Honorary officers in line for prestigious eco award

EARLIER this year the North Durban honorary officers were the winners of an external award at the KZN Ezemvelo Excellency Awards, which recognised their contributions to conservation and awareness of the Beachwood Mangroves, a first in their history. The officers are now in line to win another prestigious award.

They have been nominated for the Eco-Logic Biodiversity Awards, presented by Enviropaedia, an online environmental encyclopaedia. The award recognises organisations with a successful biodiversity protection, rehabilitation or damage mitigation programme.

Basil Pather, conservation manager at Beachwood said he was chuffed that the honorary officers had been nominated.

“To be in the same class as organisations like the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) is indeed an honour. I think what sets the North Durban honorary officers apart is their dedication, drive and enthusiasm. This encapsulates what we are all about.

“There’s nothing stronger than an environmental volunteer’s heart, and we have plenty of that. We cannot be paid for what we do, not because we are worthless but because we are priceless,” Pather enthused.

He added the award would also bring a sense of awareness to the organisation and to the mangroves, which has the largest population of mangrove trees in Durban.

“Win or lose at the awards ceremony, the environment wins and that’s fantastic. We will continue our work, that means doing whatever is necessary for the environment,” he said.

Keith Swemmer, who has been a North Durban honorary officer for 25 years said it was great to be nominated for such a prestigious award.

“It is a fantastic achievement for us to be recognised by the Eco-Logic Biodiversity Awards. It is also the first time we have ever been nominated for something like this and it makes us very proud,” he said.

The awards ceremony will be held at the Cradle of Humankind in Sterkfontein, in September.