Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Pupils aim to clean up with new eco club
Nothing goes to waste in recycling drive
BERGVLIET Primary School wants to keep the environment clean.
They won R50 000 for their class bottle collection last year and are now hoping to do the same with their eco club.
The eco club was established last year and grew from 12 to 21 learners. It started when computer teacher Brenda van Niekerk drove through the city and noticed the amount of rubbish and plastic blowing around.
“It became increasingly worrying to me knowing that all this waste ultimately ends up in the ocean which surrounds our city; we know the state of our oceans already.
“I then realised that I have the best job in the world, working with children, who are the perfect ambassadors in helping to keep the environment clean.
“I approached the principal Brandon Paulse who loved the idea of starting the eco club. He has been supportive of this initiative from the start,” she said.
Learners are now collecting plastic bottle tops to build a clay path in the school’s vegetable garden and building birdhouses with corks from wine bottles.
“These programmes and activities help children to become self-sufficient and learn new skills. When we start our vegetable garden they will learn to plant, take care of the growth of the plants and harvest their own vegetables.
“We need to develop our own young entrepreneurs for the future.
“We’ve gone on forest walks discovering new plants and trees and their value, and done a beach clean-up at Muizenberg.” she said.
“This is teaching children how to reuse instead of spending money on buying things. I am proud of the pupils.”
Anel Snyman, a Grade 6 learner, said she enjoyed being involved with practical activities.
“I’ve learnt how to care for the environment, how to reuse old jeans and turn them into bags, building the eco bricks and making furniture.
“I enjoyed visiting the beach and understanding the importance of keeping the environment clean of plastic. I’m glad my school started an eco club so we can be aware of what’s happening to our world,” she said.