Volume 1 2008 Jan, Feb, Mar Newsletter of the Wildlife and Environment Envir Kids Society of Kids Caring for the Earth South Africa (WESSA) Western Cape EnviroKids wins SAB Merit Award by Roberta Griffiths The South African Breweries Environmentalist and Environmental Jour- Inside this issue: nalists awards of 2007 were held in Johannesburg, last October. Envi- roKids, the junior magazine of the Wildlife and Environment Society of FEATURES: South Africa was one of five winners of a Merit Award in the Print and Internet category. EnviroKids wins SAB Merit Award 1 Is this Green Leader’s The citation reads as follows: brand clear? 2 For nearly three decades EnviroKids (previously Toktokkie magazine) Staff Changes in the Region 3 Our Patron Members and has strived to promote environmental awareness and education among 3 Sustainable Living children. It's published quarterly by the Wildlife and Environment Society South African Potato Farm- of SA and plays a strong role in environmental education. It produces ers join Conservation Ef- 4 stimulating articles that are easily understood by first and second lan- forts in the Cape guage readers. The magazine content is in demand by school text-book Friends Group Workshop 5 publishers and four themes have been reprinted at the request of govern- held in the second half of 2007 ment agencies for their own use. REGULARS: Judges comments: What’s happening in 7 The judges regard the magazine as 'a real investment in the future' and WESSA Western Cape believe that the presentation meets the needs of young people and is Branches both informative and entertaining. Networking 8 Diary 11 Acknowledgment: The Editor, Roberta Griffiths, would like to acknowledge the dedication Our Vision: and support of all contributors to the magazine. This award affirms WESSA is a membership- the quality of content produced by based environmental organi- the authors, artists and photogra- sation that promotes public participation in caring for the phers, as well as the production Earth. We embrace profes- companies for layout, repro and sionalism and sound corpo- print. My family, Alison Kelly, and rate governance, fostering the late Ginger Gray have been collaborative partnerships to active supporters and contributors succeed in our Mission. With over the past 12 years and this is enthusiasm and a spirit of greatly appreciated. unity, we work to achieve a South Africa that is wisely Finally, a big thank you to all sponsors who assist us in 'promoting public managed by all to ensure participation in caring for the Earth.’ environmental sustainability. Celebrating over 80 years of environmental action 2 CAPE ENVIRONMENT , VOLUME 1, 2008 Is this Green Leader’s Brand clear? by Steve du Toit People who watch TV, read newspapers, have ac- ployees, as employees are not dedicated to com- cess to the internet, or listen to the radio are bom- panies, but to values.” barded with vast volumes of information that, gener- ally, has very little practical value in our lives. It is WESSA, along with many membership-based therefore increasingly important that a “brand” such NGOs has suffered from a large staff turnover and as WESSA is crystal clear in terms of what we are significant loss of members over the last 10 years. about, so that when people hear “WESSA” their re- Some argue that society is changing, and that sponse is “hey, I need to be a part of that.” Dr John NGOs are no longer that important or relevant. Yet Demartini notes that it is important to ensure that everywhere I go, people say to me well, WESSA there is congruence and clarity in the brand, and not will take up that challenge, won't it? Just as to sacrifice it for immediate needs.* WESSA needs good leadership, so does society. WESSA must continually step up to the mark and Renee Silverstone, C.E. of The Jupiter Drawing say, “we are the leader.” Room in Johannesburg states that “As for profes- sional services firms, the critical aspect is reputation Silverstone observes that a brand “is so important management.... Integrity is a critical value of any that all internal stakeholders (employees, manage- brand...” and that “Management is the custodian of ment, members) and external partners (e.g. the the brand... while employees, especially customer- Gouritz Initiative, CoastCare and C.A.P.E. [my ex- facing ones, own the brand experience.”