A local community organisation, along with the non-profit organisation (NPO) Envirolove, has been restoring trails in a local nature reserve.
Idas Valley nature area on a rainy day. The construction of more technical trails is being planned by the Envirolove initiative as the area becomes more popular, and the organisation receives more donations, said Etienne Basson, co-founder of Envirolove. PHOTO: Alistair Seymour
The Idas Valley Community organisation worked with Envirolove to clean up over 6 kilometres of trails in the 230 hectare Idas Valley nature area, according to Etienne Basson, founder of Envirolove and co-founder of the clean-up initiative. The success of the ongoing initiative, known as the Idas Valley Community Trails Project, was announced in a video posted on Facebook on 17 May.
“[The initiative] started in July [2020]. Eon Hendrickse, who is a co-founder [of the initiative], was walking through the trails and he posted [a picture of the trail] on social media because there was a lot of waste and rubbish lying around,” said Basson. “Basically, he contacted me and said, ‘This is the work that I want to do — I want to start taking care of these trails’,” he added.
Envirolove aims to “expose youth to educational and personal development opportunities that will address social, environmental and economic issues through practical and innovative local solutions”, according to their Facebook page. The Idas Valley Community aims to empower the community of Idas Valley through action-based, participatory activities on the local network of trails, according to their website.
One of the markers in the Idas Valley nature area. The marker indicates the beginning of a trail. PHOTO: Alistair Seymour
“I would like to see this initiative create a sense of unity and togetherness in our community. The nature reserve can bring so much positive change in people’s lives. I want to create a sense of pride in the community through this initiative,” said Eon Hendrickse, co-founder of the initiative and an Idas Valley resident.
Several organisations, such as CapeNature, the Stellenbosch Trail Fund and Rooted in Dirt, have partnered with the clean-up team to develop future projects involving the community, said Basson.
“We want to promote and maintain all the trails in the Stellenbosch area, […] and obviously Idas Valley is part of those trails, but we can’t do everything. So we want the local community to get involved, whether that’s the very rich people in Stellenbosch or the very poor people in Stellenbosch,” said Richard de Villiers, founder of the Stellenbosch Trail Fund.
Hendrickse said that the project will “boom” in the future, providing more opportunities for learning, job creation and tourism. There are plans to train members of the community as tour guides and safety rangers for the nature area, which will assist the community in becoming more economically empowered, he added.
Guided cycle tours are currently happening in the 230 hectare space. The aim is to create jobs and ensure that the trails are safer for visitors, said Etienne Basson, co-founder of Envirolove. PHOTO: Alistair Seymour
The Stellenbosch Centre for Complex Systems in Transition (CST), based at Stellenbosch University (SU), worked with the Norwegian Environment Agency to sponsor the creation of the video about the clean-up initiative, with the aim of raising awareness, according to Basson.
“We were thrilled when Envirolove submitted a proposal under our Youth Nature Futures project […] for supporting this collective of passionate people, working to provide safe, healthy and inclusive spaces for people to connect with nature, and each other,” said Dr Nadia Sitas, head researcher at CST, in email correspondence with MatieMedia.
Article updated on the 25th of May