Pupils celebrate World Wetlands Day at Helderberg Nature Reserve

Cape Town - In celebration of World Wetlands Day, 40 learners from the Hikers Network Juniors were taken on a guided hike through the Helderberg Nature Reserve where they learnt about the importance of wetlands and conservation.

The learners, aged between 8 and 13 years old, also took part in activities that highlighted the value of wetlands, including the building of wetland models, a mini-South African Scoring System (SASS) for water quality activity, and crafting a water cycle bracelet.

The day was made possible by the collaborative efforts of CapeNature and the Western Cape Government Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEA&DP).

World Wetlands Day is celebrated annually on February 2 and marks the signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, an intergovernmental treaty with the mission to conserve wetlands. The theme for 2023 is “Wetlands Restoration” and highlights the urgent need to prioritise wetland restoration. In 2022, the Ramsar Convention declared the Berg River Estuary along the West Coast a Ramsar Site.

Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell said: “We work closely with CapeNature and other partners, like biosphere reserves, to prioritise the protection and rehabilitation of our wetlands. Part of this includes educational awareness around the value of wetlands and encouraging our youth to think about how wetlands make our planet more liveable.

“By visiting a local wetland, such as the one in the Helderberg Nature Reserve, we educate students on how wetlands provide a habitat for numerous fauna and flora species, are highly valuable biological assets, and help to mitigate the effects of climate change,” said Bredell.

CapeNature has done much work to protect and restore wetlands.

CapeNature chief executive Dr Razeena Omar said: “We are very proud of the entity’s efforts in restoring two wetlands: the Verlorenvlei project and the award-winning Goukou-Duiwenhoks Wetland Project.”

Ramsar has listed seven best practices for wetland restoration:

• Consider the multitude of services the natural wetland provides and aim to recapture a wide range of those benefits, not just one or two.

• Aim to recreate a wetland ecosystem that can maintain itself.

• Integrate local communities and industries during planning and implementation.

• Identify the causes of degradation and limit or eliminate them.

• Clean up the degraded area.

• Restore native vegetation and wildlife and remove invasive species.

• Restrict site access, creating specific places for people and animals.

CapeNature also provides workshops for teachers on how to deliver curriculum-aligned environmental lessons and activities. Assistance and resources can be accessed by emailing learning and awareness at learning@capenature.co.za.

Cape Times