community*
Let the river
RUN
FOR PADDLER JANET SIMPKINS, CANOEING AND NATURE ARE SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST A PASTIME – THEY ARE A MEANS FOR CHANGE, WRITES KATIA BENEDETTI
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anoeing has always been an important part of Janet Simpkins’ life. Introduced to the sport at a school-going age, over the years her passion for paddling naturally led her to take a special interest in the conservation and development of the landscapes and communities that surround South Africa’s rivers. Currently also working part-time for Canoeing South Africa as its National Development Co-ordinator, Janet helps to bring the sport to many South Africans who otherwise would not have access to it. As a mother of three, Janet is also particularly concerned about the world we will be leaving our children. Her journey in water and river conservation started in earnest at the beginning of 2019, when she and two like-minded friends set up Save Our Rivers, an organisation whose aim was to create awareness around the health of our rivers and co-ordinate projects to protect them. Save Our Rivers’ first corporate
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sponsor was Johannesburg-based outdoor advertising company, ADreach, whose MD, Brad Fisher, is also a Dusi Canoe Marathon regular. After Brad became severely ill due to the extremely high E. coli count in the Umgeni, ADreach partnered with Save Our Rivers in launching an investigation and collaboration to explore whether it would be possible to make bigger changes along the Dusi-Umgeni river catchment region. As part of the project, Janet was then tasked with managing a pilot cleanup team at the Umgeni River mouth that was fully sponsored by the corporate. The impact of the team was significant, as they made a noticeable difference in the removal of solid waste washed downstream, preventing it and volumes of
Not only do initiatives such as this make a noticeable difference to the landscape and water quality, but they also create much needed employment opportunities plastic from entering the ocean. Following the huge success of the team’s threemonth trial period, ADreach furthered sponsorship for another six months, taking their work up to the end of the Dusi
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