African Penguins are on the brink of extinction, largely due to dwindling food sources caused by climate change and commercial fishing. With fewer than 10,000 breeding pairs left.
With this in mind, the whole of the TNEI Africa team spent a day of their time on a sunny day in October volunteering at SANCCOB seabird Sanctuary as their 25th Anniversary celebration. They definitely win the prize across the group for the most exotic volunteering location!
SANCCOB is a registered non-profit organisation whose primary objective is to reverse the decline of seabird populations through the rescue, rehabilitation and release of ill, injured, abandoned and oiled seabirds – especially endangered species like the African penguin.
Since working with these threatened birds takes specialist training, volunteers that visit the centre are normally assigned tasks that the penguin experts do not have time for. (There was more than one team member that was relieved that our volunteering did not involve close contact with penguins!)
The team spent the morning washing enormous windows, laminating posters and cleaning their water filtering machinery. They learned that mosquito bites can be deadly for penguins as they can contract avian malaria!
It was amazing to see the work the sanctuary does. They even have an onsite theatre where operations can be performed on injured or sick birds. It takes a lot of time and dedication to rehabilitate these birds, but SANCCOB is dedicated to make a difference.
Work at the sanctuary never ends and they must always be prepared for emergencies such as oil spills.
It might also be the only place in Cape Town that generates more washing than our kids!!!
After completing our tasks at SANCCOB the team headed to the local beach to collect some litter.
It was concerning to see the number of straws and other plastic on the beach. Physically collecting the litter from the beach reminded the team to be even more responsible when disposing of litter and to avoid using single use plastics in general.
Thank you our TNEI Africa team for spending a day volunteering in celebration of TNEI’s 25th Anniversary!
If you would like to make a difference as well:
There is a movement to urge the South African government to establish effective no-take zones (no fishing) around key colonies and enforce stronger protections against marine pollution.
Please take a moment to sign the petition.
