Education and Visitor Centre planned for SANCCOB Cape Town

At SANCCOB Cape Town we are fundraising to build a Visitor and Education Centre, offering a multi-purpose facility on the premises in Table View, Cape Town. This new facility will provide a larger space to accommodate more learners accessing SANCCOB’s environmental education programme, an improved visitor experience, and will aid SANCCOB to improve its self-sustainability to continue its conservation work to reverse the decline of southern African seabirds.

The new development was conceptualised from the need to upgrade SANCCOB’s current education room to accommodate larger groups of learners and have universally accessible ablution facilities, which is currently lacking. Other needs that led to this project launch include a necessary expansion to host training workshops and conferences, and to have a coffee shop and souvenir shop to generate a supplementary income.

The Visitor Centre with new entrance will be constructed adjacent to the existing facilities and offer exceptional views of the Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Table Mountain, as well as a view of the resident African penguins and seabirds at SANCCOB Cape Town’s Home Pen.

Our Education Department reaches thousands of school learners annually through its formal education programme and on-site school visits from education institutions in Cape Town, and educates young people about marine conservation, recycling practices and how to be custodians of natural resources in their years ahead.

While the all-new education room will be primarily used for hosting school groups and training during the day, it will also be made available for hire to other institutions for conferences, meetings and events on days where no educational activities are scheduled. Funding a project such as this gives supporters the opportunity to make a broad-based impact that will benefit SANCCOB’s penguin and seabird rehabilitation for generations to come. We invite you to be a part of that legacy, where your donation gives today and provides for tomorrow.

Seed funding of R2 million has been secured, as well as pledged funding from committed corporates and trusts and foundations. SANCCOB has a mammoth task to raise R4.4 million in the months ahead to realise its goal and provide a facility that will benefit stakeholders and the organisation’s future income prospects.

Support is also welcome in the form of donations-in-kind to help us equip the facility with modernised learning tools and event equipment for the coffee shop and venue hiring. Connect with SANCCOB’s Resource Development Department to find out more or make a donation online.

“Education is one of the pillars of SANCCOB’s vision to bring the concept of marine conservation into the lives of young people. The majority of children received at the centre via our education programme are Learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN) and learners from under-resourced communities, so the lessons and setting we provide is truly a life-changing experience. This newest building project was initially part of SANCCOB’s seabird hospital planning and with the hospital now opened since November 2018, we are excited to finally move forward,” says Sharnay Wagner, SANCCOB’s Education Supervisor.

SANCCOB is fortunate to have received pledged support from corporates and foundations, and earnestly need the further funding support to realise this goal, together.