Environmental education helps raise awareness and build knowledge about the issues affecting the natural world. It also equips learners with skills to contribute to conservation efforts. Environmental education can be particularly effective when it addresses local issues and allows learners to gain hands-on experience.
At the end of August and into September, learners at The Floreat Primary School began planting locally indigenous plants in a degraded patch of land which is being converted into an outdoor classroom and indigenous garden. The Cape Bird Club has donated R40,000 towards the realisation of this initiative, which is also supported by the Ingcungcu Sunbird Restoration Project. Learners from the Floreat Educational Environmental and Gardening Clubs have planned the space under the guidance of the school’s Deputy Head, Kristi Rossouw.
It will take three years to establish the indigenous garden which is designed to attract insects and birds. Hopefully, learners will be able to witness the return of nature as a result of rehabilitating the land through their own efforts.
More on the Floreat Educational Environmental Club can be found at https://www.birdlife.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/BirdLife-South-Africa-Owl-Awards-2022_Citations.pdf, as it was a recipient of Birdlife South Africa’s Owl Award in 2022.
Photographs by Jane Doherty.
Article by Jane Doherty.