Month: October 2017

In the Cape Town suburb of Hout Bay today, 45 new desks were delivered to the learners of Ikhaya le Themba in Imizamo Yethu as part of the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon #GOGREEN campaign. Funded by the Two Oceans Marathon Initiative (TOMI), the unique desks were made from non-organic event waste collected during the marathon earlier this year.

Thirty of the donated Green Desks were funded by TOMI, with the remaining 15 coming from funds raised by Two Oceans Marathon runners who participated in 2017 to raise funds for Wildlands. This is just the initial rollout, with more Green Desks on the way. Throughout South Africa, there is a shortage of approximately 300 000 school desks.

Ikhaya le Themba was chosen as the first recipient of the Green Desks thanks to Imizamo Yethu playing such a pivotal role in the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon. The Hout Bay Rotary Club helped to establish an Imizamo Yethu marshalling team, with the race day crew now totalling 45 members. Initially, Ikhaya le Themba helped to establish the Imizamo Yethu marshalling team with the Hout Bay Rotary Club.

#GOGREEN was developed by Wildlands and is supported by Old Mutual. It aims to provide a practical solution for collecting, recycling and upcycling waste from athletes and spectators at endurance events, while educating them about responsible waste management.

Large troughs, also known as green zones or throw zones, were set up at this year’s Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon so that runners could throw away their waste without littering on the route.

Through a combination of grinding and extrusion, and then squeezing and densifying the waste material into a mould, planks are produced and used to create school desks. It takes 60kg of previously unrecyclable waste to make a double Green Desk, which means that the manufacture of these 45 desks has diverted a total of 2700kg of waste from landfill, rivers and oceans.

“Being the official beneficiary of the Two Oceans Marathon is a huge honour and we are humbled and grateful,” says Wildlands’ Lauren van Nijkerk.

“Two Oceans has given us the platform to raise public awareness of environmental issues, and helped place them at the forefront of the running fraternity’s agenda. Through this platform we have also been able to leverage funding to support our ‘cleaning and greening’ projects and ultimately uplift communities countrywide.”

Since the first ground-breaking Green Desk was unveiled by Wildlands in June 2016, around 2000 desks have been distributed to schools in need across KwaZulu-Natal, with another 1100 in production.

The director of Ikhaya le Themba, Susan Hill, said that the school’s learners, many of whom assist Hout Bay Rotary with marshalling during the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon, were very pleased to receive the desks. “It’s a real morale booster,” she said, “and we thank everyone involved with the campaign for this contribution.”

“One of the most rewarding aspects of Old Mutual’s sponsorship of events like the Two Oceans Marathon is that it enables us to collaborate on innovative projects that have both social and environmental benefits,” says Old Mutual’s Chief Marketing Officer Vuyo Lee.

“We were proud to launch the #GOGREEN campaign at the Two Oceans Marathon this year and the end result has been great: new school desks for children, and minimised waste. #GOGREEN has been launched at several other Old Mutual-sponsored events to great success and we look forward to seeing it go from strength to strength.”

WILDLANDS is offering the top 3 Race4Charity fundraisers a WILDLIFE EXPERIENCE!

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity where you will gain first-hand experience of the conservation work carried out by WILDLANDS, through the magnificent funds raised via Comrades’ Race 4 Charity. This experience offers an exclusive chance for you to assist a top-class team of professionals fitting tracking devises to wildlife such as Wild Dog, Elephant, Lion and Rhino.

This will take place at the Somkhanda Game Reserve (Northern KZN). This is a community owned Game Reserve (NOW A BIG 5 RESERVE), which is managed in partnership with WILDLANDS and the Emvokweni Community Trust (ECT), where our efforts are focused on supporting and protecting a viable population of both black and white rhino. Under the current threat of poaching within the country, the population on this 12 000ha reserve is considered vital for the greater survival of the species.

This is how it works:

To qualify you need to raise a minimum of R30 000.00

1. You will need to ensure that you are available to travel to Somkhanda on 15 – 17 JUNE 2018 (The week after Comrades marathon event)
2. It will include a 3 day, 2 night stay. Valued at R90 000 (for the 3 couples)
3. Accommodation, catering & game drives are covered by WILDLANDS.
4. The Rhino experience will involve the darting and capture of Rhino for the purposes of fitting tracking foot collars and dehorning of the rhino.
5. All drinks and travel to the reserve (about 3,5 hours north of Durban) will be for your own account.
6. This offer is only valid for the top 3 fundraisers and their partners.

