Cape Town: Deputy Mayor and Member of the Mayoral Committee for Spatial Planning and Environment – Alderman Eddie Andrews joined the Biodiversity Management branch of the City of Cape Town to recognise a group of River Wardens who recently completed a FET certificate in Nature Conservation (NQF 4 qualification).
The River Warden Skills Development Programme is one of the City’s most successful skills development programme and has enabled the employ 57 of the participants since its inception. The investment into the formal education of these individuals was made possible through funding from the National Lottery and facilitated by Nature Connect.
Reportedly, the City of Cape Town is building a pipeline of practically skilled conservation practitioners who strengthen the operational capacity through the River Warden Skills Development Programme. This programme is one of the Mayor’s priority projects and honours the protection of wetlands by empowering individuals from marginalised groups within low-income communities surrounding City Nature Reserves, with experience in conservation-based stewardship.
This programme is launched to improve the health of the city’s ecosystems and creates pathways to vital employment opportunities in the environmental management sector.
These individuals stem from communities surrounding the:
- False Bay Nature Reserve (Zeekoevlei, Rondevlei and Strandfontein sections);
- Zandvlei Nature Reserve;
- Edith Stephens Nature Reserve, and
- Table Bay Nature Reserve
The River Warden graduates have thus far assisted with the following environmental management activities, such as:
- River health assessments
- Invasive species management
- Community clean-ups
- Data collection
Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews said that sustainable conservation relies on people equipped with the right skills from practical fieldwork and environmental awareness to community engagement.
This investment by the city, in the initiatives such as the River Warden Skills Development Programme helps in bridging the gap between passion and profession. They are extremely proud of the individuals who have achieved their NQF Level 4 qualification in Nature Conservation. This milestone empowers them to move beyond observing environmental challenges, to become active custodians of Cape Town’s natural environment.
According to Andrews, each of these graduates come from communities neighbouring the nature reserves. They see them as local champions individuals who can monitor ecosystems, educate their neighbours and contribute to the City’s biodiversity goals, all while caring for their own natural surroundings.
He further stated that they believe that these graduates have the potential to become future conservation leaders and, going forward, their true test will be their ability to combine technical expertise with social understanding, so working with people as much as with nature.
With continued partnerships between the City, NGOs like Nature Connect, and community leaders, Cape Town can lead the way as a global example of urban biodiversity stewardship.