The Children in the Wilderness team in our Johannesburg office held another successful Eco-Club for the children of Wilderness Safaris staff. With World Water Day having been celebrated across the world on Thursday 22 March, and the water crisis in Cape Town, we thought a morning focused on water was extremely relevant.
The children were split into two groups as they arrived – the Orange River (the longest river in South Africa) and the Limpopo River (the second longest river in South Africa). Each group learnt about their river, the water crisis in Cape Town and then had a lesson on the importance of conserving and saving water. The theory side of things ended with the children being given practical ideas on what they can do around their homes to save water. From reusing grey water, to fitting special water saving devices on their taps, the children were all encouraged to try at least one of these water saving techniques in their homes.
On to a practical activity, where the children watched a Suzelle DIY video on ‘How to be a day zero hero’. Here, Suzelle gives practical ways and tools to save water. The children made hand sanitiser based on Suzelle’s video, a fun an hands-on way to put into practice what they’d learnt.
The highlight was again time on the Wilderness Safaris climbing wall. We are so grateful to the Mountain Club of South Africa (MCSA Johannesburg) who again volunteered their time to man our wall. With endless patience and a huge amount of enthusiasm, these dedicated volunteers helped our children up the wall with encouragement and kind guidance.
The MCSA team stuck up interesting facts about rivers and waterfalls in South Africa on the climbing wall, which gave the children a target to climb to.
Thanks must go to Grant Rens and his team of volunteers from MCSA. We look forward to doing more with you in the future. A big thank you to the Wilderness Safaris and CITW staff who helped run the programme on the morning.
