The Sustainable Seas Trust partnered with the Human Settlement Action Group NPC (HAG), a non-profit company with the aim of improving human settlement management and development through capacity-building, advocacy-based research, and community participation events.
HAG facilitated a five-day environmental awareness capacity building training programme from 9 – 13 March 2020. This followed a train-the-trainer approach, whereby community members received a diverse range of information pertaining to environmental issues. The areas targeted were Helenvale, Motherwell, Uitenhage and Despatch.
These peer trainers will be a resource in their communities, and in the coming weeks will be hosting small-group sessions in the areas where they reside, educating their neighbours on concepts such as waste management, recycling, water awareness, and food gardens. The HAG believes that empowering communities with knowledge would inspire them to action.
The training programme was funded by SST, and SST educators and researchers also took part in training community members. They covered topics that varied from i) Social understanding of and response to waste, including misconceptions, ii) Sources and Pathways of litter, impacts of litter, recyclable vs non-recyclable waste and ii) Monitoring of waste, microplastics, mapping waste.
“I was inspired by the amount of excitement and eagerness from the trainers to consume knowledge that they believe would make a difference in their respective communities. This encourages us to continue the fight against plastic pollution and developing tools and resources that would lead to a paradigm shift where communities could see waste as a resource,” said Head of Education Nozi Mbongwa
