Photo: Gavin W. Maneveldt
Photo: University of the Western Cape Nature Reserve
The Green Point Urban Parks’ Biodiversity Garden.
Smart Living handbooks and resource materials are aimed at
making sustainable living a reality
in Cape Town homes. This project
(in partnership with the City of Aachen in Germany) was implemented
in 21 Cape Town households from
Khayelitsha, Manenberg and
Wynberg. Over a period of a year,
households met monthly to learn
about sustainable living through
practical, interactive workshops and
outings. Eco-audits were done in
their homes at the start and end of
the project to determine the main
focus areas that had to be addressed and the eventual impact of
the training. The project was such a
success that it was repeated in different areas. Everywhere, households were empowered to make
better decisions that improved their
lives and benefit the environment.
The participating households believed that it was important to get
the message across to the broader
community, and suggested that the
workshop notes be printed in a
handbook format that ultimately
A solar powered golf cart used by the University of
the Western Cape for travelling on the campus.
became the Smart Living Handbook, first published in 2007. The
handbook is available in Afrikaans,
English and Xhosa. Tips for smart
living include: water, energy and
fuel saving tips; water reducing
tips; beach, shark, paraffin and fire
safety tips; sustainability and conservation tips; and a useful quiz for
determining your ecological footprint.
The University of Cape Town’s
Green Campus Initiative (GCI)
was starting in 2007. This GCI chapter has committed itself to marketing and educating its students
about sustainability issues. Some of
the more long-standing initiatives
include: campus and residence recycling; Ridelink (promoting carpooling, bicycle use and public
transport); Green Police (active involvement of its members in all GCI
events); Vegilicious (creating sustainable food culture by promoting
plant-based, locally sourced cuisine
as healthy and satisfying alternatives to mass produced foods); and
Bikelink (a collaborative programme
with the City of Cape Town’s 110%
Green programme committed to
getting 50% of the bikes rented out
to UCT students and staff by November 2014). The University of
Stellenbosch’s EcoMaties runs similar such initiatives.
The Green Point Urban Park has
been open to the public since the
end of January 2011. This previously dysfunctional public open space
has been transformed into a vibrant
‘people's park’ that includes: a fitness park for cycling and outdoor
training; a learning park for functions, seminars and arts training; a
play park; an art park for special
events, exhibitions and craft markets; an adventure park; a heritage
park; an events park including outdoor markets, competitions and
events; a tea garden; and a biodiversity garden.
The Northpine Technical High
School (NTHS) was completed in
February 2012. This secondary
The Oudebosch eco-cabins in the Kogelberg Nature Reserve with their planted roofs, solar panels
and eco-pool.
Photo: Scott Ramsay
Photo: Scott Ramsay
Photo: Scott Ramsay