Vhembe schools given awards for preserving water

By Silas Nduvheni

The 12 schools from the Vhembe District who participated in the South African Green Schools Programme (SAGSP), aimed at environmental conservation, had opportunity to display their projects during the Vhembe Wetland were awarded cash prizes, which will be channelled to improve their environmental projects further.

Ms Rotakala Madzhia, an educator at Makungwi Primary School in Nzhelele, said her school had entered the competition in 2022. They had been given six thematic areas to preserve water. They had done this through installing tanks to harvest rainwater and digging a trench from taps to lead excess water onto flowerbeds and grass. “We also replaced electric spotlights with solar spotlights to save electricity and planted more trees around the school for beautification,” said Madzhia.

The school received a cheque for R18 000, with which Madzhia said they hoped to improve their project further.

In her presentation, Ms Rendani Kutama, manager of waste management at the Musina Local Municipality, urged communities in Musina to make a conscious effort to stop waste materials from spreading and start to preserve and protect the environment.

Kutama said the municipality was doing its best to collect waste materials and bring awareness to the various schools in the area, such as handing out plastic bags to learners, organising tree-planting competitions and other environmental projects.

Addressing the communities and learners, the executive mayor of the Vhembe District Municipality, Dowelani Nenguda, urged communities to help preserve and protect the region’s wetlands.