Petition to reclaim the Florence Bloom Bird Sanctuary

The sanctuary has, in recent years, become derelict due to a combination of lack of maintenance and illegal vagrants who have occupied the space.

Ward 117 councillor Tim Truluck noted that the upkeep of the area has been a concern for the residents in the neighbouring suburbs.

The issue came to the forefront during a community clean-up initiative in Delta Park on 24 January.

The bird sanctuary was found to be one of the main gathering points for vagrants, and has been littered with trash and other miscellaneous clutter.

In response to this, an online petition has been sent out to local residents.

Click here to go to the link to the petition.

Geoff Lockwood, resident manager of the nearby Delta Environmental Centre, said, “When the sanctuary was [ailing] about 10 years ago [the centre] independently raised about R300 000 to put the sanctuary back on its feet.”

“The sanctuary falls under the environmental section of City Parks, and the petition is about getting the sanctuary [more priority] on their agenda. Conservation is usually the first area in their budget that gets trimmed,” he said.

Lockwood highlighted that the petition was aimed at getting more involvement, not just from City Parks, but also from the community.

He further emphasised that they were not necessarily asking City Parks to do it all, as they are happy to be involved in a partnership, but there were instances when they needed more commitment from the City.

“For example, we needed a wood chipper for trees that had been cut down, but no one [at City Parks] could provide us with one,” said Lockwood.

Jenny Moodley, marketing manager for City Parks, noted that a team had been deployed to the area. She explained that horticultural services were rolled out to bird sanctuaries and nature conservation areas on a 90-day cycle.

“The tenacity of residents displayed in protecting and preserving critical conservation spaces such as the Florence Bloom Bird Sanctuary is commended and goes a long way in building a healthy and vibrant city,” said Moodley.

Lockwood said that although more maintenance of the area will not necessarily solve the vagrant problem, it would contribute to improving the situation.

Do you think the onus is on City Parks to maintain the bird sanctuary at Delta Park?

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