Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Pupil Tom pushes for conservation
TOM Foster loves the water. He grew up spending most of his free time in the water. After years of swimming, snorkelling and diving off the shores of the Cape, the 16-year-old fell in love with the sea and its denizens.
At the age of 14, he even gave a Ted Talk about the aquatic environment entitled, “Sharks: My Love, Our Life”.
Tom, a pupil at Michael Oak Waldorf School in Kenilworth, recently voiced his concerns about the environment and was rewarded by the Pick n Pay School Club.
Last year, Tom had visited Pick n Pay head office as part of a school Economic Management Science (EMS) field trip and it was there he got the opportunity to speak to Suzanne Ackerman-Berman, director of transformation at Pick n Pay.
Tom spoke to Ackerman- Berman about the pollution of plastic in oceans and the damage it has been causing to oceanic wildlife, asking her what was being done to help prevent or minimise the harm.
“I was very impressed by Tom’s initiative to speak up about his valid concerns, especially at a time when this wasn’t top of mind for everyone.
“This shows that you never know when a simple question is going to spark something and contribute to making a difference in the way we think and act,” said Ackerman-Berman.
On Tuesday, a surprise handover at Tom’s school saw him receiving R5 000 from the Pick n Pay School Club.
In addition, they had also announced their Pick n Pay School Club Innovation Project, a programme that encourages pupils to put forward ideas on how to minimise human impact on the environment, with a chance to win R10 000.
Ackerman- Berman said: “We want to encourage kids to make a better future for both themselves and their future children as this is our only planet.”