If you haven’t signed up, what are you waiting for? Once again, we’d like to say thank you to the runners who have already signed up to raise funds for WILDLANDS and hope you ‘Bring Your A Game’ on for this unbelievable experience. This would not be possible without the Comrades Marathon Association.

The WILD is such a special place! For more information contact BuyiM@localhost/import-data-post

 

Wildlands, a leading environmental non-profit, has collaborated with Different.org – a crowdfunding philanthropy platform, to make a difference and touch the lives of the communities in KwaZulu-Natal where Wildlands works.

The #WHATIF campaign is based on the premise of ‘WHAT IF’ what I am already doing could benefit someone less fortunate than myself?’

Individuals are encouraged to complete ‘challenges’ around becoming an activist. Activities like, signing up, exercising, and fundraising are some of the challenges set out. In completing these challenges, each activist can potentially receive up to R800 in donations for Wildlands from Different.org.

All funds raised by the Wildlands activists as part of the #WHATIF campaign, will go to the Wildlands’ Trees for life initiative. This initiative empowers community members who grow indigenous trees and barter them with Wildlands for livelihood support items. Wildlands will use the donations from the #WHATIF campaign to buy trees grown by the Tree-preneurs, and the income will be used to cover one year’s school fees for the Tree-preneurs’ dependent.

With the support of activists, Wildlands will be able to fundraise for the education of our future generations. Signing up to become a Wildlands activist is simple:

1. Visit the Different.org site http://different.org/hero/wildlands/ and sign up as an activist for Wildlands
2. Complete the challenges as set out and use your activist project to make a difference
3. Each activist can potentially receive up to R800 in donations for Wildlands from Different.org
4. Wildlands will in turn provide school fees for a Tree-preneur’s dependent for 1 year
5. And ongoing campaigning for further activists to sign up to support the cause and contribute funds will continue.

The Wildlands #WHATIF crowdfunding campaign launches this month of October, with a fundraising target of R500,000. All South Africans are urged to help improve the quality of life for hundreds of community members across our beautiful country. The Wildlands vision is a sustainable future for all and with the support of the public, we can touch many young lives, educate the youth and help them realise their true potential through education and leading a healthy lifestyle.

To help us amplify the campaign, Sbhahle Mpisane, also known as ‘Fitness Bunnie’ in the world of social media, has raised her hand to become the Wildlands’ campaign ambassador.

“I’m very excited about this campaign as education for underprivileged South African youth is a very contentious topic in our country. Being from KwaZulu-Natal inspired me even more as I’ll be doing this for my home province. With the high dropout rates amongst the youth due to no funds, I felt this will show ordinary South Africans that doing amazing things doesn’t require a huge bank balance but a giving heart. Exercising has changed my life and I’m very excited to be able to contribute to those in need through something I love the most,” Mpisane commented.

“Wildlands truly believes in the power of the collective so why not harness this in a way that encourages others to give while doing what they love? This campaign is an opportunity to enable people to realise their power as philanthropists by making it fun and easy to help others,” comments Buyi Makhoba-Dlamini, Wildlands’ Strategic Marketing Manager.

This campaign would not be possible without the generosity and forward-thinking team of Different.org, as well as our media partners DStv and Kaya FM.

What is white, light, considered of high value and, although made up almost entirely of air, is in very high demand? If you guessed polystyrene, you’d be 100 % correct!

The Polystyrene Association of South Africa has teamed up with Wildlands who will now collect, process and supply post-consumer and industrial recycled polystyrene products to manufacturers – ultimately offering a solution that will prevent this valuable resource from ending up in Durban’s landfill sites.

“Expanded polystyrene is one of South Africa’s most commonly used materials relied upon by canteens and spaza shops owners and restauranteurs to keep their food or beverages hot or cold, as well as by retailers to protect high value items such as televisions or fridges owing to the material’s excellent insulation properties,” explains Adri Spangenberg, Director of the Polystyrene Association of South Africa.

According to Adri, polystyrene is also widely used by supermarkets to transport and pack their perishable food products such as meat, fruit and vegetables owing to the fact that polystyrene offers excellent insulation properties, extends the shelf life of food and protects items against breakage.

“The wonderful thing about polystyrene is that the material consists of 96 % air – making it incredibly lightweight. This has a significant impact on carbon emissions during transportation, but also unfortunately causes it to be easily blown away by wind where it becomes visible litter found on beaches or along roadsides,” Adri says.  She adds that few people are aware that polystyrene is a valuable resource that is readily recycled in South Africa.

