EE Friends Quarterly Newsletter
June 2014
W
elcome to our first EE Friends newsletter. It’s
meant to serve as a more exciting form of
minutes, as well as a showcase tool for our
members and a medium for learning. We hope
you enjoy the content and would love to hear your feedback.
Going forward we’ll need submissions for the gallery of past
events and projects, and a few of the other sections. So
please let us know if you have something interesting to share,
and send us your photos and other materials for submission.
i
Don’t forget, we’re doing our annual database
update at the moment!
GOALS OF THE EE FRIENDS
To enable networking and communication amongst
environmental educators.
To share ideas, information, programmes and
resource materials.
To provide opportunities to learn and be informed.
To improve coordination of environmental
education activities.
To enable people to participate in decision-making
and advocacy.
To enable members to promote their initiatives.
Wonderbag Cooking Demonstration
The Wonderbag team served a delicious butternut soup, as well
as lamb and beef stews with rice, all cooked in Wonderbags.
Peter then explained how to use the Wonderbag, the benefits of
using it, and answered a variety of questions that the audience
put forward.
It’s a fantastic insulated bag used for slow-cooking (and even
keeping things cold), that saves significant amounts of energy.
Congratulations to the five EE Friends members who won a
brand new Wonderbag each, by answering some quick-fire Wonderbag questions!
For more information on the Wonderbag, and to get cooking with your own this winter, contact :
Peter Sharples (Western Cape Coordinator) on 021 683 8592 or peter@nb-wonderbag.com
Or visit the website www.nb-wonderbag.com
Tony Gerrans presented on environmental and ethical issues regarding animal
agriculture, and Philip Lymbery’s new book Farmageddon. He dealt with four
common misperceptions about meat, farming and feeding the poor.
1. Humans have always eaten meat and it is required for our health
2. Meat is produced on farms largely in balance with nature
3. We need to use industrial methods in the meat industry to produce food to
feed the planet, especially the poor
4. The welfare of farmed animals is regulated, both on the farm and during
the necessary evil of slaughter
This was a compelling presentation that everyone should see, so that as consumers we can take the steps to
make a difference and affect change in the industry.
For more information: Tony Gerrans (tony@animal-voice.org) or Louise van der Merwe (avoice@yebo.co.za)
Or visit the websites www.animal-voice.org and www.humane-education.org.za
EE Events and Projects Gallery
For the past two school terms, the Primary Science Programme (PSP)
has run interactive lessons for school groups at Edith Stephens Nature
Reserve. These lessons are facilitated by Wendy Hitchcock and relate
to Science and Technology in the CAPS documents – specifically the
Matter and Materials Strand. Some of the activities include making
pots from paper pulp, weaving, and assessing plants for their
valuable properties. These lessons are hands-on which allows the
learners to gain a deeper understanding of the work.
While some of us were enjoying the
delicious Wonderbag lunch, other EE
Friends members (SANBI’s education
team)
were
celebrating
World
Environment Day at Sentinel Primary by
assisting with planting 100 indigenous
plants in their school garden.
Share your work and
exciting activities with us
A birds nest of grass and feathers, made
by learners as part of a Primary Science
Programme lesson with Wendy Hitchcock
(Eco-Activities).
Learners explore living and nonliving in the Two Oceans
Aquarium Smart Living Young
Biologists Course, a joint project
between the City of Cape Town
and the Aquarium.
Learners participating the in the Cape
Town Environmental Education Trust
(CTEET) activities at the Paddle for Peace
(8 June).
Eric Belle (of the SANBI environmental
education team) engaging with children
of
the
Maitland
Cottage
Home
orthopaedic hospital (13 June).
Email photos with captions to
EE.Friends@capetown.gov.za
EE Friends Hand-over
Thank you to Esmay Swarts for
running the EE Friends over the
past few years. Recently she
moved to support the
Biodiversity Management
Branch with their EE.
This responsibility was recently
handed over to Skye McCool
of the City of Cape Town’s
Environmental Resource
Management Department.
