Pride Programme

Youth citizen science on the rocks: the LIMPET marine monitoring programme

Centre for Conservation Education

1 February 2021 – 31 March 2024

The aim of the LIMPET (Long-term Monitoring through Participation, Evaluation and Training) programme is to build appreciation for nature, ecological understanding and conservation values, while at the same time, generating valuable data to assess ecological changes on the coast. LIMPET develops teaching resources, holds teacher training workshops, and facilitates school outings on the rocky shore, during which Grade 10 learners are involved in “real” scientific monitoring surveys that are designed by marine scientists. This includes ecological surveys (of species, populations and biotic communities), as well as litter collection and classification surveys, which contribute data to various national databases. To deepen the experience and impact, LIMPET educators visit schools before and after each outing to give introductory lectures and involve learners in data visualisation and interpretation.

Girls and Conservation: Daring Disas

Brave Rock Girl and Cape Leopard Trust

1 September 2020 – 31 October 2023

This project is a joint initiative between BRAVE and Cape Leopard Trust and aims to empower a group of informed, resilient South African girls, ages 14-17 years, to become champions for their own rights and the natural environment of the Cape Floristic Kingdom, within which they live. Through weekly workshops and visits to Edith Stephens Nature Reserve, this project will assist vulnerable girls in gaining the skills and confidence required to become decision makers and to speak up to protect the environment and themselves, urging their families and communities to join them.

Pollinating Pride in People

Ingcungcu Sunbird Restoration

1 November 2020 – 31 December 2023

Pollinating Pride in People is a collaborative project between Ingcungcu Sunbird Restoration and Amava Oluntu. Collectively, these programmes aim to promote fynbos conservation through hands-on experience, skills development, entrepreneurial opportunities for youth and community engagement. Pollinating Pride in People has two components, namely the:

• Pollinator Garden Programme led by Ingcungcu. The Pollinator Garden Programme will facilitate the establishment of two nectar-rich fynbos community gardens in Vrygrond and Muizenberg with the aim of reconnecting these communities to nature while providing “filling stations” for birds and thereby contributing to the sunbird corridor. The intention is to provide training and mentorship to a small group of interested and committed community members who will become multipliers and volunteers for the project within their respective communities; and the
• Young Entrepreneurship Programme led by Amava Oluntu. The Young Entrepreneurship Programme will offer entrepreneurial training for youth/young adults focusing on communication, design and print- making skills to promote fynbos conservation and encourage the development of micro-businesses.

Green Communities Initiative

Lwandle Hiking Club

1 September 2020 – 31 October 2023

The Lwandle Hiking Club aims to promote conservation in previously disadvantaged communities by connecting disadvantaged youth with nature. The organisation has a strong focus on environmental awareness and in educating the youth about South Africa’s biodiversity, their immediate surrounding environment and their responsibility towards protecting it as a means to ultimately improving their social wellbeing. This project specifically aims to provide environmental education programmes for the youth, school learners and young women in three disadvantaged communities of Strand, where there are high levels of unemployment and a lack of skills development; namely, Lwandle, Zola and Nomzamo. The intention is to instil a sense of pride for the surrounding fynbos areas through class lessons, environmental initiatives and environmental day trips and excursions with the hope that this is transferable to the learner’s homes and surrounding environment.

Making threatened habitats personal: the world’s first Cape lowland botanical garden displays

Stellenbosch University  

1 October 2020 – 1 October 2023

The aim of the project is to create at least two new threatened Cape Floristic Region (CFR) habitat display beds that replicate the appearance and composition of Endangered or Critically Endangered Cape ecosystems in Stellenbosch’s popular public and teaching botanical garden. These beds will be accompanied by aesthetically pleasing interpretation labels and boards. A key concept is the use of habitat substrate geology in the surrounding retaining wall construction, providing holistic and deeper understanding of our landscapes, and bringing our “mini rainforests” to eye level. Engaging displays that relate meaningfully to an otherwise abstract landscape are a critical foundational resource to make the diversity of unique plants and substrates tangible and personal for future decision makers, the general public, local and regional students, and even environmental professionals.

This project provides opportunities for targeted education of both recreational tourists and academia alike. This includes the future generation of agricultural land-owners likely to have a significant impact over fynbos in the future.

Changing Lives Through Nature

Nature Connect

1 January 2021 – 28 February 2024

This project forms part of Nature Connect’s Changing Lives Through Nature campaign which provides a variety of valuable platforms for school learners and youth to develop not only environmental knowledge, skills and pro-environmental behaviours but also confidence, self-esteem and a range of leadership skills. To ensure the reduction of environmental issues and threats to the Cape Floristic Region (CFR), children and youth need to consistently engage in pro-environmental behaviours, through various immersive experiences. Through these experiences, a social-identity and a self-identity is fostered, giving rise to a sense of pride. The unique power of Nature Connect’s efforts to effect change stems from their multiple engagements with their beneficiaries, a real investment as opposed to once-off lessons or presentations. TMF is only funding a portion of this project.