A bit of history | September 2009 newsletter WESSA Durban branch
Researching the Durban Green Corridor along the uMngeni River this evening I found this newsletter; in some small way WESSA DURBAN BRANCH helped start this great eThekwini project with our donation of R10,000.00 to Gary Cullen and the community of Clermont for the Aller River clean up, a tributary of the uMngeni.
Margaret Burger
15 May 2012
WESSA DURBAN BRANCH
September 2009
Durban branch is
pleased to have momentum again!
We thank our outgoing acting chairperson Rob
Jamieson for holding Durban
branch together through a period of trial and tribulation. Jean and Cecil Moore have moved to Australia
leaving a great void. Rob has been
adamant that we will get through the lean times and he is so right.
Cheryl
Borresen our stalwart secretary was awarded a Certificate of Achievement at our
AGM on 13 June 2009 for all the years of meticulous minute keeping! Cheryl says “I am becoming an activist in my
retirement!”
Durban branch
welcomes Crispin Hemson as the new chairperson.
Crispin’s
message contains details of how Durban
branch envisage the next chapter:
Proud
of the community, proud of the environment
Let’s take action at
a local level to strengthen both the community and the environment. This is the message of an initiative by the Durban branch of WESSA,
called the Proud Communities Projects.
Crispin Hemson,
chairperson of the branch, explained, ‘We want people in local communities to
take action on the specific environmental problems that confront them. The role of the branch is to support and
co-ordinate these.’
Already the branch
includes Friends of Pigeon Valley, as a group that affiliated to the
branch. Other Friends groups are now
joining. The one practical advantage is
that the WESSA fund-raising and financial systems can be used to support the
local initiative, without that group having to divert its energies from action
to administration. The branch is also
the place where resources and expertise are shared. In some cases, the branch will provide seed
funding to enable the project to take off.
The first new
initiative is the Friends of Aller River, in Clermont. Future projects include working with a youth
group in Lamontville, Artistic Movement Youth Organisation, that will undertake
litter removal, planting of indigenous vegetation as well as youth entertainment,
and a project in Inanda that will link the promotion of indigenous plants and
home gardens with the commemoration of those who died in the struggle for
democracy.
The intention is to
allow a great diversity in the focus of each group. In Clermont, the issue of environmental
health is central, because of the degree of pollution of water sources. In Glenwood, the attention goes rather on
keeping in pristine condition Pigeon
Valley Park,
that serves as a unique area of biodiversity near the centre of the city. Just as areas of the city vary, the focus of
these projects will shift. The Friends
format is a useful one, but not the only format.
'One of the motives
behind this initiative is to make a crucially important point, that humans need
an environment that is handled with care.
Too often, people create a lose-lose choice between people, especially
the poor, and the environment. We want
to show how people and the environment can benefit from such projects,’ said
Crispin Hemson.
Proud Communities
meeting at the KZNSA Gallery
Contributions
Local Action for
Biodiversity (LAB) is a global urban biodiversity initiative. As WESSA Durban branch we hope to make everyone
passionate about the environment. We
hope through education and involvement to trigger awareness that it is possible
for urban living to be green and natural.
We are working
closely with the Clermont community who are cleaning the Aller River
- supporting their efforts in the amount of R10, 000.00.
Durban
branch is excited about The Durban Green Corridor Initiative which plans to
turn the uMngeni Valley between the sea and Inanda Dam
into a world class eco-recreation zone. The
Durban Green Corridor is an initiative of the eThekwini Municipality
in conjunction with the Department of Water Affairs and the Duzi uMngeni
Conservation Trust. Gary Cullen is
facilitating this project and can be contacted at gary.cullen@iburst.co.za
We have promised to
match contributions made by businesses in the Springfield Park Conservancy to a
maximum of R5000.00.
Comments
Post a Comment