WESSA Glencore report 2022

KwaGuqa Primary School tunnel handover

KwaGuqa Primary School

Kromdraai

WASTE MANAGEMENT Waste management has been a challenge in the area and in the school and there is a massive amount of littering. Majority of the waste is incinerated which has a negative impact on the microclimate in the school. Potential resources are lost, and the environment is filled with sulphur, nitrogen and halogens. Zwakele Ngwenya has been working closely with KwaGuqa Primary to set up recycling stations and help the school adopt sustainable means of managing their waste. The second project which KwaGuqa Primary has been passionate about and implemented is a biodiversity garden. The school promoted biodiversity outreach with the learners under Biodiversity and Nature incorporating the climate change theme through educational and hand-on activities by planting trees around the school to raise awareness and create a healthy environment for the learners. 1-4), by providing organic vegetables to learners in need, equipping learners with skills on how to implement the knowledge at home and mostly it enabling teachers to link the food garden project with the content learned from Natural Sciences.

ECO-SCHOOLS PROJECTS KwaGuqa Primary School is situated in the industrial area of Emalahleni in Mpumalanga. The school comprises of learners from the surrounding area where majority of them are from child headed household or parents are unemployed. Systematically the learners would fall under the food poverty line and absolute poverty category making them depended on the schools nutrition feeding scheme. KwaGuqa Primary advocates for a litter free environment within their school and community. The school has an amazing Eco committee which involves the learners led by two teachers Mrs T. Madonsela and Mrs S.K Leshaba. They initiated their first project being a food garden in the school. By initiating the food garden projects we benefitted greatly and were able to alleviate poverty under sustainable development goal (SGD

ACHIEVEMENTS IN OUR ECO JOURNEY Upon joining the WESSA Eco- Schools Programme the Eco-committee has gained vast knowledge on starting and maintaining food gardens and striving for environmental resilience. The project has equipped the learners with life skills which can be implemented at home and help reduce carbon footprints and move towards mitigating the effects on climate change, and create a healthy environment for the future generation.

“It has been a privilege and we are thankful to be part of this initiative we also received a hand wash system which assisted in reducing the chances of contracting the COVID- 19.” Mrs T Madonsela, Eco Teacher

18