Stories

Learners at Bulugha Farm School hit the environmental jackpot this month by winning R10,000 for their school in the TetraPak 2010 Calendar competition.  The learners from Grade six and seven worked with local artist José and Bulugha teacher Ntosh Bokoloshe to produce a poster based on the 4 R’S — Refuse, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.  The learners spent many sessions together generating ideas about the theme and how they would portray it in a poster.  After several attempts, they decided on a simple black and white poster that was bold enough to display their message but would also look attractive as a calendar month.
On finding out that they were lucky to be one of the twelve winning posters selected by Tetrapak for their 2010 calendar, the learners, along with the rest of the school were delighted.  Educator Ms. Bokoloshe said ’ This is fantastic for the learners as it made the hard work worthwhile and now the school can improve their environment using the prize winnings’. 
For their hard work and dedication to producing the poster, the learners each received R100 that was spent on equipment or clothes for their time in school.  With over R9000 left, the school were unsure what to spend their winnings on.  After making an environmental assessment, the staff decided to improve their water situation at the school to ensure that their learners had constant access to water.  Water has been an issue at the school for many years and even though attempts have been made to fix water tanks and taps, with drought occurring so often, the taps have been often broken by learners so that they can access any last drops of water in the tank.  With the prize money, the school, with support from Volunteer Africa 32 Degrees South have fixed guttering, repaired water tanks and plumbed the tanks to a newly built wall and tap where learners can now access clean drinking water and wash their hands after using the toilets.  With water only being available at the sink station, learners no longer have to have contact with the water tanks, preventing unnecessary damage.  This change has been phenomenal for the school and learners are loving having constant access to clean water for washing, drinking and feeding their active food gardens. 
The school are ecstatic with their new facility and hope through educating their learners on correct water usage that this facility will remain functional and able to provide the precious water that is so needed by the learners.  The staff and learners would like to say a big thank you to TetraPak for giving them this opportunity and to WESSA Eco-Schools programme for the support to achieve this project. 

A class from St.Nicholas School in Pietermaritzburg celebrated Water Week by doing an audit on how much water was being wasted in the girls’ and boys’ toilets. The learners then extended their audit to dripping taps. Over the course of a week they found that a lot of water was being wasted. They recorded each dripping tap on a bar graph that they then displayed on the school wall, thus raising awareness of the issue. So what did they do? The solution was very simple - the washers in many of the taps needed to be replaced. The learners also appealed to the rest of the school to make sure taps were turned off properly. A follow-up audit showed that they saved a lot of water, as a result!
 Monde Primary in Katlehong also identified water wastage as an issue in their school and community, with  dripping taps and burst water pipes in their street being part of the problem. They realised that there would always be somebody who would leave the tap dripping no matter how good the washers were! So they placed water collection receptacles, like buckets and even an old bath, under all taps. Dripping water as well as 'lost' water from washing hands is now collected and used on the school gardens. They have also joined with neighbouring schools and wrote to the municipality to fix burst and leaking pipes.

Each class at Glenwood House in George has a bin for recycling paper. The current system hadn't been working as efficiently as hoped. Learners have laminated recycling signs and attached these to the bins. Parents drop off recycling which is then collected from school and taken to the local depot. The high school gives used paper to the pre-primary for use and their Interact group also collects used paper and distributes it to crèches for use.

The Ladysmith Environmental Club worked closely with the local municipality around the issue of electricity use and carbon emissions. Through a joint programme on replacing regular lightbulbs with CFLs they encouraged the surrounding community to come an exchange their bulbs with energy efficient bulbs.  Through this initiative they were able to calculate the tons of Carbon they had saved. They extended this project even further by encouraging every household to plant a tree to offset their carbon emissions. In 2005 this club won the International Volvo Adventure Award!!!

An ugly eroded slope dominated the playground area of Mabapa Combined, Limpopo.In the first year an area of about 2 m2 was successfully planted up to help stop the erosion, but the Eco-School working group realised that the problem needed a lot more resources. So they asked the Rotary Club of Haenertsburg for assistance. The Club assisted with sourcing and transporting poles, topsoil, plants suitable for rehabilitation, such as vetiver grass, and water-wise aloes. Rotary members, learners and teachers gathered on a Saturday morning and planted the entire slope. This project will prevent further loss of soil and help to beautify the school.

