Programme brings schoolkids closer to nature
Youth leadership winner: Conservation leadership programme, Cape Town Environmental Education Trust
Helen Whelan of the Cape Town Environmental Education Trust says the Conservation Leadership Programme, begun in 2013, was designed to have a more pronounced effect on the youth than once-off outdoor camps.
The programme targets children from low-income communities on the Cape Flats, offering them an alternative the prevalent drug and gang culture. Starting with grade six children and working with them for the duration of their high school years, the programme gives them access to broader life experience. It helps them grow their social and environmental skills and ultimately empowers them to become environmental champions.
Throughout the year there are over 22 activities that involve inthe-field studies, environmental education camps and Eco-Schools Programme community action projects, giving the children an enduring real-life experience of their natural environment.
“Through mentoring, environmental action, outdoor activi- ties and trips to nature reserves outside of Cape Town we nurture and grow these children’s love for nature for the last seven years of their schooling,” says Whelan. “Through this process we are growing their passion for the natural environment and introducing them to ways they can be champions for nature. Their involvement in extra activities such as beach and river cleanups empowers them to make a direct difference in their communities.”
The older children also play a role in mentoring the younger kids and the knowledge they gain through the programme is taken back into the community. The children are also exposed to experts from a variety of naturebased disciplines and shown what job opportunities are available to them should they wish to pursue a career in the green economy. Due to the trust’s training and development initiatives, these children have many doors open to them once they finish their schooling.
Melvin Booysen, a student who completed the training and development programme, says: “The learnership changed my life. All the experience I have today is because of it. I have a permanent job and I’m still studying hard to go where I want to be; I see myself as a manager, or higher than a manager one day. I’m really glad that I’m doing nature conservation to give back to the community with environmental education.”
Says Whelan: “While we hope to direct some of the children into the green economy through career guidance, we do not see this as an essential outcome. The vision is that we are creating youth who believe in the importance of environmental protection.”