Bringing eco education to the leaders of tomorrow

Helderberg Nature Reserve is located on the southern slopes of the Helderberg mountains in Cape Town, South Africa.

The vision of the City of Cape Town’s Environmental Resource Management Department (ERMD) is to ensure that sustainable and equitable development is combined with sound environmental practice for a healthy local environment, which sustains people and nature, provides protection for our unique resources and brings about an enhanced quality of life for all.

The vision of the Youth Environmental School (YES) programme is that through environmental education, we will form partnerships to conserve, protect, nurture and care for our environment and invoke in the youth community a sense of environmental pride and responsibility that promotes environmentally sustainable lifestyles, behaviour and actions. The programme has been run by ERMD for nearly 15 years.

YES is an extensive, integrated, ongoing capacity-building, training, education and awareness programme which provides a variety of projects, programmes, campaigns, resources and opportunities for all schools (learners and educators) in Cape Town.

The Biodiversity Management Branch of ERMD currently manages 16 nature reserves, which contribute towards conserving biodiversity heritage for our generation and those to come. As part of the YES programme, the nature reserves offer various environmental education programmes for schools, adults and social groups. By creating an outdoor classroom, participants are able to learn about nature while experiencing it at the same time.

All programmes are curriculum-aligned and incorporate literacy and numeracy aspects to ensure that educators are able to meet their daily targets. Qualified environmental education and conservation officers present programmes on various topics and may be contacted individually to discuss programmes prior to the visit.

Nature Reserve Programmes for 2015

To celebrate environmental weeks, the following nature reserves host educational programmes, either at the nature reserves or as outreach programmes at your local school.

For more information including contact details, consult the City’s complete brochure.