The WILDTRUST, through the support and commitment of Nedbank is participating in the Youth Employment Services (YES) programme. This programme aims to reduce youth unemployment levels across South Africa by providing one-year quality work-placements aimed at affording practical and meaningful work experiences for unemployed youth between the ages of 18 and 29. Following the … [Read more...]
SA youth picket in Joburg for Earth Day
On Earth Day 2021, the Climate Justice Action Group (CJAG) held a picket demonstration outside Gauteng’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) to call attention to the ongoing socio-environmental injustices that continue in South Africa. CJAG is a youth-based group facilitated by driven by Earthlife Africa Johannesburg to promote awareness of climate justice … [Read more...]
Cultivating a passion for sustainable development in university students
Fresh life for old tyres; visionary 3D-printing for construction: these are just some of the clever and sustainable ideas presented by university students competing in the annual Growthpoint Properties and Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) Greenovate Awards. The University of Stellenbosch triumphed overall, notably in the engineering category – which … [Read more...]
Energy performance certificate boosts energy efficiency
SANEDI believes that the issuing of the first-ever Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for a building in South Africa recently is a landmark achievement that will encourage energy efficiency across the board. According to the International Energy Agency buildings account for approximately 30% of global energy consumption and 40% of total direct and indirect CO2 emissions. … [Read more...]
Schools club to increase recycling knowledge and awareness
It is no secret that educating children about the environment and the importance of recycling is key to ensuring that we create a generation of responsible adults. It is with this in mind that last year, PETCO began looking for a partner who would have the experience and reach to spread the message about recycling (and specifically PET recycling) in schools in South Africa. … [Read more...]
The importance of youth participation in environmental governance
South Africa’s democracy is a combination of a representative and participatory democracy, meaning we elect our representatives to govern our country on our behalf, but that public participation is entrenched as a crucial element in South Africa’s Constitution to ensure our growing democracy reflects the will of the people. Through public participation, South African … [Read more...]
Blue Sky Awards launched in SA for young researchers
The local leg of the Blue Sky Young Researchers Innovation Award has been launched by the Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (PAMSA). The 2020-2021 round is the third edition of this award, organised by the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA), to which PAMSA belongs. It invites young students and researchers in wood and fibre-based … [Read more...]
Let’s help Ayakha Melithafa get to Davos
Ayakha Melithafa, a 17-year-old climate justice activist from Khayelitsha has been invited to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland from 19-24 January 2020. There she will represent the youth of South Africa on a number of panels with world-renowned youth climate activist Greta Thunberg. The Forum brings together stakeholders to help address the greatest … [Read more...]
Fossil fuel divestment: will UCT finally heed the call?
It is now six years since Fossil Free SA first called on the University of Cape Town (UCT) to phase out all investments in climate-destroying fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. In those six years, the global fossil fuel divestment movement has grown from a handful of institutions to well over a thousand, including New York, Paris, London, our own city of Cape Town; a whole … [Read more...]
Save the planet, work in sustainable energy
As students contemplate their next step in their careers in 2020, the energy sector offers current and future employment opportunities, as South Africa renews its efforts to create alternative energy sources (renewables) and better manage current energy production (coal-fired). This is the opinion of Barry Bredenkamp, General Manager for Energy Efficiency at the South … [Read more...]
YouLead Warriors receive youth empowerment award
One of South Africa’s prominent youth climate activists, Ayakha Melithafa along with her fellow ‘YouLead Warriors’ who have completed the year-long YouLead Initiative, have received their Bronze Presidents’ Awards for Youth Empowerment at a ceremony on the 22 November 2019 at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa. The YouLead Initiative is run by local environmental … [Read more...]
Youth Entrepreneurship Programme boosts budding farmers
Nine budding farmers from around the country have made the cut as finalists in the SAB Urban Agriculture / Youth Entrepreneurship Programme. It seeks to have young people identify and invest in hydroponic technology and transform it into thriving farming businesses. Each of the finalists will receive training and investment to grow their farms. In October 2019, Stats … [Read more...]
A youth perspective on eco restoration
Since attending the World Conference on Ecological Restoration existed, I cannot see life in the same way. With the daunting climate challenges we are facing, it shocks me how little most of us know about such an important aspect of our survival. To me, ecological restoration was a foreign term used solely by conservationists and concerning only the environment. This … [Read more...]
