Ingcungcu

The Ingcungcu Sunbird Restoration Project aims to link the Table Mountain National Park with the Boland Mountains via a series of pollinator gardens that will act as filling stations for migrating sunbirds and sugarbirds crossing the densely urbanized Cape Flats. This migration route is especially important when fires temporarily decimate the vegetation, forcing the birds to leave in search of nectar. We are reopening this route by planting gardens of carefully selected nectar-producing plants on strategically located school grounds where they act as “filling stations” for birds. The migration corridor crosses the suburbs of Cape Town were school children from diverse backgrounds are engaged in all aspects of the project, from planting to the collection of bird and plant data. For many this is their only contact with nature.

Ingcungcu (plural Iingcungcu) is a Xhosa word meaning ‘long-billed bird’, and is also used to refer to royalty.