local and international supporters.
To educate the public on African penguins and other seabirds, the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sanccob) last week celebrated the official opening of its newly-built Education and Visitor Centre in Table View.
The event, attended by partners, funders and the Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, marked a significant milestone for the non-profit organisation.
The new centre, designed to support Sanccob’s expanding environmental education programme, features a spacious education area with views of African penguins and other seabirds, an interactive screen and wall, a souvenir shop, and a cafeteria set to open to the public by the end of the month.
The new development was conceptualised from the need to provide a multi-purpose venue for large groups of learners and have universally accessible ablution facilities, Sanccob said at the opening.
The education space will also allow hosting of scientific talks, training workshops for skills development to impart valuable seabird expertise as well as conferences with local and international partners. The centre’s souvenir shop and cafeteria are ideally placed to generate a supplementary income stream to support Sanccob’s conservation work to reverse the decline of southern African seabird populations.
“We have received generous support from local and international businesses, individuals, institutions and foundations, which have either sponsored furnishings and building materials or contributed financially to the new building,” said Natalie Maskell, Sanccob’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO). “We are grateful for their support to make this project a reality and excited about the impact for our environmental education programme and improved visitor experience.”
Save our seabirds
At the opening last week Hill-Lewis said all the efforts the City was making to clean up and improve the quality of watercourses were beginning to make a difference.
“And this is thanks largely to the leadership and remarkable work done by Sanccob to protect and save our seabirds. I have no doubt that the impact this facility will have on the tens of thousands of children who come through its doors and hope that it inspires many more people to consider professional conservation as a profession in the years ahead.”
Each year Sanccob hosts thousands of touring and local visitors, school learners and corporate groups who make their way to the organisation’s seabird hospital to gain insight into seabird rehabilitation and conservation efforts for which the non-profit is renowned worldwide.
Chick rearing, seabird rehabilitation, oiled wildlife preparedness and response and disease surveillance are just some of the specialties offered via workshops and on-site training, and delegates will now experience these teachings in a top-class facility.
Funds
“Over and above the education aspect, the facilities offered at the new centre will strengthen our income to cover core expenses of veterinary and rehabilitative care for seabirds admitted,” Maskell added, “which is crucial for an organisation such as ours that relies on donor funding. The endangered African penguin is our flagship species and, in our endeavour to prevent its extinction, we execute all measures necessary for its safeguarding. These measures vary from employing in-field rangers who monitor the colonies and carry out proactive colony sweeps in the event of extreme weather conditions, to Sanccob’s co-litigation against the office of the Minister of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment for its unlawful and irrational decision regarding no-take fishing zones. All our interventions bear a cost, and it’s important to be innovative with our income generation to do whatever it takes to provide protection for southern African seabirds.”
The public can book an informative tour with Sanccob’s education department from 09:00 to 15:00, seven days a week. The souvenir shop and cafeteria will be accessible regardless of opting for a paid tour. To visit will school learners, corporate groups or to hire the venue, contact the centre at 021 557 6155 or email reception@sanccob.co.za
