Environment Gets International Recognition

The Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (the dedet) scooped two Awards through the Pre-School Water Project - The Commonwealth International Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) and the National Public Sector Innovation Conference (CPSI).

The dedet was the runner – up in the CAPAM award, presented on the 18 – 20 October 2010 in Malta. The second award as an overall National winner in the CPSI National award from DPSA on the 05 November 2010 in Gauteng. The award was presented by Minister Richard Baloyi.

The CAPAM award received entries from all Commonwealth countries. Australia, India and South Africa were shortlisted and presented their papers to the jury.

The water Programme for Pre-Schools was started in 2008 and targets learners to increase their water awareness, encourages responsible water usage and shapes the children’s attitude, values and patterns of behavior towards caring for the environment. It also aims to create responsible citizens that understand that water is a scarce resource and that water is life.

Learners are encouraged to use creative and innovative methods where limited resources exist ie. making watering cans from discarded plastic container and using 2 litre bottles for watering directly to the roots of trees.

The project links pre-schools to prizes such as rainwater containers and garden tools which contribute towards the sustainability of the projects.