A science teacher at the Cape Academy in Cape Town was invited by the Centre for Invasive Species Biology to join a programme called Iimbovane. With the help of this partner, his Grade 10s learnt to conduct scientific studies on ants, collecting ants at school, at an open space infested with alien trees, and at a relatively natural area. They sent their samples to the laboratory for identification. The data contributes to a regional programme determining the distribution of ants in the Western Cape, which can be used to study the impact of global warming. The learners also found a greater diversity of ants in the relatively natural areas, and are now planning a project to help bring nature back to disturbed areas. They started by presenting their findings at a local government symposium on sustainable development.
 
Michaelhouse in the Natal Midlands have a large piece of the land which they have diligently managed, over the years, as a conservancy. As part of their Eco-School activities, they have been clearing invasive alien vegetation from the land, which has helped to restore pockets of riverine forest. They have also introduced a herd of Nguni cattle to help reduce the amount bracken and bramble in areas that would normally be grassland. Apart from countless species of bird, the endangered oribi now also finds refuge in the conservancy. All the boys have been involved in the restoration and study of the conservancy.

Learners of the Karoo farm school, Patrysfontein Primary, studied the external features of the Riverine Rabbit in detail while creating a rabbit out of paper maché. What they learnt, helped them to recognise this endangered species when they happened to see it in its natural habitat along the river near their school. This was very important news for the Endangered Wildlife Trust, because the last sighting of a Riverine Rabbit in this area was more than 30 years ago! The school can now take on projects to promote the protection of river banks in their district.

RR Node: Especially learners from Karoo farm schools enjoy to learn about the environment around them as they are living so close to nature. Through well learnt lessons around the RR a new area was actually discovered where the RR occurs - a learner has seen and indentified a RR on a farm 30 years after the last sighting of the animal in that specific area! Learners of another farm school developed a RR info pamphlet that they will take home to their parents and families (most of them are illiterate) on the farms over the Christmas school holidays. This very valuable awareness tool includes alot of photos and pictures around the RRs features, behaviour and threats and it will assist to teach farm laborers to create an understanding for the species and to conserve it and its habitat.

Brakpan Primary in Gauteng saw an opportunity to put rainwater runoff to good use.  Their teachers and parents helped the learners to create a wetland and planted it with wetland plants.  Pretty soon they found frogs, insects and birds coming to enjoy the water.  Now the learners are good at identifying birds, understand the relationship between water and living creatures and enjoy the peace that comes from having a wetland in their garden!
 
Sawmills Combined School in Limpopo Province is committed to providing a balanced meal for their learners. The educators, community and learners all work in the food garden where leafy green vegetables, beetroot, tomatoes and carrots are being grown with permaculture methods. They have also started a fish pond to attract frogs and toads to the garden; these will eat insect pests and prevent the use of pesticides.

Nottingham Rd Combined School and Hilton Farm school in the Natal Midlands investigated the use of local plants as indigenous foods. They went out into their community and did a survey to find out what plants people were using in their ‘emifinos’. Their mothers and grandmothers told them about some of the plants they sometimes used such as black jacks, buchu and other locally grown spinaches. They also learned about the high nutritional value of these plants. The class even then went onto experiment cooking a delicious emifino using a solar cooker.

Kings School, also in Nottingham Rd have addressed nutritional issues very simply  through implementing a rule at school: . No sweets, fizzy drinks, chips  or tartrazine loaded products are allowed ONLY cracker biscuits, fruit, nuts, fruit juices, cheese wedges, dried fruit and biltong are permitted as snacks at school.
 
Mabongi Mtshali runs an environmental club at a museum. The club members were tasked to find out how many birds their parents and elders in the community knew. This started a project in which they investigated isiZulu proverbs and local knowledge, as well as the local birdlife. Could Ms Mtshali help them to start bird gardens to attract birds, and teach others about birds, and about the rich cultural heritage related to nature, in Kwazulu-Natal?

The Ridge – primary school for boys – focussed on the environment when they celebrated Heritage Week, recognising that without the environment any other heritage couldn’t exist!  Apart from watching Al Gore’s dvd ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, Grade 4-7 learners discovered that items of electronic ‘waste’ weren’t really waste at all and could be used to manufacture robots in their science class.

The Walter Sisulu Environmental Education Centre in Mamelodi have a vision of all schools in Mamelodi flying their green flags.  They realised that to achieve this they’d need to set an example and gain the green flag themselves.   They achieved their flag in one year and the lessons that they developed through this benefit all the many schools which visit them.  How’s that for an excellent example of working for the Community?

