Drakenstein Municipality World Environment Day Expo - 27 June 2017

Published: 07 July 2017

The Drakenstein Municipality World Environment Day is an event in which the municipality brings together four different local primary schools. The day is focused around raising awareness for environmental issues as well as promoting the idea that one can have a career in the environmental sector. The day was joined by the municipalities’ own Environmental Management department, Shark Spotters, Imhoff Snake Park, WESSA Eco Schools and then the Cape Leopard Trust.

Each organisation set up an exhibition stand for the learners’ to be able to come around and see what each organisation is up to and the work done by each.

The municipality had arranged for Hillcrest Primary, Dal Josaphat Primary, Ligstraal Primary and St Albans Primary school’s, to participate in this great occasion.

The Cape Leopard Trust Environmental Educators found themselves in between the Shark Spotters and the Imhoff Snake Park. Certainly a row of apex predators. The snake park, having brought live specimens, inevitably caused quite a stir. Every learner wanted to see the snakes, tortoises and lizards, yet ran to our table every time the snakes moved.The day started off with an inspiring talk by the Shark Spotters, touching on ocean ecology and the role sharks play in the oceans, ending off with why we so desperately need the presence of sharks in our seas and how to look after our oceans for all life.

After this, all the participants were entertained by a very successful and humorous puppet show. The message of the show was to not litter and to look after the environment around us. It certainly grabbed the children’s attention and kept them laughing and entertained.

After this, Cape Leopard Trust educator, Michael Henshall, gave a talk to the learners about Leopard conservation, the Cape Leopard Trust in general and why protecting natural areas is so important. The learners’ enthusiasm was a treat to work with and the excitement in the room throughout the morning was tangible.

After the Cape Leopard Trust presentation, the snake park put on a snake show, causing further excitement in the hall. This excitement spilled over into the exhibition time as many excited learners came to find out more about leopards, caracals and other wildlife on our mountains.

It was a fantastic morning and an exciting start to a hopefully long relationship with these schools’ as well as the Drakenstein Municipality.

We would like to thank Margaou Prins of the Drakenstein Municipality for hosting such a wonderful morning, we believe that the learners learned a lot and we’ll hopefully be seeing many of them in the environmental sector in the future.

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