Tidy Towns Pours Love Into Pennington’s Library and Clinic

Photo Credit: Bronwyn Foulis Tanner via Tidy Towns Pennington NPO on Facebook.

The local NPO has spent months restoring the town’s municipal library and clinic with the help of volunteers.

KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (07 May 2026) – Two new murals now greet everyone who visits Pennington’s municipal library and clinic building! They were created by local graphic designer and artist Shaun Dean.

“Being involved in community projects like this mural means a lot to me as it gives me the opportunity to give back, create something positive, and contribute to spaces that people use every day,” he said. “It reminds me why I started creating art in the first place.”

Photo Credit: Bronwyn Foulis Tanner via Tidy Towns Pennington NPO on Facebook.

The murals are a bright touch adding to an ongoing project that Tidy Towns has been working on for months. Last year, the small town NPO embarked on a full revitalisation of the library and clinic which included repainting the walls, restoring the gardens, and transforming the seating area outside the library into a peaceful spot for visitors.

A local construction team led by resident Craig Oosthuizen donated seven full weeks of work to the project at no charge.

“Giving back to the community is as important as living in it,” Craig said.

Photo Credits: Viv Sandwith via Tidy Towns Pennington NPO on Facebook.

Another business provided paint at a special price, and volunteer Elmerie Brown stepped up to rescue the neglected gardens. She brought in new plants, labour, and fellow green thumbs to help. In the process, the team uncovered a wheelchair-friendly pathway that had been completely swallowed by overgrown shrubs! It had been hidden for so long that no one even knew it was there.

Tidy Towns Pennington is a community-driven organisation run entirely by volunteers. It brings together residents, private security companies, the Umdoni Municipality, local law enforcement, and the business sector around the shared goal of restoring public spaces to clean, safe, and beautiful environments for the benefit of everyone who lives here and everyone who visits.

The organisation is part of a wider Tidy Towns movement that has taken root along the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, born from the simple but radical idea that communities don’t have to wait for someone else to fix things!