In a bid to promote early childhood development and learning about the environment, the Kloof Conservancy recently partnered with Philangethemba Impact and the Kinship Programme by hosting educational sessions for children in Molweni.
Through these sessions, children from Siyazama Créche, Themabalethu Créche and learners from Bazamile Primary School were taught about nature in an outdoor environment. Kloof Conservancy chairperson, Paolo Candotti said that these sessions are part of the organisation’s environmental efforts to help create greater awareness and love for the environment. “Children learnt about insects and how to make a ‘bug hotel’. They first learnt what different insects needed for a nice home and then they went to look for the material and finally put everything together to make the ‘bug hotel’. A big thank you to Luyanda Sikhakhane and Xoli Shangase from Philangethemba Impact for making the local arrangements and to Michaela Geytenbeek, Londi Shawu and Charlene Potgieter from the Kinship Programme for providing their expertise,” he said.
Candotti also thanked the Kinship Programme for getting on board in enriching the lives of young children with educational and fun sessions. The Kinship Programme founding director, Michaela Geytenbeek said that urbanisation, industrialisation, fears for safety and technological advancements have led to the majority of the time being spent indoors, predominantly in front of screens. “There are growing concerns about a lack of physical exercise, poor mental well-being and issues of climate change and environmental degradation. Studies illustrate that green spaces and natural landscapes have a positive influence on children’s cognitive and psycho-social development, including emotional regulation, perceived self-worth, creativity, concentration, motivation and motor skills. Children that engage immersive with nature have better abilities to assess risks and confidence to confront challenges later in life.” “It is believed that the split with nature is at the heart of our environmental crisis. There are several studies illustrating that childhood experiences in nature have led to the development of increased nature-connected individuals who tend to champion conservation and sustainable development. The Kinship program offers the opportunity for our children to develop the empathy and love of nature that our world requires, in a safe yet wild environment,” she said.