At the Springbok Primary School in the Northern Cape, two Grade 4 teachers invited learners to find out the names of the numerous wild flowers of Namaqualand. This led to a science project in which they learnt traditional names, as well as the medicinal and other uses of their local plants. They also visited the nearby National Park and met elders with an extensive knowledge of the veld. The school could start a wild flower garden and produce a scrap book with photos, art work and stories about indigenous plants, as part of a tourism initiative, perhaps with the Park as partner.

A considerable distance past Giyani, which is to hell and gone, and only about 10 km short of the KNP border, in a distant corner of Limpopo, is this village called Mningisi. The thatched rondavels crowd together and their pointed roofs challenge the hard blue sky; and the ground is rocky, rocky and hard, I’ve never seen so many rocks in one place.

In the village are a high school and Pfunani Primary School, an eco-school. The rocks grow even more thickly at Pfunani, if that is possible. The staff and learners have picked up most of these rocks and created all these rockeries and edged garden beds. They have borehole water so water is no problem, luckily. There are flowers everywhere.

The first time I went there the whole staff attended a workshop with me, plus the ground staff, plus 3 women from the village who volunteer their time to work in the vegetable garden. They had to translate for the benefit of the ground staff.

I went back today to check that their portfolio is on track. (it is). They have put shadecloth over their nursery and dug winding irrigation channels for their vegetables. In another part of the school is a row of planted fruit trees as well as seedlings which they are selling. They have drip irrigation using old coke bottles, and a sprinkler made from an old coke bottle. When I dropped off two of the teachers in Giyani, they had the same sprinklers in their garden.

When I left they gave me a cold coke.

PS- They recycle paper and cardboard and put this in a large sack with chicken manure. Through this they run water and the effluent is used to fertilize the veggie garden.

PPS these people with a carbon footprint of close to zero are putting Al Gore and the rest of us to shame.

Gustav Reichel Primary School, is situated amidst a small, impoverished community, with high unemployment, in Eerste Rivier, Eastern Cape. Those parents who are employed work for commercial farms in the area or seasonally (December month) for holiday makers coming to the small private beach about 5 km from the school. The homes are without running water or electricity so people get their water from a tap on the school grounds and use pit toilets. Alcoholism and malnutrition are just two of the major poverty related diseases that this community battles with. Learners were coming to school hungry and often stayed away due to illness.
Children attending this school have very slim prospects for finishing their education at high schools, due to lack of transport to nearby schools; accommodation or funds to house them near high Schools. As a result their chances of meaningful employment are also severely restricted.

Because of these circumstances the dedicated educators and principal of this school determined to teach the children the skills needed for sustaining their health. With the help of donations they fenced the school, established an orchard, a herb garden and a very successful gardening project, which feeds the children and the needy in the community on a daily basis. They have also involved the surrounding community in gardening projects and competitions. They signed up for eco schools and it  is very inspiring to visit this school and see how almost every small house and shack now has a healthy vegetable garden attached to it. So even though prospects are poor and money is scarce, they can all feed themselves healthy foods.

Gustav Reichel  have responded appropriately to a crisis in their area and are addressing it. The crisis is poverty, unemployment, lack of opportunity and bleak prospects. What they have done is ensure that the learners have the skills to feed themselves and their families in a healthy and nutritious way. They have incorporated gardening, food production and marketing into all aspects of the curriculum. They also have a strong focus on healthy living habits. The learners very seldom miss a day of school now, and never go hungry. Not only are the learners better equipped to face life with its hardships, but their families are better able to care for themselves because of the school’s focus on self sustainability through food production, and their outreach to the whole community.

