There are many benefits to wearing a good pair of vinyl gumboots. Apart from their ability to keep feet dry because they are water-resistant, gumboots also provide good grip, sole support and flexibility that makes the boots comfortable to the wearer. PVC gumboots are easy to clean, help avoid the build-up of bacteria and will even shield volunteers from insect or snake … [Read more...]
Creating climate impact with small acts every day
According to a Mail & Guardian article published in 2019, only 58% of Africans have heard the term “climate change,” while four in ten Africans have never heard the term before. Jack Mazingira, Founder of a community-based organisation located in the slums of Nairobi called Towards Green Environment, has seen climate illiteracy first hand. As a trained Climate Reality … [Read more...]
Teachers learn about wild food foraging at Umngeni
There is an expression; “You don’t know what you don’t know” but we beg to differ. This all becomes apparent when 26 teachers from surrounding Midlands schools gathered at the Umngeni river for an edible weed walk lead by vocal slow food activist and passionate locavore, Nikki Brighton. A gentle stroll along the river in the Umngeni Conservancy would take many of the … [Read more...]
Mqeku Picnic Site: an ideal spot for family outings
Head for the great outdoors, enjoy the early-winter crisp weather and discover somewhere new: visit the Mqeku Picnic Site - a magical unexplored playground only 20 minutes from Hillcrest in the heart of the Valley of 1000 Hills. With Youth Day and Father’s Day both coming up in the next fortnight – families may be looking for interesting things to do together. Mqeku … [Read more...]
Business owner recognised for her recycling impact
Loretta Waterboer, the winner of the PETCO Awards Top Woman in Recycling, 2021 is a wonderful and passionate role model for female leadership in our industry, running her own business, LW Recycling and Trade, and partnering with the Mosselbank River Conservation Trust (MRCT) for a bigger impact in her community. When MRCT environmental officer Danielle Cronje started working … [Read more...]
Polystyrene industry steps up to help clean Hennops River
The increased rainfall in Pretoria over the past few weeks has resulted in an increase of waste collection in the so-called "poly-island" litter trap which is cleaned and maintained by the Hennops Revival NPO. The poly-island is a natural litter trap that was created many years ago by two trees that had fallen across the river and became lodged in a V-shape that collects the … [Read more...]
Civil society calls for protection of Piatúa River
On November 26, a coalition of civil society organizations and law professors submitted an amicus brief to Ecuador’s Constitutional Court calling for the protection of the Piatúa River based on the Rights of Nature and Indigenous rights. The Piatúa River is under threat from a hydroelectric project that Ecuador’s government approved without the free, prior, and informed … [Read more...]
Developing a roadmap for managing SA’s plastic waste
Key role-players in the plastics manufacturing, collection and recycling industries, the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) and other interested parties participated in the 2020 Plastics Colloquium feedback session, which was held virtually earlier this month. This was the second Plastics Colloquium following the inaugural event that took place in … [Read more...]
R100 000 water enterprise win brings hope to Limpopo families
An R100 000 prize for a non-profit organisation’s excellent monitoring and evaluation (M&E) methods has made a world of difference to rural Limpopo households battling to survive the ravages of drought and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Association for Water and Rural Development (AWARD), which supports sustainable water resources and communities in the water catchment areas … [Read more...]
Rights of Rivers rapidly gains steam
A new report by the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, Earth Law Center, and International Rivers finds that a movement to grant legal rights to rivers and nature is rapidly gaining momentum globally. The report, Rights of Rivers, examines how the ancient notion that nature possesses basic rights is being adopted in laws from New Zealand to Colombia. Just … [Read more...]
Eco heroes wear masks and make a difference
Each year, the local plastics industry welcomes the arrival of Spring and warmer weather by encouraging citizens to help make a difference where they live, work, learn or play by participating in Clean-Up & Recycle SA Week – an annual public awareness week during which plastics and other litter are removed from our country’s neighbourhoods, rivers, streams, beaches and … [Read more...]
Finding economic and environmental solutions after covid-19
Post-Covid-19, there will be more pressure on governments, NGO’s, and the private sector to drive small economies in local communities. With an expected rise in unemployment, a bi-product of the forced global lockdowns, new ways to derive incomes are going to be key for survival, and especially in the poorer communities in South Africa. Green Corridors, the NPO which has … [Read more...]
Swimmers brave pollution to highlight poor river health
On Sunday 9 February Cape Town open water swimmer Andrew Chin, along with fellow athletes Dr Mandy Uys and Joy Roach from East London, swam a 10km stretch of the Bronkhorstspruit River in Gauteng. This formed part of their broader Swim for Rivers campaign, which aims to raise awareness around the poor state of our country’s rivers and to highlight the urgent need to restore … [Read more...]
