The City of Johannesburg’s Environment and Infrastructure Service Department this week hosted a school holiday programme for children as part of the October transport month activities. Through partnerships and collaboration with various stakeholders, the department rolled out daily activities from 3-7 October 2022 at the Joburg Theatre.
The programme targeted children from day care centres, orphanages and city libraries.
The week-long sessions included environmental edutainment to showcase and educate learners around environmental issues and taking care of the environment. One of the main plays is titled “Lisakhanya” and seeks to spread awareness around topics such as climate change, water conservation and waste management in a fun and innovative way.
Lunelle Serobatse, the Director Strategic Coordination in the department, said: “The play makes a call for individuals to be more conscious about the impacts of their activities on the environment and therefore be part of the solution to restore and protect the earth.”
“The city is committed to becoming a resilient, liveable and sustainable City and environmental sustainability is a collective responsibility across all city departments, the private sector, citizens and other spheres of government,” Serobatse added.
On the last day, Gautrain sponsored free transportation for about 40 pupils from Alexandra to the Joburg Theatre. The pupils boarded the Gautrain from the Marlboro station to Park station, from where they were ferried on the Gautrain bus to the Joburg Theatre.
The department’s education and awareness unit delivered an interactive presentation on the promotion of environment care through lessons titled “Know your environmental rights and responsibilities”, which included anti-littering messages.
Aphiwe Mkhize, a 13-year-old pupil from Sandton View Combined School, who came through the Alexandra Library in Region E, could not contain her joy in being part of the group.
“It was my first time using the Gautrain and the experience was out of this world. I also learned a lot about taking care of the environment and ensuring that we avoid littering and always use the bins provided,” she said.
Metro bus transported 40 pupils from the Ivory Park library in Region A to the theatre using the City’s green fuel bus. This served as a practical way of showcasing the use of green transport modes available in the City.
Written by Dudu Lushaba
07/10/2022