UMLALAZI Lagoon and River was abuzz with youngsters cleaning up the river bank.
With help from Pizzazz Modeling Agency, some local teens and children got their hands a little dirty collecting rubbish which filled a number of black refuse bags on Saturday.
The Umlalazi Lagoon is a popular tourist attraction for watersports’ enthusiasts and fishermen alike.
Recreational and commercial ski-boat boat fishermen also launch their boats in the lagoon and then head for the Indian Ocean via the mouth of the Umlalazi River.
The river is teeming with wildlife and keeping it beautiful is one of Brendan Bristow’s, of the Wildlife Heritage Organisation Zululand (WHOZ), main goals.
‘I have spent so many wonderful hours the past couple of decades on this river and I want my children and their children to experience this little bit of heaven,’ Bristow explained.
During the festive season the lagoon and river sees a marked increase in the number of vistors and with them comes more garbage and litter. Wind and spring tides moves the rubbish onto the river banks and when the tide drops, the garbage remains there.
Using Bristow’s barge, the volunteers moved along the river bank and picked up anything that did not belong there.
‘The day was a great success, we all enjoyed ourselves and did a great job cleaning up,’ Pizzazz Modeling Agency’s Tatum Bristow said, after a good few wind-blown hours on and in the water.
