SPAR help clean up estuary

SPAR Eastern Cape are committed to creating awareness around the importance of long-term environmental sustainability, which is why they regularly contribute to causes focused on making a positive impact on the local environment.

“We feel it’s our duty to increase the general awareness and education of those around us by facilitating programmes that help schools and less fortunate communities live and work in a more environmentally sustainable fashion,” SPAR Eastern Cape’s Roseann Shadrach said.

The Zwartkops Conservancy are a beneficiary doing just that.

Formed over 40 years ago, they are dedicated to fighting for the ecological survival of the Swartkops River, the estuary and surrounding valley.

The conservancy’s environmental manager, Jenny Rump, said it offered a large number and variety of invertebrates – including mud prawns – on which the large number of fish and over 200 bird species fed.

The estuary has Important Bird and Biodiversity status, which means it is a globally important bird area. Eighteen South African Red Data species occur there.

Rump said SPAR’s contribution enabled the conservancy to appoint four women who assisted with cleaning up litter in the estuary.

She said a significant element of their work was educating individuals about the negative effects of littering and why it was crucial for people to care for the environment.

“What people don’t realise is that the litter they throw in the street finds its way into stormwater systems and from there into estuaries such as the Swartkops, where it is eaten by fish, which are in turn caught and eaten by people.

“Our environmental education initiatives are important in our conservation efforts and it’s pleasing to note that many of the pupils that have been exposed to these classes become our most effective watchdogs.”

Rump said without the generous donations from local businesses such as SPAR Eastern Cape, they would not be able to continue doing their work.