Tourism and conservation came together on the Sunshine Coast with a Draw a Fish competition for local school children, initiated in 2008 by the Fish River Sun hotel and country club resort.
Tourism and conservation came together on the Sunshine Coast with a Draw a Fish competition for local school children, initiated in 2008 by the Fish River Sun hotel and country club resort.
“Our pristine beaches, the rock pools and the good fishing are part of what draws tourists to the region – and they in turn sustain jobs. It is through programmes like this that we can educate the next generation and their families,” says operations manager Wessel Benson.
The Fish River Sun – recognised as a local leader in environmentally sustainable tourism – launched the competition in 2008 in order to promote National Marine Month among the local community.
The resort has its own sewage processing plant, runs maintenance equipment on its own biodiesel, has recycling bins in its timeshare units, and has just installed heat pumps to warm the swimming pool and preheat water going into the hotel’s boilers. The Fish River Sun has received an Imvelo Responsible Tourism award for the best single resource management programme- water.
This year, the Draw a Fish competition formed part of a month-long awareness campaign in primary schools by the Fish River Sun and the local newspaper Talk of the Town. Nearly 300 works of art were entered from pupils ranging from pre-school to Grade Seven.
Fish River Sun’s Kelly Wicks, competition co-ordinator says “Each and every work of art was unique, and had something special that reflected the artist’s individual character and personality – deciding on the winners was a very difficult task!”
The overall winner was Mnondolozi Manona (11), a Grade 5 learner Port Alfred High School.
“His artwork highlights the importance of the relationship between man and nature, the importance of fishing to the community of Ndlambe and the linkage with tourism,” says Ndlambe Municipality Environment and Conservation Manager, Fanie Fouche, who was one of the judges of the competition.
Manona won R500 for himself and R1000 for his school, plus the pleasure of having his artwork framed and displayed in the Fish River Sun foyer for thousands of tourists and visitors to admire. He will also receive a jigsaw puzzle of his artwork, sponsored by Puzzleworx.
The category winners for the Draw a Fish competition are:
•Pre-School Section: Jo–Ann Harvey (age 6) from Port Alfred Pre-Primary
•Grade 1-3 Section: Tristan Pullen (age 8) from Kenton Primary School
•Grade 4-6 Section: Hayley Price (age 10) from Port Alfred High School
•Ariana Watkins from Shaw Park Primary School received an honourary mention for her fish in the Grade 4-6 section.
