SA first as Braille coastal signage arrives at Cape Town nature reserve [pics]
A nature reserve in Cape Town has made history after it unveiled SA's first Braille coastal environmental education signage.
![SA first as Braille coastal signage arrives at Cape Town nature reserve [pics]](https://www.thesouthafrican.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Braille.jpg.optimal.jpg?#)
A Cape Town nature reserve has introduced South Africa’s first Braille coastal environmental education signage for blind and partially sighted visitors.
The new tactile signs were unveiled at Blaauwberg Nature Reserve’s Eerste Steen this week.
The project is a partnership between Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA), Blind SA, the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities, and the City of Cape Town.
The Braille initiative forms part of WESSA’s broader coastal programme, which includes its Green Coast and Blue Flag sites. Blaauwberg was selected as the pilot location because it is South Africa’s first WESSA Green Coast site.
Reserve more inclusive with Braille installations
For many visually impaired visitors, accessing information at beaches and reserves has meant relying on others. That is what this project aims to change.
“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,” said Blind SA’s Abraham Allies.
“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,”
WESSA CEO Cindy-Lee Cloete described the Braille launch as a turning point for environmental access in the country.
“This is a national first, and an important one,” she said.
“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.”
A word from the deputy mayor
City of Cape Town Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews said inclusion must move beyond policy statements and into practical design. “Protection without access is incomplete, and sustainability without dignity is insufficient,” he said.
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Willie Aucamp said the move signals a shift in how South Africa shares its natural heritage. “We are moving from a philosophy of ‘look and read’ to one of ‘touch, listen, feel and experience,’” Aucamp added.
The Braille signage is intended as the first step in a longer-term plan. Partners hope to expand the initiative to additional Green Coast sites and, eventually, to Blue Flag beaches along SA’s coastline.
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