The collected polystyrene is put through an Ingot machine that transforms into a material used by recyclers for the manufacture of stationery, hangers, picture frames, cornices and skirtings. It is even mixed with a special cement mixture for use in building and construction.

“We are very excited to become part of this project that will not only divert a valuable item away from landfill, but also help to create jobs and support a growing industry,” says Kaveer Singh of Wildlands.  He encourages business and residents to take their cleaned, white or coloured polystyrene to their Cato Manor Recycling Depot situated in the SPCA Excess Road, making sure that their material is cleaned and void of any left-over food, bones etc.

“Every bit counts and we are working on establishing more collection and recycling depots in and around Durban in the near future. The public or companies that have large quantities of polystyrene are also welcome to contact us on 078 187 8793 if they need assistance with collection,” Kaveer elaborated.

“Polystyrene recycling has grown year-on-year to more than 4 200 tonnes last year, saving 162 350 000 litres of landfill space thanks to their various recycling projects. This is equivalent to 65 Olympic-sized swimming pools filled with polystyrene that was diverted from landfill, that at the same time helped to create more than 48 000 jobs in the plastics recycling industry.  We are working tirelessly to ensure that recycling remains at the top of everybody’s environmental agenda and to raise awareness about the value of recycled polystyrene,” Adri concludes.

 

July until the end of September 2017 saw Wildlands distribute 516 double Green Desks to 14 schools across KwaZulu-Natal – ultimately giving 1032 learners a solid learning space.

The delivery of the Green Desks forms part of a broader “Virtuous Circle” project that promotes sustainable recycling partnerships involving the consumer goods industry, government and civil society – and most importantly, school children.

The Virtuous Circle concept is founded on three pillars – feeding, recycling and education. The delivery of Futurelife® Smart food™ pouches to schools, the collection of waste for recycling and the manufacture of the Green Desks is all made possible through the support of DuPont, Amcor, Futurelife®, Wastebuster, Woolworths, the KZN Department of Public Works, Perspex SA, Rural Waste Poverty Alleviation Solutions (RWPA) and Wildlands.

 

Each double Green Desk ensures that 60kgs of waste (previously unrecyclable multi-layered material) is diverted from landfill, or worse, left uncollected – a testament to the world’s endemic plastic pollution problem.

 

The desks containing recycled waste from the multilayer pouches were delivered to schools involved in the project.  In this way, the school children, who have already enjoyed the nutritious food kept fresh by the pouches, are getting to see first-hand the benefits of a circular economy approach.

 

“Nutrition is key to learning, as it provides learners with the fuel to engage in school activities, and thrive. Our primary goal at Futurelife® is to help learners prepare for healthy and productive lives, and good nutrition is central to that,” says David Sweidan, GM: Marketing and Sales. “Futurelife® has a history of ensuring South African children are given their best chance in life. The brand was founded 10 years ago, primarily to feed disadvantaged and vulnerable people,” he adds.

 

“The Virtuous Circle project was inspired by several of the Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) in action. It would simply not have been possible without the unrivalled expertise, active support, and incredible dedication of the various partners involved. This collaborative model was recognized as a best practice for addressing the issue of single-use waste holistically and the Virtuous Circle won the Circular Economy Award of Packaging Europe’s 2017 Sustainability Awards,” said DuPont Global Sustainability Value Chain and Project Leader, Sarah Perreard.

 

“Packaging plays an essential role in preserving and transporting food. The Virtuous Circle shows that it has an even greater value when it is recycled – in this case for school desks but also for building material to construct low cost housing. We’re proud to be part of a collaboration that is making a tangible difference to the lives of young people,” said Dr. Gerald Rebitzer, Amcor Sustainability Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

 

“For more than a decade, Woolworths has created valuable educational resources and provided learning opportunities to thousands of schools in South Africa through the MySchool programme. This is an exciting new way to add shared value,” said Tom McLaughlin, Woolworths Good Business Journey specialist.

 

“It is humbling to see the joy and energy a school desk brings to children,” said Wildlands’ Senior Manager of Recycling, Hanno Langenhoven. “It is a real privilege to be able to deliver the Green Desks to learners with the help of our partners. When delivering the desks one can see the difference it makes, from a visibly cleaner school environment to the passion it cultivates in the learners which directly relates to improved scholastic performance and a brighter future.”

 

When Green Desks were delivered to Inchanga Primary School, the Vice Principal, Caroline Jali commented: “These desks make a huge a difference because many of the learners don’t have desks. The school continues to grow at a considerable rate with a huge number of new learners every year, however this means that more desks are needed or more learners will be without.”