Green issues take a back seat in Manuels plans

Environment was not a word that featured prominently in Finance Minister Trevor Manuels Budget speech yesterday.
And where it did occur, he was referring to the built environment.
This, Manuel said, related to a cluster of activities and services that helped to build secure, viable residential communities, and included housing, water, sanitation, electrification, roads, sports facilities, police stations, schools and clinics.
While some of these like water and sanitation are core elements of what are often referred to as brown environmental issues that lie at the heart of social justice and sustainability, the more traditional green environmental issues were not mentioned.
Rob Little, acting chief executive of World Wide Fund for Nature - South Africa (WWF-SA), said he was disappointed but not surprised.
We havent had any mention of the environment for a few years now, basically since the World Summit on Sustainable Development (in 2002), and its very unfortunate that we dont. Little said he hoped President Thabo Mbeki would have raised the topic in his recent State of the Nation address in Parliament and that he would have explained how the natural environment was the basis of the economy and the health of the nation.
That was a further disappointment, he said. But he knew there was a real commitment by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, he said.
Bruce McKenzie, director of the Botanical Society of SA, also said he was disappointed at the low profile of the environment in national Budget speeches but said this was pretty normal.
I always find it extremely disappointing, its just never mentioned, he said.
The only time we get an understanding (of the budgetary implications for the environment) is when the national minister or the provincial minister gives his or her budget speech. The Budget allocation for the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has increased for the 2007/8 financial year to R2.591 billion -~ an increase of R563 million or nearly 28o.
For the next two financial years it has been budgeted to increase to R2.79bn and R2.97bn respectively This means the 2009/10 Budget will have more than doubled the 2003/4 allocation of Rl.45bn.
johnyeld@inLco za

Gauteng

Programme provides pupils with means to make lifestyle decisions

The Jewish National Fund Walter Sisulu Environmental centre in Mamelodi (JNFWSEC) will host the Eco-Schools Flag Ceremony on Februaxy 8, from 09:00 until 12:00.
The Worldwide Fund - South Africa (WWF-SA) and the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa), supports the Eco-Schools programme. It was developed in partnership with the Department of Education and is funded by Nampak.
The aim of the programme is to provide pupils with the capacity and skills to make informed decisions about their lifestyles.
According to the National Eco-Schools co-ordinator team member, Caroline Conway-Physick, since the programme was launched two and half years ago in South Africa, the number of schools that have registered with the programme around the country has increased from 56, in 2003 to 778, in 2006.
Of these schools. 228 were awarded Eco- Schools Flag Status for 2006, she says.
The programme is now in its third year and shows every sign of becoming an important and influential framework that can be adopted by schools as a tangible way of working towards local and global goals of sustainable development.
Eco-Schools is an international programme that originally started in Europe in 1994, currently participating in 37 countries The South Aflican initiative differs significantly from the programme run in Europe in that it has been oriented to focus on strengthening environmental learning in the curriculum.
Four schools from the Tshwane South Educational District will be awarded green flags at the ceremony.
Pupils will also be allowed an opportunity to engage in activities that will encourage them to get to know each other and their teachers.
Guests will include representatives from the Israeli Embassy, Gauteng Department of Education, WWF-SA, Eco-Schools South Africa and Tetrapak.

Eastern Cape Region

Eco-Schools in the Eastern Cape 2006

The WESSA/WWF-SA Eco-School programme has been running in South Africa for the past 4 years. Over this period, the programme, originally developed in Europe, has captured the imagination of schools throughout the country. The programme, in its essence, revolves around a school that has made a commitment to continuously improving its environmental performance through working towards better environmental learning and better environmental management. The success of the Eco-Schools programme, albeit on a small scale, demonstrates how a fairly simple and cost-effective programme, can strengthen community participation in schooling and unleash the potential for integrating knowledge across learning areas in ways that promote learner activity. In total, 133 schools registered in the Eastern Cape and 49 schools managed to get their award this year. Some of these schools celebrated their achievements at the Regional Eco-Schools Award Ceremony on 01 December 2006 in Butterworth. astern Cape are co-funded by the Group, Foschini Limited has the following operating divisions: Foschini, branded as Foschini, Donna Claire, Fashion Express and Luella Markham Exact! The Sports Division, branded as Sportscene, Totalsports and DueSouth TFG Apparel Supply Company The Jewellery Division, branded as American Swiss, Sterns and Matrix Financial Services comprising Retail Credit Solutions, RCS Private Label Cards and RCS Personal Finance @home and @homelivingspace These divisions retail clothing, jewellery, accessories, cosmetics, sporting and outdoor apparel and equipment and homewares to the broad middle-income Group throughout South Africa. The financial services division offers pre-approved loans, mainly to qualifying customers of the Group, and credit to customers of merchants outside of the Group. THE FOSC FOSCHINl exact!

