Enviro champs tackle Palmiet River pollution

WHEN Thembisa Nomlala moved to the Quarry Road Informal Settlements a few years ago, residents from the area were able to earn a living by fishing along the Palmiet River.

With the drastic increase in river pollution, this is no longer an option as there are no more fish and the poverty has worsened due to the high unemployment rate.

ALSO READ: Pollution runs rife in Palmiet River

Nomlala, an enviro champ, said she has learned the value of caring about the environment through a pilot study initiated by the eThekwini Municipality, the Palmiet River Catchment (PCRP). 

The project, sponsored by the is Infrastructure Investment Programme for South Africa (IIPSA) through the agency of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), was introduced in 2019 and will run for a period of three years, ending in 2022 as part of the larger Aqueduct Project.

ALSO READ: Tons of trash found in the Palmiet River

The catchment stretches from Kloof to Reservoir Hills where the Palmiet River joins the larger uMngeni River.

Nomlala is part of the 15 Enviro-champs who were previously unemployed from Wyebank, Clermont and Quarry Road who are being taken through a programme which includes life skills, vocational training within water resource management and its programmes.

The course also centres around basic communication and questionnaire development skills, basic plumbing skills, training in alien plant removal, river health monitoring skills, solid waste cleaning and recycling plans, basic first aid and water safety.

She said their job is to engage with people in their communities and educate them on how to take care of the environment and the important of clean rivers.

“The species in the rivers are dying as people use the rivers as dumping sites which is very wrong. Ever since I joined this project, I have made it my mission to share my knowledge with my community, each week, we learn something new and exciting,” she said.

Equipping enviro champs with job skills:

“The primary aim of the PCRP is thus to focus on improving community resilience in the face of climate change through the conservation, restoration and rehabilitation of natural systems linked to river health within the Palmiet catchment,” said director of GroundTruth, Dr Mark Graham.

He said they hope to achieve this by integrating engineering projects, finance, and mainstream biodiversity for water security, drawing these threads together to transform into a sustainable catchment management plan.

ALSO READ: Support the guardians of Aller River

The project involves a wide range of community members from and around the Palmiet catchment, including municipal officials and workers, industries, private land owners, private and commercial business owners, schools, students and numerous other organisations,

In addition, the enviro-champs will also be offered accredited environmental training courses, with the hope of garnering financial support from local business and large corporate companies.

At the end of the project, Graham mentioned that the enviro-champs will have developed critical skills and gained valuable experience and education that will greatly contribute to their employability.

According to Graham, during their employment, the enviro-champs will assist the municipality with clearing of invasive alien plants, solid waste collection and clearing of illegal dumps sites, fixing and reporting water leaks and sewage spills, creating and fostering environmental awareness within their communities, and participating in river health awareness and clean –up events.

“They will play an important role in undertaking environmental monitoring at selected sites along the river in various suburbs using the Citizen Science tools on a quarterly basis to contribute to long-term monitoring of river health within the Palmiet catchment,” added Graham.

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