** amples]) have an important role to play and are custodians of different aspects to the brand.” I once worked for an institution that did not have a clear vision, or brand. Management and workers The fundamental difference between WESSA and alike were completely exposed to the winds of competing businesses is that financial gain is not change. On joining WESSA, I was immediately our primary aim. We (employees, management and “sold” on our Vision and Mission. A quick reminder members) can strengthen the WESSA brand and (!) Our Mission is to promote public participation in thereby promote our vision and mission daily, with- caring for the Earth. out “competing” against other groups. In fact, only through working with like-minded organisations can Demartini noted that one of the signs of a great we hope to make a tangible difference. leader is that they're clear about what they want to do, they are not distracted... they are focussed on And after saying all that, I am really going to throw the vision. This transforms the people around them the cat among the pigeons and ask whether our and creates a great brand: “You have to have grati- mission is clear. Is there congruence and clarity in tude for what you're doing in your job, love what the WESSA brand? and What must we work on to you're doing, be inspired by the vision, and have improve the WESSA brand in the Western Cape? enthusiastic action if you want the company to grow.” Demartini's advice to small companies is “to (Comments from Business Times articles *8 July make sure that they communicate their vision to em- 2007 and **24 June 2007.) Save energy, go black and white Individuals at Google have seemingly calculated the energy footprint of a standard monitor display- ing Google in Full Colour and have come up with a concept of saving energy. It's called Blackle. With Blackle, you can now do your searching in plain old black & white and help save energy and the planet. By using Black & White only, Google have estimated a huge energy saving as a result, ultimately having a positive effect on our environment in terms of Carbon Emissions, etc. The colour (sorry, Black & White) setting also just so happens to be a high contrast white text on a black background, the preferred setting for many Low Vision users when reading text on screen. Visit www.blackle.com 3 CAPE ENVIRONMENT , VOLUME 1, 2008 Staff Changes in the Region 2008 promises to be a year of change, and the year has begun with significant staff changes in the West- ern Cape Region. Some changes are sad and others happy, some changes are exciting and others chal- lenging, but either way, we look forward to a construc- tive year. We wish everyone well in their new or re- vised posts. Andy Gubb, Regional Manager for the past 17 years, has been transferred to a position with National Office. We wish Andy, Wendy and Shaune every success in Andy will be assisting WESSA's Director of Conserva- their new roles, and thank them sincerely for their tion, Bryan Havemann, at a national level and will be contributions, commitment and dedication to WESSA. working on conservation, legal and policy issues across WESSA's Regions. Andy will still be based in Our current staff, Patrick Dowling, Steve du Toit, Cape Town. Roshan Stanford, Alta Swanepoel, Maureen Ngubane and Charmaine Anderson, will be taking on Our Finance & Administration Manager, Wendy new responsibilities as their posts are redefined. Vosloo, has resigned after 16 years at WESSA, to These changes will be reported in a future edition of take up a more senior post with an international NGO, Cape Environment. based at their Claremont head office. Vacancies: We have new posts available for: Senior Shaune Rogatschnig, our Communications Co- Environmentalist, Environmentalist, Education Offi- ordinator since 2006, has resigned her part-time post cer, Head of Public Participation, Communications & to be a full-time new mother for a while. Fortunately, Marketing and Regional Business Manager. In addi- Shaune has agreed to assist us on an out-sourced tion, we have two internships available in the conser- basis. vation and education sections. Please contact Roshan at [email protected] for fur- ther details. Our Patron Members and Sustainable The Rose Foundation: Rose stands for Recycling Living Oil Saves the Environment. Rose is a non-profit or- by Andy Gubb ganisation that manages the environmentally ac- ceptable collection, storage and recycling of used WESSA Western Cape has two patron members Wool- lubricating oil in South Africa. Rose was formed in worths and the Rose Foundation. Both of these com- 1994 in response to the government withdrawing its panies have leap-frogged ahead in the sustainability support for the oil re-refining industry. Their primary stakes to become leaders and trend-setters. objective is to collect as much used lubricating oil as possible and to add as much value to this oil within Woolworths: An impressive commitment to the environ- the strictest environmental standards. By providing mental lies behind Woolworths' commitment to quality an option other than dumping or burning used oil, and customer satisfaction. Woolworths recycle their Rose is making a significant contribution to the envi- plastic hangers, their baskets and trolleys are made ronment.