Flags flying for the environment

The teachers have really put effort into bringing environmental issues into their classrooms and creating lessons that are interesting and related to the curriculum.
Growing food gardens is just one of the many plans that the six Eco-schools of the Blouberg area have started on. They are all registered with the WESSA/WWF-SA Eco-Schools Programme, aimed at bringing the environment into the classroom in a manner that is integral to the curriculum. De Beers Venetia Mine funds the programme for these six Blouberg Ecoschools.
Recently the Limpopo Eco-schools were assessed and two of the Blouberg schools were awarded Eco-flags. Leboho and Malenkwana schools submitted portfolios showing evidence of what theyve achieved throughout the year and on this basis were awarded their flags.
In their quest to be awarded a green Eco-school flag for outstanding effort in improving their environment and learning, each school must work on projects and lessons.
The teachers have really put effort into bringing environmental issues into their classrooms and creating lessons that are interesting, informative and related to the curriculum.
In all, 72 schools in Umpopo registered with the programme, most of these from rural areas. At the end of October, 36 ~chools submitted portfolios and 23 were awarded their flags this year. Among these proud flag-flyers are Polokwane English Medium Preparatory School and Mitchell House Preparatory School.
Achieving a flag is no mean feat, especially if all the challenges learners have to face growing their vegetable gardens are taken into account. Mostly the lack of water, or the problem to get the water to the garden, is the biggest challenge. Add the fiery summer weather, the lack of compost, Intruders like hungry chicken and goats, and the fact that at most of these schools growing vegetables are an important part of feeding children to the list, and the achievement gets even more outstanding.
Eco-schools are not saving the planet in one day, but they are building an environmental ethos into the lives of their learners and practically doing small things every day that will, in the long run and, if enough people do them, make a difference.
Please contact Bronwyn Egan at (015) 291 4650 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.
Learners at Malenkwane cooking homegrown butternut in a sun stove.
Learners of Masete working in their vegetable garden.

Garden Route Primer kry die groen vlag

Garden Route Primre Skool in Asia Park het weereens die gesogte Eco-Skole groen viag vir 2006 ontyang van WESSA WWFSA.
Hierdie skool is siegs een van slegs ses gekose skole in die groter Mosselbaai gebied wat hierdie besonderse toekenning vii 2006 ontvang het.
Slegs 210 skole van die aanvanklike 765 wat ingeskryf het vii hierdie program, het vanj aar groen vlae ontyang.
Die Eko-Skole projek is n internasionale program watreedsin 1994sy ontstaan in Europa gehad het.
Die program word ondersteun deur WWF Suid-Afrika, die natuuriewe organisasie, die Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) en Nampak.
Volgens me Hettie Gets, l3estuurder van WWF Suid-Afrika, is die doei van die program om leerders met die bekwaamheid en vaardigheid te voorsien om ingeligte besluite te kan neem ten opsigte van hul lewensstyl en verhouding met hul omgewing.
Die Suid-Afrikaanse program was ontwikkel in samewerking met die Departement Onderwys en fokus daarop om kiem te Iop die kurrikulum en die implementering daarvan in skole.
Die program was gekoordineer deur mnre Kees en Abrahams van die Garden Route Primre Skool. Onder leiding van hul dinamiese leierskap en met die voile ondersteuning van me Jeffery, skoolhoof bier, is hierdie program met entoesiasme en toewyding aangepak. Daar is deurgaans kiem gel op die voortdurende omgewingsbewustheid onder leerders, onderwysers en personeel, en verseker dat hierdie omgewings-inligting en aktiwiteite deurgaans terugfilter na die kiaskamer.
Die skool het verkies om in die fokusarea te werk wat die skoolgronde en veidwerk ingesluit het, asook aksie programme en kompetisies. Van hierdie aktiwiteite waarby alma! betrokke was, het onder meer ook die plant van borne o Nasionale Boomplantdag ingesluit, wat deur elke leerder, onderwyser en personeellid se deelname gekenmerk was.
Die jonger leerders was veral betrokke by die opruiming van die skoolgronde. Ander projekte was ook geloods.
Die Graad 6 en 7 leerders was betrokke by die Jaar van die Skilpad projek en het n uitstalling by die Diaz Museum geloods, gedurende November maand. Rietvlei Primre Skool het ook gedurende hierdie week, met die Omgewingskool toekenning van 2006 weggestap.
Garden Route Primre Skool se groen viag sal weer vir die jaar hang.
Die skool is ook reeds besig met hul groot planne vir 2007 om te verseker dat hierdie groen viag nog lank sal hang! Vir meer inligting oor die Eko-skole projek, kontak gerus vir Lorrain McGibbon by 044-8707038 of e-mail haar by wessa This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Leerders van Garden Route Prlmre Skool vertoon trots die Groen Vlag toekenning, wat hulle, met harde work en toewyding, bekom hot.