APSS Groundbreaking Ceremony August 2014
August 21, 2014 by dyertrust
On the 19th of August a group of high level individuals passionate about conservation, gathered at the Birkenhead Lodge grounds at Gansbaai in the Western Cape, to launch a significant partnership aimed at providing a sanctuary for the endangered African Penguin and Seabirds.
The African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary (APSS) will be dedicated to the unconditional welfare of distressed seabirds in the Overstrand region, said Wilfred Chivell of the Dyer Island Conservation Trust (DICT), and words cannot express how grateful we are for the support of our donors which have made today possible.
The Dyer Island Conservation Trust is driving the establishment of the rehab centre supported by Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA), Wildlands, Grindrod Bank and the Blue Fund.
The Dyer Island Conservation Trust has expressed a desperate need for a rehab centre. Currently any birds found injured are sent to SANCCOB (Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds) in Cape Town where they are rehabilitated and then released in the Cape Town area, said Chivell of DICT. SANCCOB does a fantastic job however, it is a fair distance away from Dyer Island and results in unnecessary stress for the birds as well as difficulty in finding their home colony due to the distance on release.</