Local environmental action initiatives A well-attended MEF meeting held last week at the Environmental Learning Research Centre learned of two major local initiatives.
Local environmental action initiatives A well-attended MEF meeting held last week at the Environmental Learning Research Centre learned of two major local initiatives.
The sustainability commons project will be located at the centre – located between the Rhodes Eden Grove building and the Botanical Gardens. It will provide a shared space for Rhodes University-Makana projects, promoting social innovation and learning.
Professor Rob O’Donoghue told the meeting that there were 11 such commons projects being developed throughout South Africa. Each involves collectives of people who experiment, innovate, monitor and report on key features of sustainability practices and social learning in different social-ecological contexts.
The local commons initiative – also known as “Idlelo lencubeko lezendalo nabantu” – has five main focus areas for developing tools for innovation. These are (i) water quality and shortages, (ii) energy sources and their impact, (iii) health-producing practices, (iv) agriculture and local food production, and (v) biodiversity loss.
The commons project will dovetail with the second initiative, Makana’s Green City Strategy, which aims to develop a green city economy through the sustainable use of environmental resources. Ndumiso Nongwe, Makana’s Environmental Manager, explained that the aim of this project was to create local green jobs and promote green entrepreneurship.
The meeting expressed the hope that a coherent strategy would be developed, using the outcomes of the Local Environmental Action Plan developed in 2004/2005. The plan's education strategy is already being implemented – youth facilitators and municipal staff are receiving training in the environmental sector.
The meeting was reminded that Makana was very fortunate to have a diverse range of partners who could contribute to Makana's leading the way in sustainable environmental practices. Students tackle state of environment reporting in city Rhodes University’s Department of Environmental Science aims to produce graduates capable of undertaking State of Environment Reporting.
This entails analysing the current environmental state and trend of a given area. This approach is encouraged nationally by the Department of Environment Affairs and is outlined in their “State of the Environment Reporting Toolkit”.
This year, final year Environmental Science students will undertake the first State of the Environment Report on Grahamstown. In doing this study, students will need to consult with a range of stakeholders in and around the city. The studies will be undertaken by groups of four to five students, who will focus on issues such as the use and status of urban green space, patterns of human settlement over time, solid waste management, water provision, storm and wastewater management, human well-being, the role of environmental organisations in Grahamstown’s environment, and future scenarios for building a sustainable city.
To help make this study a success, staff supervising these projects have asked for the co-operation of the Grahamstown community. For more information contact Professor Fred Ellery at f.ellery@ru.ac.za.
Spekboom restoration
Ecological Restoration Capital has recently launched a spekboom restoration project near Somerset East. It is an environmental and social venture that aims to restore degraded lands throughout South Africa, while serving rural areas of high unemployment. The organisation has more than 50 full-time staff, including Grahamstown’s Mike Powell, Ecological Director.
Their venture is providing direct economic empowerment for Somerset East community members, by developing long-term careers in a new biodiversity economy. For more information: www.ercap.co.za
Training course for gardeners
Umthathi Training Project will be running a training course for gardeners on Friday 4 March 2011, 9am–1pm, at their new offices in Extension 7. The event has been designed for home owners in the immediate vicinity of Umthathi House, with the view to giving them the skills to establish vegetable gardens on their property and then encouraging them to enter the township garden category of the Gardens of Grahamstown competition.
Umthathi have extended the invitation to home owners in Grahamstown West, as well, to send their gardeners on the course, at a nominal charge of R20. For more information call Xoliswa at Umthathi at 046 637 0012.
Environmental short courses
The RU Department of Environmental Science will again be offering a number of short courses this year. The first two are an Urban Forestry Course (28 March–1 April) and an Environmental Impact Assessment course (9–13 May). The short courses are aimed at, for example, municipal officials, conservationists, national and provincial government officials, environmental educators and extension staff.
For more info: please email Zelda Odendaal at z.odendaal@ru.ac.za, or call 046 603 7002. Contacts for Makana Enviro-News: Nikki Köhly: n.kohly@ru.ac.za, 046 603 7205 / Lawrence Sisitka: heilaw@imaginet.co.za, 046 622 8595 / Jenny Gon: j-gon@intekom.co.za, 046 622 5822 / Nick James: nickjames@intekom.co.za, 046 622 5757 / Strato Copteros strato@iafrica.com, 082 785 6403
