Honorary officers win prestigious eco award
Honorary officers recognised for their hard work in keeping the Beachwood Mangroves nature reserve as healthy oasis of biodiversity within a large populated metropolitan area.
THE North Durban honorary officers have won the prestigious Biodiversity Award at the Enviropaedia Eco-Logic Awards, held in Sterkfontein recently. The award recognises organisations with a successful biodiversity protection, rehabilitation or damage mitigation programme. This is the second ecological award the honorary officers have won after winning an external award at the KZN Ezemvelo Excellency Awards earlier this year.
Basil Pather, conservation manager at the Beachwood Mangroves Nature Reserve, said he was overwhelmed and completely floored by the win.
“This is just an incredible achievement and we are delighted to receive the award. Just being nominated was an honour, especially as we were in the same class as organisations like Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) and the Botanical Society of South Africa (BotSoc). We are completely floored by the award.”
Two of the longest standing honorary officers, Keith and his wife, Linda Swemmer, travelled to the Cradle of Humankind on behalf of the officers to receive the award.
“It was only fitting that two of the longest standing members who have made huge contributions to Beachwood and beyond accepted the award. There’s nothing stronger than an environmental volunteer’s heart, and we have plenty of that.
“We will continue our work, that means doing whatever is necessary for the environment,” Pather said.
