Durban - The inaugural eThekwini Enviro Week, which starts today (Saturday), is a call to action for everyone in the city to work together to care for the environment.
Hosted by the eThekwini Municipality with partners Green Corridors and the City of Bremen, Enviro Week offers a packed programme of fun and insightful activities at venues in and around Durban until March 25.
Taking place in a week of important world environmental days, the programme celebrates Global Recycling Day (today), World Frog Day (March 20), Human Rights Day and International Day of Forests (March 21), World Water Day and World Meteorological Day (March 22) and Earth Hour (March 25). It is also National Water Week and National Library Week.
Activities will centre around these themes, and encourage public involvement in cleaning up the environment, recycling, reducing and reusing waste. There will be clean-ups in communities, beaches, riverine and other sites, with a focus on getting materials to recycling facilities. In some of the events, people can learn how to grow vegetables, swop seeds, and help clear small pocket parks in communities to support local food security.
The week also celebrates the rich natural heritage in the city. Sites such as the Beachwood Mangroves will be open to the public, with bird walks and beach walks hosted by experts in their fields.
There are countless places to explore on one’s own, or with a guide, such as the Botanic Gardens, Green Corridors community tourism sites, uShaka Marine World, Umgeni Bird Park, the Mngeni estuary and many conservancies, indigenous gardens, wetlands and green spaces.
On Human Rights Day several organisations will have events that aim to raise awareness of the right to a safe and clean environment.
The week closes on Saturday, March 25 with a celebration at Green Hub at Blue Lagoon, where a range of environmental organisations will meet.
Today, in addition to guided walks of the Beachwood mangroves, there are clean-ups at the Connaught bridge, Molweni, KwaMashu, Blue Lagoon, Giba Gorge and Pinetown. There’s also an alien vegetation clearing project in Pigeon Valley and a wetland repair project in Molweni.
The City of Bremen hosts a tour of a novel recycling project in KwaMashu, and there’s the Blue Lagoon park run starting at the Kingfisher canoe club at 8am. Tomorrow highlights the city’s nature reserves which will all be open for walks and hikes and public enjoyment.
For the full programme, complete with contact information, see www.enviroweek.co.za, www.facebook.com/eThekwiniEnviroWeek or https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp2Y49Oq2V0/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=
The Independent on Saturday