RESIDENTS of Prestondale have partnered with the Umhlanga Ridge Town Centre Management Association to rehabilitate and transform the Parkside/Autumn Drive wetland situated next to the Umhlanga Ski Boat Club.
The wetland, which is home to various species of birdlife and wildlife, will be transformed over a 12 month period.
According to Justin Newcombe-Bond of the management association, the project to rejuvenate the wetland will see the rehabilitation of the wetland, damaged earlier this year by the heavy rains, and the restoration of the area by planting indigenous trees and shrubs.
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“We have a quarterly maintenance of the wetland and through that we’ve reduced the impact of alien invasive species in the area, however, more needs to be done as there is still quite a lot of invasive species to remove. The association is working with professionals we associate with and we envision a substantial rehabilitation over a 12 month period with the planting of new trees and shrubs.
“We feel the area has substantial educational value and offers another green space in the uMhlanga New Town Centre. What has been great to see is to have members of the Prestondale community, like Sean Keyter, who made contact with us and said he would like to get involved which is great,” he said.
Local resident, Sean Keyter, said the end goal of the rehabilitation project was to have a fully interactive wetland park.
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“We want the community to enjoy our green spaces. We hope to install a boardwalk around the reserve where the community can come down and watch the birds. We also plant to have signs on the indigenous trees that will be planted showing residents what type of flora is in the wetland.
“I often come down to the area and watch the birdlife. As Justin has mentioned, one of the main goals now is to remove all the alien invasive plants and give the endemic species a chance to grow,” Keyter said.
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