In 2022, TUF partnered with FOSNA and started the Lower Silvermine Wetland Project. The aim of the project is to help communities achieve clean and healthy ecosystems. Both TUF and FOSNA share a commitment for environmental education and realise the impact it can have on conservation. This project was therefore designed with education at its centre.
We plan to initiate a programme with three local schools. We will engage with students in Grades 7 to 9 from the broader Silvermine River valley area. The students will be part of creating a database of water quality data at various points in the wetland through monitoring. The students will also be encouraged to “adopt” a stretch of the river/wetland. They will undertake mini-SASS water health assessments. This will be done under the supervision of the educator and a trained scientist. This will be used to teach the students about the importance of wetlands, and specifically about the importance of the Lower Silvermine Wetland.
Lastly, a series of talks will be shared with community members focused on the geology, hydrogeology, geomorphology, and hydrology of the Silvermine River valley.
How did the project come about?
It was a serendipitous partnership that came about through another of TUF’s projects, namely “Indawo, Abantu, Injongo e Khayelitsha”. This project cleans up rubbish and rubble along the streets of Griffiths Mxenge in Khayelitsha. The building rubble is difficult to dispose of. The rubble was repurposed and block benches were constructed for residents to sit and enjoy.
Separately, one of TUF’s project managers went on a walk in the Silvermine wetlands in Clovelly and noticed the wonderful mosaics. They found out the mosaics were made by Creative Space Clovelly. Through engagement with owner Sasha Scholtz they kindly donated tiles to be used for mosaics on the block benches for Indawo, Abantu, Injongo e Khayelitsha.
Sasha happens to be married to Martin Scholtz, who is strongly involved in FOSNA. He contacted TUF about partnering on some initiatives with FOSNA due to our science-society and transformative art interests aligning.
