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...]
Mountain biking permits for Bottelary Conservancy available
The annual Bottelary Hills Renosterveld Conservancy (BHRC) mountain bike permits are now available online. Enjoy a 92km trail network through rolling hillsides, conservation areas, vineyards and farmland in the Bottelary Hills just outside Stellenbosch in the Cape Winelands. Multiple route options cater for various skill and fitness levels. Fees range between R400 and R700 … [Read more...]
Family owned Bottelary wine farm puts conservation first
Mooiplaas Wines recently became the first World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Conservation Champion in the Bottelary ward of Stellenbosch. This outstanding achievement follows the submission of their latest IPW-audit (Integrated Production of Wine), which acknowledges the environmental responsibility of their production practices. The audit includes factors such as carbon … [Read more...]
The global rise of crucial eco-restoration camps
For millennia we humans roamed the vast lands of this planet Earth, foraging for foodstuffs, hunting animals to supplement our diet as necessary. We took what we could find, as needed, and our searches led us across the accessible landmasses. It is fascinating to think of the various landscapes that scores of successive generations saw - Earth in a state before any human … [Read more...]
Can I be vegan and biodynamic?
Whether someone wishes to eat meat or not is a very individual decision. Some people feel the need to eat meat regularly while others become ill if they so much as smell it. It can be for reasons of personal health and it can be a matter of principle. Either way being a vegetarian or a vegan is a very noble aspiration and one which need not conflict with biodynamic … [Read more...]
Local musicians work together to create environmental awareness
The preservation of the environment is a matter which Jean Marais, owner of Tunes Studio in Stellenbosch and local drummer, has held dear since an early age. A few months ago, and to his utter dismay, he discovered that his hometown sports a severe lack of recycling infrastructure. After a few phone calls to the local municipality and recycling companies in Stellenbosch, … [Read more...]
Right to food includes the right to nutrition
In South Africa, all citizens have the right to food. Yet the current approach is to focus on food security, forgetting that security doesn’t necessarily mean nutrition. The right to food wholeheartedly includes the right to nutrition. A recent dialogue event, hosted by the Centre for Complex Systems Transitions (CST) in Stellenbosch, raised some interesting views, current … [Read more...]
Drug waste in SA’s drinking water raises health concerns
Traces of antiretrovirals, anti-epileptic drugs, antibiotics and antidepressants are allegedly lingering in South African tap water. Compounds of these drugs have been found in several studies on water sources around South Africa between 2013 and June 2015. Professor Hugh Patterton, chief researcher at Stellenbosch University, said the compounds and concentration levels … [Read more...]
Biosphere reserve aims to promote biological diversity
Did you know that you live in a Biosphere Reserve? If you are from Stellenbosch, Pniel, Franschhoek, Paarl, Wellington, Rawsonville or Villiersdorp you live inside the beautiful Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve (CWBR), while people from Ceres and the Strand live just outside it. The CWBR was designated in 2007 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural … [Read more...]
Stellenbosch to host Africa’s first student environmental summit
European models for sustainability often shape what we know about the subject. And this is often irrelevant to the developing world's context. It is against this background that the World Student Environmental Network's Global Summit will be held in South Africa – in the developing world for the first time since its inception seven years ago. From 30 June – 5 July … [Read more...]
Tree marathon captures hearts in Klapmuts
A renewed energy and excitement filled the air in Klapmuts when crowds of people, including the honourable Mayor Conrad Sidego and over 140 volunteers from five corporate entities, gathered to take part in one of many Tree-a-thon’s (mass planting events) set to take place this year, as part of the “Million Trees” project. The crowd were addressed by the Mayor Conrad Sidego, … [Read more...]
Water management in SA leaves much to be desired
No one can live without water. However, judging by how many South Africans waste water, one would think we have an unlimited. What many of us may not realise is that there’s not enough water to go around. And the little water we do have is often too dirty for human consumption. It’s a gloomy picture, but true. Let us not beat around the bush - South Africa has major … [Read more...]
Lourens River to receive emergency repairs after severe flooding
As part of the City of Cape Town’s commitment to building a safe city, emergency repairs and the replacement of damaged infrastructure will start soon at Lourens River, following the severe flooding in Somerset West on 15 and 16 November last year. The City had requested financial assistance to deal with the required emergency work after the area was declared a provincial … [Read more...]