Members Upcoming Events and Projects
30 JUNE / 17 SEPTEMBER
16 - 18 JULY
ECO-LOGIC AWARDS
FILL YOUR GREEN TANK WORKSHOP
Enviropaedia is looking for nominations (deadline
30 June) for the awards event which takes place in
September in Gauteng. These awards recognise
South African products, services, organisations,
individuals, communities and Municipalities for their
contributions to a sustainable society.
WESSA Western Cape Eco-Schools
will be hosting a three day workshop
for the Eco-Schools and Eco-Centres
programme, at Oaklands Senior
Secondary School (Lansdowne).
Contact Victoria Burnett for more
information:
ecoschoolswc@wessa.co.za
4 AUGUST
4 - 7 AUGUST
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATOR TRAINING
FYNBOS FORUM
CTEET and the Zandvlei Trust are working in
collaboration to produce a programme where
twenty impoverished people are trained as
environmental educators. Over a year they will
receive five days formal training and gain
experience through participating in EE
programmes. The programme is still in the planning
process at the moment, but they are aiming to start
the training on 4 August 2014.
The 36th annual Fynbos Forum conference will be
held in Knysna under the theme of Forests and
Fynbos. The exciting programme of presentations,
workshops, fieldtrips and posters covers research,
conservation and communication in Fynbos.
Registration closes on 20 July 2014
For more information:
fynbosforum2014@gmail.com
Check These Out
The ‘Boomslang’ (Centenary Tree Canopy Walkway) at
Kirstenbosch is officially open, well worth a visit to the gardens!
Don’t forget your entries to the
Eco-Logic Awards!
www.eco-logicawards.com
Follow the journey of
the Ngewana family,
on My Green Home
and be inspired to
take action in your
own home.
www.mygreenhome.org.za
For those interested, the online
campaign site is Avaaz.
Member Profile: Rondevlei Section of False Bay Nature Reserve
S
adly, with the astonishing
storm we experienced on
World Environment Day, we
were unable to explore this
beautiful spot. Thus, we thought it
would be fun to kick off the
member profiles with the meeting
venue itself .
Not only does the area contain
Strandveld and Cape Flats Sand
Fynbos vegetation, but it is also
home to some exciting wildlife
(such as Cape Town’s only
population of hippopotamus) and a
reasonably priced indigenous
nursery - the Cape Flats Fynbos
Nursery.
One of the special plants the reserve
plays home to (Erica verticillata) is
listed as Extinct in the Wild, and in
an exciting recent twist, a number
of newly germinated seedlings were
found in the reserve - the first plants
of their kind to germinate in over 60
years!
With over 250 indigenous plant
species, 240 bird species,
20
mammal species, 29 reptile species
and eight frog species, there is no
shortage of things to be seen in this
290 hectare section of the reserve.
The reserve offers a variety of
exciting EE programmes, activities
and facilities (including an
overnight island bush camp) and is
well worth more investigation.
For more information visit the City of
Cape Town Nature Reserve website
www.capetown.gov.za/naturereserves
The Lighter Side
Can you guess the critter?
Hint: They are all found in the Rondevlei Section of False Bay Nature Reserve
If your organisation would like to run a little competition or
give-away in the newsletter, let us know!
(Hippopotamus amphibius)
Answers: Red-knobbed coot (Fulica cristata), Arum lily reed frog (Hyperolius horstockii) and Hippopotamus
Our Next Quarterly Meeting
18 September 2014
Heritage Week
Field trip to Langa Cultural Precinct
Classifieds
In future editions, should
there be projects in
need of support, or any
other relevant things to
put in this section, drop
an email to the EE
Friends.
Cartoon by Glenn McCoy
EE Friends is an informal network of individuals and organisations involved in Environmental Education in and around Cape Town;
without a constitution, office-bearers or membership fees. For more information please visit www.capetown.gov.za/EEFriends.
If you would like to know more or become a member of EE Friends, please contact:
Mrs Skye McCool
Tel: +27 (0)21 487 2318
E-mail: ee.friends@capetown.gov.za