CBNRM Fun Day

Community-based Natural Resource Management Team Fun Day

After a year of hard work, our community Natural Resource Management teams had an opportunity to let their hair down and enjoy the festivities of the season on Friday. The day included training about protecting our health through correct eating habits and exercise and awareness of diseases such as Tuberculosis and Diabetes. The teams participated in team building activities such as netball and soccer, which encouraged social and collective efforts. Coca Cola supported the event by supplying our teams with ice cold beverages and good music. Teams danced and showed their gratitude towards the project with strong poetry and words of appreciation as they shared what the project meant to them.

The project undertaken in partnership with the Department of Environmental Affairs, has employed 169 people over the past 8 months to eradicate and control invasive alien plants and soil erosion across the landscape.

The Athol Community team expressed their feeling toward the invasive alien plants in this poem:

You alien invasive species, why are you like this?

Why do you destroy our lives?

 You came into our country uninvited.

You are taking away our water.

You are invading our dwellings.

You are exploiting and destroying our native plants.

You selfish and greedy plants.

 Even worse, when we touch you, you are very unfriendly.

We scratch until we feel like hell.

 Hell no! who said we needed such unfriendly friend?

Who said we needed such unfriendly company?

 Some of you have nice names like Morning Glory Bush, Sweet prickly pear and

Queen of the night but in reality, you are none of those.

 But thanks to Sabi Sand, who came to our rescue,

You are going to regret the day you set your foot into our country!

 We are going to dig your roots,

We are going to burn you.

And guess what? You will be destroyed!

You selfish and stubborn creatures.

 Poem written by Athol Community’s Natural Resource Management Team