Amanzimtoti eco warriors clean up Japanese Gardens
The group invites like-minded eco warriors to join them this Sunday for a work party from 9am.
Nature lovers have shifted their attention to Toti’s Japanese Gardens to clear its waterways. “On Monday (26 October) we went to help Nicky van Staden, who reported fish dying from a lack of oxygen, which happens when water lilies, pistia and Kariba weed block the entire surface and causes a lack of oxygen and sunlight. We need to maintain these areas better,” said eco warriors Shaun Callaghan and Chanel Geldenhuys.
On Tuesday they were back at the gardens, doing back-breaking work to pull the weeds closer to the shore with pool noodles and palm leaves, to remove the pistia from the water so that the fish can breath again.
“The plan is to make floating filtration islands in the dam, similar to the river booms that use three eco-bricks wrapped together with shade cloth to trap effluent. With the islands, I’m going to bend the shade cloth around into a circle and tie the two ends together and a piece of shade cloth hanging down, so it looks almost like a floating pool.
The shade cloth will sink below the water and we are going to put bullrush and other filtration plants inside the floating ponds, so it cleans the water while floating around. Hopefully we can create a sanctuary island in the middle of the dam, where birds can rest on.” Vincent De Beer has offered about 200 free tilapia to restock the dam once it is cleared of weeds.
READ ALSO: Great success for pilot project to clean Amanzimtoti’s rivers
Extra hands make light work and the group invites like-minded eco warriors to join them this Sunday for a work party from 9am. The entrance is situated at 54 Fynn Road. “We have plenty of forks and equipment, so we just need extra hands.” If you are keen to help, call Shaun on 084-516-7463.
