WESSA Glencore report 2022

Reflections from Zwakele Ngwenya

The eMalahleni Glencore Eco-Schools Project has been key in teaching about the role of biodiversity and how it can support human and societal needs. Greening our schools and establishing biodiversity gardens which are being used as a teaching and learning resource has created outdoor teaching and learning spaces. Our support and action projects have been curriculum activated enabling teachers to incorporate this environmental knowledge into their various subjects learning areas to provide practical teaching and learning as a way of enhancing education in the schools.

illegally dumped waste and the smoke when the waste is burnt. The illegal dumping sites have created a favourable condition for the rats and mice infestation which in some areas is creating serious health hazards and the schools have also reported damages to their teaching resources and the food kept in the storages to cook for the learners. There is also a challenge of soil erosion which occurs when the soil is blown or washed away during windy and rainy season due to the bare ground and lack of trees and vegetation around the school yards. Through a review conducted with the schools on their challenges, the relevant theme action projects were selected based on the Health and Wellbeing, Waste, Water and Biodiversity and Nature. To lay the foundation for environmental learning in year one the focus was to support the schools with starting or reviving the food gardens to help supplement the schools’ nutrition programme with fresh vegetables. We later introduced the waste theme, looking at waste as an environmental challenge, its environmental and social impact and how we can work together to address the challenge. Water scarcity has been a challenge in eMalahleni leading to the temporary closure of some of the schools. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAMME AND FOCUS ON THE CHALLENGES

My journey as the Glencore Eco-Schools Coordinator began in July 2019 supporting the 17 schools based in Phola, Ogies and KwaGuqa and Ackerville in eMalahleni. At the beginning I needed to understand the background of eMalahleni and the schools that I will be working with in terms of the culture, traditions of the place, also the environmental and socio-economic state of area. Through working closely with the schools and the community groups I was able to identify how I could be able to utilise the WESSA resources to support the schools in improving their environmental management and also to appreciate their surroundings. The schools are located between the three townships, Phola, KwaGuqa and Ackerville with the learners coming from different backgrounds and experiencing various social challenges such as unemployed parents’ who are dependent on grants as a source of income, orphaned learners under guardianship of grandparents and relatives, child headed families and some facing domestic abuse and poverty. Most of the learners are heavily dependent on the school’s nutrition programme for food supply. Environmentally the area has poor air quality due industrial activities, bad odour around communal areas from decomposing SCHOOLS CONTEXT

Its been an amazing journey supporting the Eco-Schools in eMalahleni and to witness the change it has brought to the community.

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