To most kids living on the Cape Flats, the term ‘wildlife” means negotiating a daily gauntlet of gangs, violence and drugs. But learners in strife-torn townships like Mitchell’s Plain, Khayelitsha and Langa in the Western Cape, are also receiving healthier lessons in environmental survival and awareness.
In recent years they have been participants in a pioneering education initiative conducted by the Marine Environmental Education Trust (Meet). Established in 1996, Meet provides learners from Grades 1 to 7 throughout the Western Cape with intensive, interactive environmental programmes. These range from hikes and survivor-type games to three day Camp Africa adventures along the Atlantic coastline in Scarborough.
Think of military, boot-camp style Veldt Schools from the era of Christian National Education, and you’ll get an idea of what Camp Africa isn’t about. ‘Camp Africa aims to bring the learners closer to nature by allowing them to get to know their environment better,” explains Meet co-founder Janis Corr. ‘Our programmes are sensory, educational, and filled with fun and adventure, although the focus is on conservation of the marine environment and the concept of sustainable coastal development. ‘
Their efforts neatly complement departmental plans to formally incorporate national environmental education programmes into schools’ curricula. Similar programmes have already been implemented for Grades 1, 2 and 3.
For learners like Temane Banda (11) from Ikhusi Primary School in Khayelitsha, and his classmate Wandile Mdimba (12), it has been an adventure of discovery, opening up an unlimited vista of natural wonders. Banda had never seen a lighthouse until he was taken on a visit to the Slagkop lighthouse, near the Camp Africa site. Mdimba didn’t know what a starfish was. Now he’s become something of a boff on coastline ecology.
A firm favourite among the learners is Survivor — adapted from the reality TV show. Participants are split randomly into competing teams — each with a different colored bandanna. And a further touch of Survivor-style realism is provided by senior guide Steve Smith, who calls himself Captain Survivor, and whose attire resembles a composite of Robinson Crusoe and Neptune. A variety of environmental activities and challenges are selected to test the teams. This programme is designed to develop team building, tenacity, endurance and the will to survive.
Day excursions include trips to the penguin sanctuary at Boulders Beach in Simons Town, visits to the Two Oceans Aquarium, and audiovisual presentations by wildlife artist and environmentalist Noel Ashton. Scarborough’s beaches and the rocky ledges of the Atlantic coastline afford the learners the opportunity to meet a host of animals and plants that inhabit the different marine zones.
‘One of our most challenging experiences was doing a camp with kids from Street Universe and some local children,” recalls Terry Corr, the other half of this husband-and-wife team. ‘They knew everything about street survival, but they took strain in the outdoors. Substance abuse had taken its toll on their bodies, but they learnt to adapt to the natural environment.”
But even the most ardent of environmentalists needs the occasional indulgence. Local celebrity Tanya Lamb — one of the semi-finalists in last years Idols Contest — regularly entertains the learners at Camp Africa. And a Camp Africa Idol is chosen from among the bevy of wannabes.
It’s a far cry from weekends in nature where the fun soon goes out of swatting mosquitoes and squatting in bushes.
For more information contact Meet at (021) 780 1353 or go to their website: www.meet.org.za