Braille Coastal signage officially launched at Blaauwberg Nature Reserve
12 February 2026
The City of Cape Town, in partnership with Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA), Nedbank, Blind SA, the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) and the Ford WildLife Foundation, unveiled South Africa’s first Braille coastal environmental education signage at Blaauwberg Nature Reserve’s Eerste Steen on Wednesday, 11 February 2026. The launch was officially opened by the City of Cape Town’s Deputy Mayor, Alderman Eddie Andrews, and featured a keynote address by the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), Willie Aucamp. Representatives from the blind community, along with key stakeholders and project partners, shared reflections on the significance of this milestone initiative. The event concluded with a live Braille reading of the newly installed signage, marking a meaningful step towards greater environmental accessibility and inclusion.
‘This is a national first, and an important one. Our beaches and nature reserves may be public spaces, but for blind and partially sighted people, meaningful engagement with these environments has largely remained out of reach. For WESSA, this project says that the gap is not acceptable. For a century, WESSA has worked to enable people to care for the earth. The next century asks something more of us. It asks that we ensure everyone can experience it,’ said the CEO of WESSA, Cindy-Lee Cloete.
The launch of Braille signage reflects a shared commitment to ensuring that blind and partially sighted visitors can engage meaningfully with South Africa’s coastal environments. It forms part of WESSA’s broader Coastal Programme, including the Blue Flag and Green Coast initiatives, and is grounded in the principle that South Africa’s natural heritage should be accessible to all citizens.
‘For a visually impaired visitor, this means arriving at a coastal site and not having to rely entirely on another person to explain what the visual element is all about. It means being able to read with your own hands about the environment, the wildlife, the history and the significance of this place. It means being acknowledged as a person who belongs here. Looking ahead, we are excited about the possibilities for future collaboration. This launch should not be the end, but the beginning,’ said Blind SA’s Abraham Allies.
The Braille coastal signage initiative is not a once-off intervention, but forms part of a long-term accessibility pathway within WESSA’s Coastal Programme, integrating environmental protection, education and social inclusion.
‘Inclusivity cannot remain a well intended concept that lives comfortably in our strategies, policies, and speeches. Protection without access is incomplete, and sustainability without dignity is insufficient. Our coastline is a shared asset that carries ecological value, cultural memory, and public meaning, but it can only truly belong to all of us when access is intentional, inclusive, and human centred. By bringing Braille signage to our coastal spaces, we’re proving that thoughtful design is one of the most powerful tools we have to restore dignity, independence, and a real sense of belonging for every person who comes to the shore,’ said the City of Cape Town’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.
‘We are gathered here, not simply to unveil a set of signboards, but to mark a significant step forward in how we share South Africa’s natural heritage with all her people. This revitalisation is about more than just fresh paint or new timber – it is about inclusivity. We are moving from a philosophy of ‘look and read’ to one of ‘touch, listen, feel and experience,’ concluded the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Willie Aucamp.
Ryan Peter, Director of Coastal Development at DFFE, also reinforced the importance of inclusivity and the principle that coastal resources should benefit every citizen.
Nedbank’s Pedro Rhode highlighted the bank’s support for the initiative, noting that it demonstrates what is possible when government, civil society and the private sector work together to make natural heritage accessible to all.
Blaauwberg Nature Reserve was selected as the launch site as it is the first WESSA Green Coast site in South Africa, making it a strategic location to pilot the initiative ahead of planned expansion to additional Green Coast and, in time, Blue Flag sites along the coastline.
Photos are available here.
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
