Investing in the Environment: Individual Award
Finalist: Belinda Miek
Raymond Joseph
Sitting in front of her PC in a tiny nook off the lounge of her home overlooking the magnificent wind-swept beaches of Scarborough, close to Cape Point, Belinda Miek puts the finishing touches to the latest edition of her environmental magazine.
As her partner, Noel Ashton, looks on, she tweaks the cover picture of the feisty, no-frills magazine that is making a real difference in the often controversial battleground on environmental issues.
Too often, she explains, people look at pressing issues and are left overwhelmed by the sheer extent of the problem. It sometimes leaves them feeling helpless and wondering what they can do as individuals to make a difference.
Another problem was the number of magazines dealing with specific issues, with none covering a variety of general issues, says Ashton.
”What was required was a single publication that succinctly covered a diverse range of environmental issues so that people interested could find a range of useful information within one publication.”
It was from these simple premises that Cape Envirolink was born.
Founded in August 1999, the bi-monthly magazine has become both a mouthpiece and a champion for people and organisations in the Western Cape.
Explains Ashton, a committed green activist with degrees in environmental and geographic science, who is also an accomplished wildlife artist: ”What we realised is people lead very busy lives and just do not have the time to read all the different magazines that are available.”
”And,” says Miek, a graphic designer and bird artist, ”advances in computer technology and easily accessible computer programmes made it possible to produce an affordable magazine that was also relatively cheap to produce.”
An important aspect of the magazine is the use of what Miek describes as ”environmental graphic design” in the production values of the magazine. She explains this as ”a multi-disciplinary process that combines an awareness of environmental impact and the sensitive utilisation of renewable resources.”
The magazine sets out to give a wide variety of environmental organisations the ability to network and share information. It has a database of 85 different organisations scattered around the Cape. Southside Media