As part of Arbor Week celebrations, Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens launched a game garden for children to expand their love of and interest in the outdoors.
Named the Manzi Hopping Game garden, it is a project run by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (Sanbi) and Rand Water. The garden named after Rand Water’s mascot Manzi, which means water, is an educational game that involves hopping on rocks and getting instructions at various stations along the way about nature and animals.
Spokesperson for Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens, Ronny Tshabalala said, “This will add to the service we offer for children to get them to love the outdoors. It is an educational game as well. The young ones will be learning about wildlife and nature.
“It also serves to strengthen our partnership with Rand Water in devising strategies for better conservation and water saving techniques that we need to educate the public about.”
Spring was a perfect period with bright skies and sunny days to launch the Manzi Hopping Game garden for children, said Sanbi’s director of biodiversity and environmental education, Vivian Malema. “In addition to playing, it will also teach the children about biodiversity. It is also a reflection of cultural diversity for the future.”
The not so bright future was summed up by Rand Water’s senior manager, Leslie Hoye who told the gathering at the launch, on 9 August that El Nino and other severe weather patterns were leading to unpredictable cycles of drought which does do not guarantee us a constant supply of water in the future. “This is a worrying situation that would require us to take conservative and ingenious measures to ensure we have the water that we so much need.”
During the launch, a tree was planted in celebration of Arbor week.
Details: Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens 086 100 1278.
