Umdloti Community Plants 1,000 Indigenous Plants at Village Entrance

On 12 September 2026, the Umdloti community turned out for an Arbor Week planting drive, putting more than 1,000 indigenous plants in along the village’s entrance. The initiative was driven jointly by the Umdloti Smart Village and the Umdloti Conservancy.

Umdloti Conservancy chairperson Terry-Ann Rens said the taller species chosen, strelitzias, aloes and indigenous hibiscus among them, will screen unsightly buildings from view as they establish. The planting follows eThekwini’s construction of a substantial stormwater culvert at the entrance, itself a response to the catastrophic April and May 2022 floods that damaged the area. The next step is to sow grass and create a new lawn between the plants and the roadside kerb.

The drive fits the Conservancy’s longstanding push for indigenous planting along Umdloti’s approach roads, intended to keep a forest belt running through to the beach for local wildlife, rather than a one-off tidy-up.

No date was given for when the grass-sowing phase will happen, or for when the entrance planting will be considered complete. Check the Umdloti Smart Village or Umdloti Conservancy’s own channels for updates on the next phase.